Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your plates dry might in actual fact be more difficult for your machine than cleaning them. Plates and cups have multiple nooks and crannies that can pool water preventing it from evaporating, plus as your appliance cools down water condenses from the steam.

Different machines also employ a variety of approaches to dry your dishes. Certain models will employ a heating element to heat up the inside of the machine and help with evaporation, some warm the water more near the end of the cycle, some have a fan, and some make use of a combination of all of these. There are consequently a number of explanations why your machine might not be drying plates optimally and a number of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully than other materials as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying effectively you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first make use of this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

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

Not all dishwashers are created equal and you will find that some appliances perform to a better standard compared to others. But if you notice a change in how effectively your machine is working one of these issues may be the problem.

Check How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

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

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your crockery and cutlery and so if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can result in wet crockery and cutlery at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is check the rinse aid dispenser for cracks and ensure that it’s full.

Have a Look at The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your dishes so a not working heating element could be the explanation your dishwasher is not drying plates. If your plates don’t feel hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating element first disconnect the dishwasher, then find the heating element, you may need the instruction manual for this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

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

If you check the heating element and do not find an issue but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat might be at fault. Once again you can check this using a multimeter.

Check The Drying Fan and Vent

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

You can utilize your manual to ascertain if your appliance has a fan and find its location. Again you need to ensure the appliance is unplugged before attempting to access the fan.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to see if there is anything lodged that could prevent it from working correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Capability

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

  1. Allow sufficient space between dishes. Overloading the appliance inhibits the flow of air and water making cleaning and drying your plates more difficult. It might be appealing to cram everything in but you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
  2. Use rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even so, adding a little extra to the appliance 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.
  3. Open your appliance as soon as the program has finished. Some new models have this as an automatic option, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine at the end of the program can help allow the water to evaporate thus preventing water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
  4. Have a look to see if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher heat will result in better drying times and it may be possible to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
  5. Unload the lower level before the top. This doesn’t affect how effective your machine is, 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 may be a good idea to call in an engineer or even upgrade your machine.

More Dishwasher Problems:

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