Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your dishes could really be harder for your machine than getting them clean. Plates and glassware have lots of crevices that may collect water making it more difficult for it to dry out, and as your machine loses heat water condenses from the humid air.

Different machines also make use of a number of different methods to dry your dishes. Some will have a heating element to heat up the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some heat up the water more near the final rinse, certain models use a fan, and some make use of a combination of all of these. There are therefore a variety of reasons why your dishwasher might not be drying plates optimally and a number of options to rectify 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 seeing whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying properly you can call 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 Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more annoying than a home appliance that isn’t working properly, 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 cleaning or drying your plates. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates there are a number of places you can look to help you figure out the problem.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some appliances perform to a superior standard compared to others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these issues may be the problem.

Inspect the Placement of Your Dishes

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the machine. Before assuming the appliance is not working you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. 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 crockery and cutlery thus, if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

The best thing to do is inspect the dispenser for cracks and ensure that there is rinse aid inside.

Inspect The Heating Coil

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a faulty heating coil may be the explanation your dishwasher is not drying dishes. If your dishes don’t feel hot when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil is faulty.

To inspect the heating coil first disconnect the machine, then find the heating coil, you might need the instruction manual to do this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your machine overheating, determining the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s not working this can mean your dishwasher doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an issue but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be the issue. Once again you can make sure with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will employ a drying fan and vent to suck moist air from the appliance. If either of these elements are faulty then the steam will remain in the machine preventing the crockery and cutlery from drying.

You can use your instruction manual to ascertain if your appliance has a fan and find its location. Again you need to double check the machine is unplugged before attempting to make repairs.

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

Ways to Increase Drying Ability

There are a number of methods you can use to improve how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and ensureyou have to hand dry as little as possible.

Allow sufficient space between plates. Overcrowding the dishwasher stops the circulation of air and water making removing the dirt from and drying your crockery and cutlery more difficult. It may be tempting to stuff in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave sufficient 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 appliance won’t hurt. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glasses a streak-free finish but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your plates helping the water to run off them and therefore allowing them to dry faster.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some new dishwashers do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine at the end of the cycle allows warm air to evaporate and stop water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Find out if your appliance has a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher temperature will result in better drying times and it might be possible to add more heat at different points in the program.
Unload the lower level first. This doesn’t affect how effective your machine is, but it prevent and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it may be time to phone the professionals or even buy a new machine.