Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out drying your crockery and cutlery could really be more arduous for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Dishes and glasses have multiple nooks and crannies that can trap dishwater preventing it from drying out, and as your dishwasher loses heat water condenses from the humid air.

Different machines also employ a number of approaches to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Some will have a heating coil to heat up the air in the dishwasher and help the water to evaporate, some heat up the water more near the end of the cycle, certain models use a fan, and some employ a combination of all three. There are thus a variety of reasons why your machine may not be drying plates optimally and a variety of options 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 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 employ this troubleshooting guide to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

There is nothing more irritating than a home appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, regardless of whether its a smartspeaker, air conditioner or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a few places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are created equal and some dishwashers perform to a better standard compared to others. However, if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these issues might be the cause.

Check How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the machine is not working you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. Also be aware that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your crockery and cutlery thus, if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is not working this can result in wet dishes at the end of the cycle.

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

Check The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a not working heating coil might be the explanation your machine is not drying plates. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating element is broken.

To check the heating coil you will need to disconnect the appliance, find the heating element, you might need the instruction manual to do this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your dishwasher doesn’t get too hot, regulating the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s broken this can result in your machine not heating up at all.

If the heating element seems to be working as it should but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be at fault. Once 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 suck moist air from the appliance. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will form droplets on the dishes instead leaving them wet.

You can use your instruction manual to check if your dishwasher has a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to make sure the machine is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to check if anything is blocking it that could prevent it from operating as it is supposed to. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Increase Drying Capability

There are a number of things you can do to improve how well your machine dries your dishes and ensure you need to get the drying up cloth out as little as possible.

Allow sufficient space between plates. Overcrowding the appliance limits the flow of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your appliance when it comes to both washing and drying your dishes. It may be appealing 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.
Make use of rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the dishwasher can only improve matters. 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 cycle has ended. Some new dishwashers do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the dishwasher when the cycle finishes allows warm air to escape thus preventing water condensing on the contents as the machine cools down.
Have a look to see if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and utilize it. The higher the temperature the better the drying and you might be able to choose which points in the program you add more heat.
Unload the lower level first. 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 time to phone the professionals or perhaps replace your dishwasher.