Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Hometown Appliance Repair

It turns out drying your plates may really be harder for your machine than getting them clean. Plates and glassware have lots of crevices that could pool water making it more difficult for it to evaporate, and as your machine cools water condenses out of the humid air.

Dishwashers also utilize a variety of different methods to get your dishes dry. Some will employ a heating coil to heat up the inside of the machine and help with evaporation, some warm the water to a higher temperature near the end of the cycle, others make use of a fan, and others use a combination of all three. There are consequently a number of reasons why your dishwasher might not be drying dishes fully and a variety of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully 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 dishes are coming out wet you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first employ this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

Few things are more frustrating than an 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 designed for. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates there are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some appliances do a better job of drying your dishes than others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your crockery and cutlery in the past one of these issues may be the cause.

Have a Look at How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is faulty you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your crockery and cutlery thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

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

Check The Heating Coil

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a faulty heating element may be the reason your appliance is not drying plates. If your crockery and cutlery don’t feel hot when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating element is broken.

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

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your machine getting 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 coil seems to be in working order but your appliance isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat might be the issue. Once again you can make sure 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 machine. If either of these elements are faulty then the steam will condense on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

You can utilize your manual to ascertain if your dishwasher has a fan and locate it. Again you need to make sure the appliance is unplugged before trying to access the fan.

You can look at the fan and vent to ascertain if anything is blocking it that could stop it from functioning correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Boost Drying Capability

There are a variety of things you can do to increase your dishwashers drying ability and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Don’t overload the dishwasher. Overcrowding the dishwasher limits the circulation of air and water making cleaning and drying your dishes harder. Although it’s tempting to try and cram everything in, your machine will work better if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Utilize rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even if the brand you use says it does, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance 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.
Open your appliance as soon as the program has ended. Some newer dishwashers do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the door at the end of the program allows warm air to evaporate thus stopping water condensing on the dishes as the machine cools down.
Find out if your appliance has a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the temperature the better the drying and you may be able to choose which points in the cycle you add more heat.
Think about how you unload your machine. This doesn’t affect how well your machine works, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If you have checked all the above it could be necessary to phone the professionals or perhaps buy a new machine.