Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Elite Bloomington Appliance Repair

It turns out getting your crockery and cutlery dry could actually be harder for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Crockery and cutlery and cups have multiple nooks and crannies that could trap water making it more difficult for it to dry out, plus as your machine cools down water droplets form from the steam.

Different machines also utilize a variety of different approaches to get your dishes dry. Certain models will use a heating coil to warm the inside of the machine and assist 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 certain models make use of a combination of all of these. There are consequently a variety of explanations why your dishwasher might not be drying plates fully and a variety of things you can do 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 seeing 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 call a dishwasher repair service or first make use of this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Dishes

There is nothing more frustrating than a home appliance that isn’t working as it should, 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 crockery and cutlery. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates there are a few troubleshooting tips to help you figure out why.

Not all dishwashers are built to the same spec and you will find that some dishwashers do a better job of drying your plates than others. But if you notice a change in how effectively your dishwasher is working one of these areas might be the problem.

Inspect How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is not working you should first check that you haven’t overfilled it or accidentally stacked items one inside the other. It’s also worth noting that plastic items are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Rinse aid plays a key role in drying your plates thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can result in wet plates at the end of the cycle.

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

Inspect The Heating Coil

Without enough heat your crockery and cutlery will not dry so a broken heating element could be the explanation your machine is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery don’t feel hot when they come out of the machine this can mean that the heating coil is faulty.

To inspect the heating coil you will need to disconnect the dishwasher, find the heating coil, you might need the manual to do this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Check the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your machine getting too hot, regulating the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. However, if it’s faulty this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating element and do not find an issue but your dishwasher isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat might be the issue. Again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many machines will employ a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the dishwasher. If either of these elements are faulty then the hot air will form droplets on the crockery and cutlery instead preventing them from drying.

You can make use of your user manual to check if your appliance has a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to make sure the dishwasher is disconnected before attempting to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that would stop it from operating as it is supposed to. If there is nothing obvious you can then test for continuity using a multimeter.

Ways to Increase Drying Capability

There are a number of methods you can use to increase how well your machine dries your dishes and make sureyou have to hand dry as little as possible.

Don’t overload the dishwasher. Overloading the appliance inhibits the flow of both water and air making removing the dirt from and drying your dishes more difficult. It could be tempting to cram in as much as possible but your dishwasher will be more effective if you leave enough space so that crockery and cutlery are not touching.
Use rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the appliance will do no harm. 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 consequently making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open your dishwasher as soon as the program has finished. Some new models do this automatically, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine when the cycle finishes can help allow the water to evaporate and prevent water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
Check if your appliance has a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher temperature will mean improved drying times and it might be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Empty the lower level before the top. This doesn’t affect how well your machine works, but it prevent and water spilling that has collected in the concave bottoms of cups and glasses.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it could be necessary to call in the professionals or even buy a new machine.