Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Davie Appliance Repair

It may not be the primary function but drying your crockery and cutlery might in actual fact be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Plates and glassware have lots of crevices that may collect dishwater making it more difficult for it to evaporate, thus as your dishwasher loses heat water condenses from the humid air.

Dishwashers also make use of a number of different approaches to dry your dishes. Certain models will use a heating coil to warm the inside of the dishwasher and help the water to evaporate, some heat the water further near the end of the cycle, certain models employ a fan, and certain models employ a mix of all of these. There are consequently a variety of explanations why your dishwasher could not be drying crockery and cutlery fully and a variety of options to improve the situation.

Plastic items are more difficult to dry than other materials as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth seeing whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If dishes are coming out wet you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first use this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the problem.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

There is nothing more irritating than an appliance that doesn’t work as it should, regardless of whether its a smartspeaker, washing machine or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were designed for. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are created equal and some dishwashers perform to a superior standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how well your dishwasher is working one of these areas might be the problem.

Inspect How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

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

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your dishwasher needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates and so if you have run out of rinse aid or your rinse aid dispenser is broken this can stop your plates coming out properly dry.

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

Have a Look at The Heating Coil

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

To inspect the heating coil first disconnect the machine, then locate the heating element, you could need the instruction manual to do this, then check for continuity using a multimeter.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your machine overheating, regulating the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s broken this can result in your machine not heating up at all.

If you check the heating coil and do not discover an issue but your machine isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat may be at fault. Again you can test this with the help of a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Fan and Vent

Many appliances will employ a drying fan and vent to suck moist air out of the machine. If the fan isn’t operating as is should or the vent is blocked then the steam will remain in the dishwasher preventing the dishes from drying.

You can employ your user manual to ascertain if your appliance has a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to ensure the dishwasher is unplugged before trying to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to see if anything is blocking it that might stop it from functioning correctly. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Increase Drying Power

There are a number of methods you can use to boost your appliances effectiveness at drying and make sureyou have to hand dry as infrequently as possible.

Allow sufficient space between crockery and cutlery. Overloading the dishwasher limits the circulation of air and water making cleaning and drying your plates more difficult. It might be tempting to cram everything in but your appliance will be more effective if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Utilize 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 machine won’t hurt. Rinse aid works by breaking the bond between water molecules and your plates, 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 cycle. Some new dishwashers have this as an automatic function, but many do not, thus, opening the door at the end of the program allows warm air to evaporate and stop water condensing on the plates as the dishwasher cools down.
Check if your dishwasher employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and it might be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Unload the lower level before the top. 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 this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it may be necessary to call in an engineer or perhaps buy a new dishwasher.