Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your plates dry may actually be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Dishes and glasses have lots of nooks and crannies that could trap water preventing it from evaporating, and as your dishwasher cools water condenses from the humid air.

Dishwashers also employ a number of different approaches to dry your dishes. Some opt for a heating element to heat up the inside of the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat the water further nearing the final rinse, some use a fan, and some employ a combination of all of these. There are consequently a variety of reasons why your dishwasher might not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a variety of things you can do 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 noting whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying properly you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting guide to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

Few things are more irritating 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 your dishwasher to discover wet plates there are a few places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all makes and models are built to the same spec and some appliances do a better job of drying your dishes than others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these faults could be the cause.

Check the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the machine is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. Also be aware that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your dishes and so if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is faulty this can stop your crockery and cutlery coming out properly dry.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a broken heating coil may be the reason your dishwasher is not drying crockery and cutlery. If your crockery and cutlery don’t feel hot to touch at the end of the cycle this can be a good indicator that the heating coil isn’t working as it should.

To check the heating element first unplug the dishwasher, then locate the heating element, you may need the owners manual for this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your dishwasher overheating, 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 element seems to be in working order but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be at fault. Again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will utilize a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the appliance. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the hot air will condense on the dishes instead preventing them from drying.

You can employ your manual to check if your dishwasher uses a fan and find its location. Again you need to make sure the dishwasher is unplugged before attempting to access the fan.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that would prevent it from functioning as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Ability

There are a variety of methods you can use to boost how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Don’t overcrowd the machine. Overfilling the dishwasher limits the flow of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both washing and finishing your dishes. Although it’s tempting to try and stuff everything in, you will get better results if you leave enough space so that dishes are not touching.
Utilize 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 appliance will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glasses a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your dishes helping the water to run off them and therefore speeding up drying times.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some new dishwashers do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the door at the end of the cycle allows warm air to evaporate and prevent water condensing on the dishes as the dishwasher cools down.
Have a look to see if your appliance has a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and you may be able to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Unload the bottom rack before the top. 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 you have checked all the above it could be time to phone the professionals or even upgrade your dishwasher.