Is Your Dishwasher Not Drying Dishes? | Boca Raton Appliance Repair

It may not be the primary function but drying your plates could really be harder for your dishwasher than getting them clean. Crockery and cutlery and glassware have multiple crevices that may pool dishwater making it more difficult for it to dry out, thus as your dishwasher cools down water droplets form out of the steam.

Dishwashers also utilize a variety of different approaches to dry your crockery and cutlery. Certain models opt for a heating element to heat up the inside of the machine and assist with evaporation, some heat the water to a higher temperature nearing the final rinse, certain models have a fan, and some have a combination of all three. There are consequently a variety of explanations why your dishwasher may not be drying crockery and cutlery optimally and a variety of things you can do to improve the situation.

Plastic is less likely to dry fully than other materials as it doesn’t retain heat in the same way which helps with the drying process, so it’s worth noting whether the items that aren’t drying are predominantly plastic items.

If your dishwasher doesn’t seem to be drying properly 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 Reasons Your Dishwasher Isn’t Drying Crockery and Cutlery

There is nothing more irritating 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 removing the dirt from or drying your plates. If you open the dishwasher to wet plates here are a number of places you can look to help you figure out the issue.

Not all appliances are created equal and you will find that some appliances do a better job of drying your crockery and cutlery than others. However, if you notice a change in how well your machine is working one of these issues could be the problem.

Check How Your Machine Has Been Loaded

Sometimes there is nothing actually wrong with the appliance. Before assuming the machine is not working you should look at how it has been loaded, ensuring it isn’t too full. It’s also worth noting that plastic items don’t dry as well as metal, glass or ceramics.

Have a Look at The Rinse Aid Dispenser

Your machine needs rinse aid to properly dry your plates 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 dispenser for cracks and ensure that there is rinse aid inside.

Inspect The Heating Element

Heat is essential for drying your plates so a broken heating element may be the explanation your dishwasher is not working as it should. If your plates don’t feel hot to touch when they come out of the machine this can indicate that the heating element is faulty.

To check the heating element first unplug the dishwasher, then find the heating coil, you could need the manual to do this, and use a multimeter to check it’s working.

Inspect the Thermostat

The thermostat stops your appliance overheating, determining the temperature of the water and the drying part of the cycle. Therefore, if it’s faulty this can result in your appliance not heating up at all.

If the heating coil seems to be working as it should but there’s still no heat, then the thermostat could be the issue. Once again you can test this using a multimeter.

Inspect The Drying Fan and Vent

Many dishwashers will utilize a drying fan and vent to suck moist air from the appliance. If either of these elements are broken then the steam will condense on the crockery and cutlery instead preventing them from drying.

You can make use of your user manual to check if your machine uses a fan and locate it. Again you need to make sure the machine is disconnected before attempting to make repairs.

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

Ways to Boost Drying Power

There are a variety of things you can do to boost your appliances effectiveness at drying and ensure you need to get the drying up cloth out as infrequently as possible.

Don’t overfill the machine. Overfilling the machine inhibits the circulation of air and water decreasing the effectiveness of your appliance when it comes to both cleaning and finishing your dishes. Although it’s tempting to try and cram everything in, your machine will be more effective if you leave enough space so that water and air can circulate freely.
Employ rinse aid. Some detergents 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 crockery and cutlery helping the water to run off them and thus making them dry more quickly and evenly.
Open your appliance as soon as the program has finished. Some newer dishwashers have this as an automatic function, but many do not, thus, opening the machine at the end of the cycle can help allow the water to evaporate thus preventing water droplets forming as the dishwasher cools down.
Find out if your appliance employs a heat feature and use it. The higher the temperature the better the drying and it could be possible to add more heat at different points in the program.
Think about how you empty your machine. This doesn’t affect how well your machine works, but it does stop water from cups and glasses falling on dishes below.

If you have checked all the above it could be a good idea to phone the professionals or perhaps upgrade your dishwasher.