Your Dishwasher Leaves Your Dishes Still Wet After Drying

Convenient to use, dishwashers enable you to quickly wash, rinse and dry all your crockery, cutlery, glasses and utensils. How exactly do these machines dry the plates, cutlery, glasses, etc., that are placed inside them? Quite simply by making use of the latent heat given off by these items after they've been rinsed with hot water. The heat causes the residual moisture to evaporate. If the contents of your dishwasher are not drying, you need to find out what the cause is before taking any remedial action.

THE POSSIBLE CAUSES FOR THIS FAULT :

• There is no rinse aid left

• The door has been opened too soon

• The drain filter is clogged

• The drain pump is clogged or not working

• The waste water drain hose (external) is blocked

• All-in-one dishwasher tablets are not suitable for the machine in question

WARNING
Before you do anything to your appliance, make sure you disconnect it from the power supply.
There is a risk of electric shock.

There is no rinse aid left

The most common reason why items in the dishwasher are still wet when the machine has finished is the absence of rinse aid. Released during the hot rinse cycle, rinse aid contains non-ionic surfactants, which help the water flow more easily over the items in the dishwasher. You therefore need to check that your dishwasher's rinse aid dispenser is sufficiently full.

The door has been opened too soon

Items washed in the dishwasher can also end up wet due to excessive hastiness on your own part. If you open the door immediately after the programme ends, the sudden thermal shock can actually cause the steam present inside to recondense and leave a layer of moisture on your crockery, cutlery and glasses, etc. If you have enough time available, wait ten minutes before opening the door at the end of the wash programme.

The drain filter is clogged

The process of drying through latent heat works very effectively if the environment in which it is operating is not too damp, which essentially means that the waste water needs to be drained away quickly. However, if your machine's drain filter is clogged, the water will take longer to drain away (and will perhaps end up not draining away at all). You therefore need to check the condition of the drain filter and, if necessary, clean it by washing in water. If, on the other hand, the drain filter is in poor condition (i.e. damaged or broken), it will need to be replaced.

Purchase a filter for your dishwasher

The drain pump is clogged or not working

The drain pump can also be responsible for water draining away too slowly. Dismantle it and check it isn't blocked by small objects or scraps of food. If you think it may no longer be working, test it first with a multimeter before deciding to replace it.

Purchase a drain pump for your dishwasher

The waste water drain hose (external) is blocked

The final component that may potentially be causing the water to drain away slowly, and, as a consequence, creating a problem with drying, is the water drain hose. This can become obstructed or bent/kinked to such an extent that water is only able to pass through it very slowly. You therefore need to check that it's correctly positioned and in good condition along its entire length, from the point where it leaves the dishwasher to the point where it connects to the sink trap or waste pipe.

Purchase a water drain for your dishwasher

All-in-one dishwasher tablets are not suitable for the machine in question

All-in-one dishwasher tablets contain a detergent, an anti-scaling agent and a rinse aid product all combined together in a single dose. They have been designed to make life easier for us. The ingredients are carefully arranged to release at the right time. However, should this not be the case with the particular wash programme used, the rinse aid may dissolve too soon, thus preventing the items in the washer from drying properly. Some dishwashers have a specific programme specially for tablets. If your machine does not have this feature, it is better to avoid all-in-one tablets and instead use three separate products (salt, detergent and liquid rinse aid).