Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes?

It turns out getting your crockery and cutlery dry might in actual fact be harder for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Plates and glasses have lots of nooks and crannies that may collect water making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your appliance cools down water droplets form out of the humid air.

Dishwashers also make use of a variety of different approaches to dry your crockery and cutlery. Certain models will employ a heating element to warm the air in the machine and help with evaporation, some heat up the water to a higher temperature nearing the end of the cycle, certain models make use of a fan, and some make use of a combination of all of these. There are thus a number of explanations why your dishwasher may not be drying dishes optimally and a number of options to improve the situation beyond searching appliance repair near me in the hopes of finding professional help.

Plastic items are more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth taking note whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If dishes are coming out wet you can call a dishwasher repair service or first use this troubleshooting guide to figure out what the problem is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more annoying 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 dishes. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are built to the same spec and you will find that some dishwashers perform to a better standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how effectively your machine is working one of these issues could be the cause.

Inspect the Placement of Your Dishes

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is broken you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. Also be aware that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates 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.

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

Check The Heating Element

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a broken heating element could be the explanation your dishwasher is not working as it should. If your dishes aren’t hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating coil is broken.

To inspect the heating element you will need to disconnect the machine, find the heating element, you could need the instruction manual to do this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your appliance doesn’t get too hot, adjusting the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s broken this can result in your machine not reaching a high enough temperature.

If you check the heating element and do not uncover an fault but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat could be the issue. Once again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Drying Fan and Vent

Many appliances will employ a drying 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 water vapor will remain in the machine preventing the plates from drying.

You can employ your instruction manual to check if your machine has a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to make sure the appliance is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

You can look at the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that might stop it from working as it is supposed to. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Boost Drying Power

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase your appliances drying ability and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as little as possible.

Don’t overload the machine. Overloading the appliance limits the flow of air and water making removing the dirt from and drying your plates more difficult. It could be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but you will get better results if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Use rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance won’t hurt. Rinse aid helps reduce spotting and gives your glasses a streak-free finish but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your plates helping the water to run off them and therefore allowing them to dry faster.
Open the door at the end of the cycle. Some new models do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the door when the program completes allows warm air to evaporate thus stopping water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Find out if your appliance uses a heat feature and utilize it. Setting a higher heat will mean improved drying times and it may be possible to choose which points in the cycle you increase the temperature.
Empty the bottom rack 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 plates below.

If you have checked all the above it might be time to phone the professionals or even replace your dishwasher.