Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Chandler Appliance Repair

It turns out getting your crockery and cutlery dry might really be more arduous for your dishwasher than cleaning them. Crockery and cutlery and cups have multiple crevices that may pool dishwater preventing it from drying out, and as your dishwasher cools water condenses from the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a variety of methods to get your crockery and cutlery dry. Certain models will employ a heating element to warm the inside of the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat up the water to a higher temperature nearing the final rinse, others use a fan, and others use a combination of all three. There are consequently a number of reasons why your dishwasher might not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a number of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than other materials 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 dishes are coming out wet you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting list to figure out what the issue is and with any luck fix it.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Plates

Few things are more frustrating 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 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 makes and models are built to the same spec and some dishwashers do a better job of drying your dishes than others. But if you notice a change in how effectively your dishwasher is working one of these areas could be the cause.

Have a Look at How Your Dishwasher Has Been Loaded

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the appliance is broken you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t overloaded. It’s also worth noting that plastics don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your dishwasher needs rinse aid to properly dry your dishes thus, if you’ve forgotten to top up or your rinse aid dispenser is not working this can stop your dishes coming out properly dry.

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

Check The Heating Element

Without enough heat your crockery and cutlery will not dry so a faulty heating coil could be the reason your appliance is not working as it should. If your crockery and cutlery aren’t hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can be a good indicator that the heating element is faulty.

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

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your dishwasher doesn’t overheat, adjusting the heat of the water and air during drying. However, if it’s broken this can mean your appliance doesn’t heat up at all.

If you check the heating coil and do not uncover an issue but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat could be the problem. Again you can check this with the help of a multimeter.

Have a Look at The Fan and Vent

Many machines will employ a drying fan and vent to suck moist air out of the machine. If either of these elements are broken then the water vapor will remain in the dishwasher preventing the crockery and cutlery from drying.

You can make use of your instruction manual to check if your appliance has a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to double check the dishwasher is unplugged before trying to access the fan.

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

Ideas to Boost Drying Capability

There are a number of things you can do to improve how well your dishwasher dries your dishes and make sure you have to hand dry as little as possible.

Don’t overcrowd the machine. Overfilling the dishwasher inhibits the circulation of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your machine when it comes to both washing and drying your dishes. Although it’s tempting to try and cram everything in, you will get better results if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Employ rinse aid. Some dishwasher tablets already have this but even so, adding a separate rinse aid to the machine will do no harm. Rinse aid helps reduce marks and gives your glassware in particular a streak-free shine but it also breaks the bond between water molecules and your dishes helping the water to run off them and therefore allowing them to dry faster.
Open your machine as soon as the program has finished. Some new machines do this automatically, but many do not, thus, opening the door when the cycle completes allows warm air to escape and stop water droplets forming as the machine cools down.
Find out if your appliance employs a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the temperature the better the drying and you might be able to choose which points in the program you increase the temperature.
Think about how you empty your dishwasher. This doesn’t affect how effective your machine is, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If this trouble shooting guide hasn’t worked it may be necessary to phone an engineer or even buy a new machine.