Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your dishes dry could in actual fact be more arduous for your machine than cleaning them. Plates and glassware have lots of nooks and crannies that can collect dishwater making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your appliance cools water droplets form from the steam.

Dishwashers also make use of a variety of different methods to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Some will have a heating coil to warm the inside of the dishwasher and help with evaporation, some heat the water more near the end of the cycle, others have a fan, and others have a mix of all of these. There are consequently a number of reasons why your dishwasher may not be drying plates optimally and a number of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are more difficult to dry than other materials as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet 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 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, 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 dishes. If you open your dishwasher to discover 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 makes and models perform to a superior standard compared to others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your plates in the past one of these areas could be the cause.

Have a Look at How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the dishwasher. Before assuming the dishwasher is broken 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.

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your dishes thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up 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 cracks and check that there is rinse aid inside.

Have a Look at The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your crockery and cutlery so a faulty heating coil could be the reason your appliance is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery don’t feel hot to touch at the end of the cycle this can indicate that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating element you will need to unplug the dishwasher, locate the heating element, you may need the owners manual for this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t overheat, regulating the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s faulty this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

If the heating coil seems to be in working order but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat might be the issue. Again you can make sure with the help of a multimeter.

Check The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will employ a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air from the machine. If either of these elements are faulty then the hot air will remain in the appliance preventing the dishes from drying.

You can employ your manual to ascertain if your appliance uses a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to make sure the dishwasher is unplugged before attempting to make repairs.

First look at the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that could stop it from functioning as it should. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Ability

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and make sure you have to hand dry as infrequently as possible.

Allow sufficient space between crockery and cutlery. Overloading the appliance stops the flow of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both washing and finishing your dishes. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, your appliance will work better if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Utilize rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the machine won’t hurt. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glassware in particular a streak-free finish but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your crockery and cutlery helping the water to run off them and thus making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open the door at the end of the program. Some new models do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the dishwasher at the end of the program allows warm air to evaporate thus stopping water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher uses 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.
Think about how you unload your machine. This doesn’t affect how well your machine works, but it stop and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If you have checked all the above it could be time to phone an engineer or even upgrade your dishwasher.