Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It may not be the primary function but drying your crockery and cutlery could actually be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Crockery and cutlery and cups have lots of crevices that could pool water stopping it from evaporating, and as your appliance loses heat water droplets form from the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a number of methods to dry your plates. Certain models will employ a heating coil to warm the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat up the water to a higher temperature near the end of the cycle, certain models have a fan, and others make use of a mix of all of these. There are thus a number of explanations why your dishwasher may not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a number of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth taking note whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If dishes are coming out wet you can call a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more irritating than a home appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, regardless of whether its a tv, tumble dryer or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were designed for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are created equal and some appliances perform to a better standard compared to others. But if you notice a change in how well your dishwasher is working one of these faults could be the cause.

Check How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the machine is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. It’s also worth noting that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your plates therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is broken this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

Visually check the dispenser for damage and check that it’s full.

Inspect The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a faulty heating element may be the explanation your dishwasher is not drying plates. If your plates aren’t hot at the end of the cycle this can mean that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating coil you will need to unplug the machine, locate the heating coil, you could need the owners manual for this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t overheat, determining the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s not working this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an fault but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat could be the problem. Once again you can test this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many appliances will use a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the dishwasher. If either of these elements are faulty then the steam will form droplets on the crockery and cutlery instead preventing them from drying.

You can utilize your instruction manual to ascertain if your appliance has a fan and find its location. Again you need to double check the machine is disconnected before trying to access the fan.

First look at the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that might stop it from working as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Ability

There are a variety of methods you can use to improve how well your machine dries your dishes and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

Don’t cram the machine. Overcrowding the machine stops the flow of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both cleaning and drying your dishes. It may be tempting to cram in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Use rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the machine can only improve matters. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your crockery and cutlery, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
Open the door at the end of the program. Some newer machines do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the door at the end of the program allows warm air to evaporate and prevent water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Check if your machine uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher heat will mean better drying times and you could be able to add more heat at different points in the program.
Think about how you unload your dishwasher. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, but it prevent and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If none of the above solves the problem it might be a good idea to phone the professionals or even upgrade your dishwasher.