Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Beaverton Appliance Repair

It may not be the primary function but drying your dishes might actually be harder for your machine than getting them clean. Dishes and cups have multiple nooks and crannies that can trap dishwater making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your appliance cools down water condenses out of the steam.

Dishwashers also employ a number of different methods to get your plates dry. Some will have a heating coil to heat up the air in the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat the water further near the final rinse, certain models employ a fan, and some employ a mix of all three. There are therefore a number of explanations why your machine could not be drying dishes optimally and a variety of things you can do to rectify the situation.

Plastic items are less likely to dry fully than glass or ceramics as it cools down more quickly hindering the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the drying issue is related to the material rather than the machine.

If dishes are coming out wet you can enlist the help of a dishwasher repair service or first make use of 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 annoying than a home appliance that isn’t working properly, regardless of whether its a tv, washing machine or dishwasher we expect them to do the job they were made for. If you open your dishwasher to discover wet plates there are a few places you can look to help you figure out why.

Not all appliances are built to the same spec and some makes and models perform to a higher standard compared to others. However, if you notice a change in how well your machine is working one of these faults might be the problem.

Have a Look at the Placement of Your Crockery and Cutlery

It might be that there is no fault with the appliance. Before assuming the dishwasher is not working you should look at how it has been stacked, ensuring it isn’t too full. Also be aware that plastics are more difficult to dry than metal, glass or ceramics.

Check The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your appliance needs rinse aid to properly dry your crockery and cutlery therefore, if you’ve forgotten to top up or the rinse aid dispenser is not working this can mean wet dishes at the end of the cycle.

The best thing to do is inspect the dispenser for damage and ensure that there is rinse aid inside.

Check The Heating Element

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

To check the heating element first disconnect the appliance, then find the heating element, you may need the instruction manual for this, then use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Have a Look at the Thermostat

The thermostat ensures your appliance doesn’t get too hot, determining the heat of the water and air during drying. Therefore, if it’s not working this can mean your machine doesn’t heat up at all.

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

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many appliances will utilize a 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 hot air will condense on the plates instead preventing them from drying.

You can employ your manual to ascertain if your machine uses a fan and locate it. Don’t forget to make sure the dishwasher is unplugged before attempting to make repairs.

You can look at the fan and vent to ascertain if there is anything lodged that might prevent it from functioning as it is supposed to. And again testing for continuity using a multimeter.

Ideas to Boost Drying Capability

There are a variety of methods you can use to increase your dishwashers effectiveness at drying and ensureyou have to hand dry as infrequently as possible.

Allow ample space between dishes. Overfilling the dishwasher inhibits the circulation of air and water making cleaning and drying your crockery and cutlery more difficult. It could be appealing to cram in as much as possible but your dishwasher will be more effective if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Utilize rinse aid. Some detergents already have this but even so, adding a little extra to the dishwasher 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 program. Some newer models have this as an automatic option, but many do not, thus, opening the door at the end of the program can help allow the water to escape and stop water condensing on the dishes as the dishwasher cools down.
Find out if your dishwasher uses a heat feature and make sure it’s turned on. The higher the heat the better the drying and it could be possible to add more heat at different points in the cycle.
Empty the bottom rack before the top. This doesn’t affect how effective your dishwasher is, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If none of the above solves the problem it may be time to call in an engineer or even buy a new dishwasher.