My dishwasher is not heating or drying my dishes

There is a difference between a dishwasher that is not drying dishes properly and one that does not heat up at all.

If your dishwasher is not heating up at all then we advise that you book a repair engineer to take a look at it. An appliance that doesn't heat up usually signals a more serious issue such as an electrical fault or burnt out heating element. Unless you are a qualified electrician we do not advise that you try to repair this yourself.

If your dishwasher is just not drying your dishes properly then there are simple things you can do to improve the situation. Three common issues are:

  • Improper loading of the machine

    This is an issue that we all laugh about, 'how best to load the machine'. In reality there are 'good ways' and 'bad ways' to load a dishwasher to get the most out of it.

    A key thing to remember when loading your dishwasher is to always leave space between items to allow water and heat to circulate around. If you want to learn more about the best ways to load your machine then go to our 'What is the best way to load my dishwasher' guide.

  • Plastic items do not dry well in a dishwasher

    If you are trying to dry plastic items such as plates, glasses and food containers, then you may not get satisfactory results from your dishwasher. Plastic items do not retain heat well and so can be difficult to dry. Check the dishwasher's User Manual and you may find that there is a specific function on your machine for when you want to dry plastic items.

  • You are not using a rinse aid

    For dishes to dry really well in a dishwasher it can be useful to use a 'rinse aid' (surfactants). Put simply, your dishes will never be as clean or as dry coming out of your dishwasher if you don't use a rinse aid. Over the years some chemicals have actually been taken out of dishwasher detergents, which make them less efficient than before at cleaning and drying your dishes. Using a rinse aid causes water globules to spread out so that they dry more quickly and don't concentrate their mineral deposits in one place - hence cleaner & dryer dishes. Rinse aids come in all shapes and sizes (they may even be included if you use dishwasher tablets), but whichever one you choose we recommend using them to get the most out of your dishwasher.