XT Appliances · Warren
Dishwasher not drying the dishes
Start with the rinse aid, especially if the plastics come out wettest; if the wash water is cold too, the heating element is more likely.
Drying starts in the final rinse. The dishwasher adds a small dose of rinse aid to that water so it runs off the dishes in a sheet instead of sitting in drops. Then the heating element radiates heat into the tub, and on many models a vent opens or a small fan runs so the steam can get out. Which dishes come out wet, and how warm they feel, narrows it down.
Reading the rack
If glasses and plates come out mostly dry but the plastic containers are dripping, and the glasses have spots or a cloudy film, the rinse aid has run out or isn't being dispensed. Plastics show it first. Refilling the reservoir is the easiest fix on the list, so check it before anything else. If the reservoir empties much faster than it should, its cap seal may be cracked, and if it never seems to go down, the dispenser may not be metering it out.
If everything is wet and the dishes feel cool when the cycle ends, the heating element is the likely cause. A burned-out element fails both of its jobs at once: the wash water never gets hot, and nothing warms the load at the end, so cleaning tends to suffer along with drying. When the element itself is fine but never gets power, the next suspects are the safety thermostat wired in line with it and the relay on the control board that switches it on.
If the wash is clearly hot and the dishes come out clean but damp, and opening the door lets out a cloud of trapped steam, the heat is there and the moisture has nowhere to go. That points at a vent door that isn't opening at the dry step, or a dry fan that isn't running. A failed element would leave the wash water cold as well, and a stuck vent won't.
What we test
Our technician checks the rinse aid dispenser and its setting first, then tests the heating element and the parts that feed it power, and watches the vent at the dry step on models that have one.
What it usually turns out to be
- Cleaning or upkeepRinse aid empty or not dispensingRinse aid makes the final rinse water sheet off the dishes instead of sitting in drops. Without it, glasses come out spotted and plastics come out wet, even when the heat works.
- PartHeating elementThe element heats the wash water and radiates heat to dry the load at the end. When it burns out, both jobs fail, so the dishes come out cool as well as wet.
- PartVent or dry fanMany dishwashers open a vent or run a small fan at the dry step to let the steam out. A hot wash and clean dishes that still come out damp, with steam trapped inside, point here.
- PartHigh-limit thermostat or heater relayWhen the element itself is good but never gets power, the safety thermostat wired in line with it or the relay on the control board that switches it on is the next suspect.
Try this first
- Fill the rinse aid reservoir, and if a low rinse aid light stays on after you fill it, mention that when you call.
- If your dishwasher has a rinse aid dose setting, make sure it isn't turned down to zero.
- If your model has a heated dry option, make sure it's selected.
- When the cycle ends, open the door and notice whether the tub is warm and steamy or cool, without touching the heating element.
Stop using it and call now if
- A burning smell
- The breaker trips every time it runs
Other dishwasher problems
- Dishwasher won't drain
- Dishwasher leaves dishes dirty or gritty
- Dishwasher leaking on the floor
- Dishwasher won't start or stops mid-cycle
Or go back to dishwasher repair in Warren.