Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Honolulu Appliance Repair

It may not be the primary function but getting your crockery and cutlery dry might in actual fact be more arduous for your machine than getting them clean. Crockery and cutlery and cups have multiple crevices that may pool dishwater making it more difficult for it to evaporate, thus as your dishwasher cools water droplets form from the steam.

Different machines also employ a variety of different approaches to get your plates dry. Some opt for a heating coil to warm the air in the machine and assist the water to evaporate, some warm the water more approaching the end of the cycle, certain models have a fan, and some use a combination of all of these. There are therefore a number of explanations why your dishwasher might not be drying dishes fully and a variety of things you can do to improve the situation.

Plastic is more difficult to dry than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth taking note whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If your dishwasher isn’t drying effectively you can hire a dishwasher repair service or first utilize this troubleshooting list to help you identify and rectify the issue.

Top Explanations Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

Few things are more annoying than a home appliance that doesn’t work as it should, regardless of whether its a smartspeaker, air conditioner or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a number of troubleshooting tips to help you figure out the problem.

Not all makes and models are created equal and you will find that 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 could be the problem.

Inspect the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

It might be that there is no fault with the dishwasher. Before assuming the machine is faulty you should first check that you haven’t overloaded 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.

Inspect The Rinse Aid Dispenser

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

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

Check The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your crockery and cutlery so a not working heating element might be the explanation your dishwasher is not drying dishes. 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 element you will need to disconnect the machine, find the heating element, you might need the instruction manual for this, and check for continuity using a multimeter.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat prevents your dishwasher overheating, determining the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s broken this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

If the heating coil appears to be working as it should but your machine isn’t getting hot, then the thermostat might be the problem. Once again you can make sure using a multimeter.

Inspect The Fan and Vent

Many machines will use a drying fan and vent to remove the warm moist air out of the appliance. If either of these elements are broken then the steam will form droplets on the crockery and cutlery instead leaving them wet.

You can utilize your user manual to check if your appliance uses a fan and find its location. Don’t forget to make sure the machine is disconnected before trying to make repairs.

First visually inspect the fan and vent to check if there is anything lodged that might prevent it from functioning as it should. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Tips to Increase Drying Capability

There are a number of methods you can use to improve how well your appliance dries your dishes and prevent you needing to dry them by hand as infrequently as possible.

Don’t cram the machine. Overcrowding the dishwasher stops the circulation of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your dishwasher when it comes to both washing and finishing your dishes. It could be appealing to stuff in as much as possible but your dishwasher will be more effective if you leave sufficient space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Make use of rinse aid. Some detergents include a rinse aid but even so, adding a little extra to the appliance can only improve matters. Rinse aid helps reduce marks 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 therefore making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open your dishwasher as soon as the program has finished. Some new dishwashers have this as an automatic option, but if yours doesn’t, opening the machine when the cycle completes allows warm air to escape thus stopping water condensing on the contents as the machine cools down.
Have a look to see if your machine uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. Setting a higher temperature will lead to better drying times and you could be able to choose which points in the program you add more heat.
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 you have checked all the above it might be time to call in an engineer or even buy a new machine.