Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your plates dry may in actual fact be more difficult for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Plates and glassware have lots of crevices that may pool water making it more difficult for it to evaporate, thus as your machine loses heat water droplets form from the steam.

Different machines also employ a number of approaches to dry your plates. Certain models opt for a heating element to warm the inside of the machine and help the water to evaporate, some heat up the water further approaching the final rinse, some make use of a fan, and some use a mix of all three. There are consequently a number of explanations why your dishwasher could not be drying dishes optimally and a variety of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than other materials as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If dishes are coming out wet you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first make use of this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more frustrating than a home appliance that doesn’t work 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 plates. 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 makes and models are built to the same spec and some dishwashers perform to a superior standard compared to others. But if you notice a change in how well your dishwasher is working one of these issues might be the cause.

Inspect the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the appliance. Before assuming the machine is not working you should first check that you haven’t overloaded it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. It’s also worth noting that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your dishwasher needs rinse aid to properly dry your dishes thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is broken this can result in wet plates at the end of the cycle.

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

Check The Heating Element

Without enough heat your crockery and cutlery will not dry so a faulty heating coil could be the reason your appliance is not drying crockery and cutlery. If your dishes don’t feel hot at the end of the cycle this can mean that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating element first unplug the dishwasher, then locate the heating coil, you might need the manual for this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

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

If the heating coil appears to be working as it should but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be the problem. Again you can check this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Fan and Vent

Many machines will utilize a fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the dishwasher. If either of these elements are broken then the water vapor will condense on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

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

You can look at the fan and vent to check if there is anything lodged that would prevent it from operating correctly. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Increase Drying Capability

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

  1. Allow sufficient space between crockery and cutlery. Overfilling the machine limits the flow of both water and air making cleaning and drying your dishes more difficult. It could be appealing to stuff everything in but you will get better results if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
  2. Utilize rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a little extra to the machine won’t hurt. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your dishes, helping water run off quickly, speeding up drying time and giving a spot and streak free finish.
  3. Open your dishwasher as soon as the program has finished. Some new machines have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the dishwasher when the cycle completes allows warm air to evaporate and stop water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
  4. Have a look to see if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and it could be possible to choose which points in the program you add more heat.
  5. Think about how you unload your dishwasher. 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 this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it might be time to phone the professionals or perhaps buy a new machine.

More Dishwasher Problems:

  • Dishwasher Being Loud
  • Dishwasher Not Turning On
  • Dishwasher Not Draining
  • Dishwasher Leaking