Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Nashville Appliance Repair

It may not be the primary function but drying your dishes could in actual fact be more difficult for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Dishes and glasses have lots of crevices that could pool dishwater preventing it from evaporating, and as your machine loses heat water droplets form from the humid air.

Dishwashers also employ a variety of different means to get your plates dry. Certain models will have a heating element to heat up the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some warm the water further nearing the end of the cycle, certain models have a fan, and certain models employ a mix of all of these. There are thus a number of reasons why your machine may not be drying plates optimally and a number of options to rectify the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth taking note whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying properly you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first use this troubleshooting list to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

There is nothing more irritating than an appliance that doesn’t work as it’s meant to, regardless of whether its a tv, washing machine 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 places you can look to help you figure out the problem.

Not all makes and models are created equal and you will find that some makes and models do a better job of drying your plates than others. But if if your dishwasher has always dried your dishes in the past one of these areas could be the cause.

Check How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the machine 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 don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

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

Visually check the dispenser for cracks and check that there is rinse aid inside.

Check The Heating Element

Without enough heat your dishes will not dry so a faulty heating coil could be the explanation your machine is not drying plates. If your dishes don’t feel hot at the end of the cycle this can indicate that the heating element isn’t working as it should.

To inspect the heating coil first disconnect the dishwasher, then find the heating element, you could need the owners manual for this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your machine doesn’t overheat, adjusting the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s faulty this can result in your appliance not heating up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not discover an issue but your machine isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat might be the problem. Again you can make sure with the help of a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will use a fan and vent to suck moist air from the dishwasher. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will condense on the crockery and cutlery instead preventing them from drying.

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

First look at the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that might prevent it from operating as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Capability

There are a number of methods you can use to improve your machines effectiveness at drying and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Don’t cram the dishwasher. Overloading the machine inhibits the circulation of both water and air decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both cleaning and drying your dishes. Although it’s appealing to try and stuff everything in, you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Make use of rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the machine will do no harm. 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 the door at the end of the program. Some new machines do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine when the cycle completes allows warm air to evaporate and prevent water droplets forming as the appliance cools down.
Check if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher heat will lead to better drying times and you could be able to add more heat at different points in the program.
Empty the lower level before the top. This doesn’t affect how well your dishwasher works, 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 necessary to phone an engineer or even upgrade your machine.