Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your plates could in actual fact be more difficult for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Plates and glasses have lots of crevices that may trap water stopping it from drying out, and as your machine cools water droplets form from the steam.

Different machines also employ a number of different means to dry your plates. Certain models opt for a heating coil to heat up the inside of the machine and assist the water to evaporate, some warm the water further near the final rinse, some use a fan, and certain models employ a mix of all three. There are consequently a number of explanations why your machine could not be drying plates optimally and a variety of options to improve the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth taking note whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first make use of this troubleshooting guide to figure out what the problem is and with any luck fix it.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more annoying than an appliance that isn’t working as it should, whether that’s a smartphone that really isn’t being that smart, a washing machine that’s churning out dirty clothes, or a dishwasher that is either not removing the dirt from or drying your crockery and cutlery. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a few places you can look to help you figure out the problem.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and you will find that some dishwashers do a better job of drying your dishes than others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your crockery and cutlery in the past one of these areas may be the problem.

Have a Look at How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the machine. Before assuming the machine is faulty you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates and so if you have run out of rinse aid or the rinse aid dispenser is broken this can mean wet dishes at the end of the cycle.

Visually check the rinse aid dispenser for damage and ensure that there is rinse aid inside.

Inspect The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a not working heating coil might be the reason your appliance is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot at the end of the cycle this can be a good indicator that the heating element is faulty.

To check the heating coil first unplug the appliance, then find the heating coil, you might need the owners manual to do this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your dishwasher overheating, regulating the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s faulty this can result in your dishwasher not heating up at all.

If the heating element appears to be in working order but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat could be at fault. Once again you can check this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will use a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the dishwasher. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will condense on the crockery and cutlery instead preventing them from drying.

You can make use of your instruction manual to find out if your appliance uses a fan and locate it. Again you need to ensure the machine is unplugged before trying to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to check if there is anything lodged that might stop it from working correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Ability

There are a number of things you can do to improve your dishwashers drying ability and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Allow ample space between dishes. Overcrowding the machine inhibits the circulation of air and water making removing the dirt from and drying your plates harder. Although it’s appealing to try and cram everything in, you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Use rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets include a rinse aid but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the machine will do no harm. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your plates, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
Open your appliance as soon as the program has completed. Some newer models do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the door when the program finishes allows warm air to escape and stop water condensing on the plates as the appliance cools down.
Have a look to see if your machine employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher temperature will mean improved drying times and it may be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Think about how you empty your machine. This is simply because cups and glasses that are upside down on the top shelf often have a concave bottom where water can pool. Emptying the bottom rack first stops you spilling this water onto the crockery and cutlery below.

If you have checked all the above it could be necessary to call in an engineer or perhaps upgrade your machine.