Are you using rinse agent? It's pretty much *required* on dishwashers nowadays, they run at lower temperatures to meet EnergyStar requirements, even when running a heated dry. If so, and your water condition is toward the hard side, you may need to increase the rinse agent dosage. Most all dispensers are adjustable, see your instruction manual for details.

Are you checking the load immediately after the cycle ends? Don't necessarily expect the machine to be 100% dry at that point. Leave it shut overnight, check what's the condition in the morn. If there's still an objectionable amount of residual moisture, try leaving the door ajar overnight to allow for more air circulation/evaporation.

Thanks for the response. I am using Jet Dry, but I will try increasing the dosage. I ran the dishwasher before I left for work and checked it when I got home and it was pretty wet inside. Should it be completely dry?

tlbb

It was wet inside but are your dishes dry?

Hi jerrod6. I think so. Like I said, I ran it in the morning and didn't check it until the afternoon so I don't know how dry the dishes were at the end of the cycle. When I got home the dishes were dry (a couple drops here and there) but the interior was very wet. Is this normal?

tlbb: Kitchenaid offers so many dishwashers that vary greatly in performance; could you please tell us the model number of your Kitchenaid dishwasher?

Hi stubaby. Yes, it's KUDK03CTSS. I'm going to turn it on right now. I've adjusted the rinse agent from 2 to 4 so I'll see if that makes a difference. Maybe I just never noticed this in my old dishwasher. I'm a little afraid of developing mold. I appreciate the response.

tlbb

I looked at this Dw at the KitchenAid web site. Nice looking machine.

It says that it has dual watt heating(I don't know what that means)so it seems to have heated drying.

Is the wash cabinet stainless steel?

Also I looked at the user manual. It says that during the cycle the wash action will repeatedly stop for several seconds. ??? Does anyone know why the DW does this?

Three possible reasons --

1. IF it alternates between spraying with the upper and lower arms (which KA may not do that), the pauses are so it can switch.

2. The pauses are to help insure better performance by allowing the pump to re-prime repeatedly for full spray pressure. The original tall-tub design didn't have pauses. The upper arm in particular had difficulty reaching into the corners of the rack (glasses placed there sometimes weren't clean or had debris remaining), so pauses were added to allow for repeated surges of spray (when the pump restarts). My neighbor's tall-tub Whirlpool does a sequence of pauses during the main wash phase, exactly for this reason.

3. It could possibly have something to do with auto soil sensing and drain purges ... but I'm leaning toward #2.

tlbb: If the dishes were dry but the inside of the dishwasher was "muggy", that's how the new machines work. With the new energy Star nonsense, I mean requirements, dishwashers now depend on rinse-aid more than ever to help dry the dishes and the interior of machine. If your new dishwasher replaced a much older higher-end DW, don't compare the two...it will depress you. Increase the rinse aid and see how it goes.

jerrod6:

It does have heated dry which is one of the reasons I bought it. It's also stainless inside which I've never had before, so maybe I just notice the moisture more with this finish.

stubaby:

You're right. The dishes were dry, but the inside was wet. I think adjusting the rinse aid helped a lot. I'm just not used to the excess moisture. Does it eventually dry even if the door stays closed? Sometimes I run a load and won't get back to it for 24 hours or so. Would this be a problem? Thanks.

tlbb

Moisture inside your dishwasher should not be a problems as long as it's vapor (-> clean water) from the drying cycle. Especially, if you use the Sanitary cycle / Sani Rinse feature, the dishwasher should be clean enough not to develop any odors or such.

I, too, noticed moisture inside my grandma's Miele dishwasher with CleanAir drying system - especially near the ceiling. I think what happens is that due to the longer drying cycle on the Miele the tub starts cooling while the machine is drying. So by the end of the cycle, any moisture that has not been dealt with by the drying system will condensate onto the cool tub. If you now open the door it'll take the moisture longer to evaporate as the tub is not that hot any more.

Our Siemens (aka Bosch) has a short drying cycle. By the time the cycle is done and I open the door any residual moisture evaporates within minutes because the stainless steel tub is still very hot.

So in conclusion, I'd suggest you could either try to avoid leaving the DW closed after the cycle (have someone else open it, use delay start,...) or use Sani Rinse and/or Heated-Dry to speed up drying.

HTH, Alex

Thanks Alex. Just to be clear, this is not just a little bit of moisture on one part of the dishwasher. The whole interior is wet after a normal wash cycle and heated dry. I'm trying to get an idea from other people if the inside of their stainless steel dishwashers are wet or dry when they open the door after a normal wash cycle with heated dry. Anyone?

I have a new kitchenaid Architect II dishwasher, and I've been paying attention to the interior after reading this thread. The interior is pretty much dry after I run a normal cycle. I am using rinse agent. Some of the top rack glasses have a little water (where the glass is concave at the bottom, for example), but everything seems appropriately dry to me.

tlbb, my Kitchenaid KUDT03 did the same thing early on. The dishes were always dry, but the tub & door sometimes would have a "fog". Increasing the rinse aid a bit helped a lot. I'm also Cascade Complete or Action Packs detergent.

My previous Kitchenaid in another home seemed a bit warmer during the dry cycle. According to Kitchenaid 800# the energy saving aspects have reduced the amount of heat during the dry. Still the machine washes and dries really well. Plus with the low heat dry, plastics are safely washed and dried in the lower rack.

C

I have a Miele with unheated dry and with fan assisted clean air drying and I really don't notice any moisture on the inside of the machine.

Now it might be there, but I will not usually open the door for at least 8 hours or perhaps not even 12 hours after the DW is run (this long before I need anything inside) so maybe it is gone by then.

Some moisture in the top or a bit on the top racks may be OK but dripping wet sides really doesn't sound right to me.

I'm revisiting this issue as we just replaced our not-so-old but fraught-with-issues (not to mention recalled!) GE d/w with the brand spankin' new top of the line LG and we hate it! It does NOT get the dishes dry. What we have been told is that it uses steam only technology and doesn't even have a heating element. Our dishes are spotty with the rinse aid as high as it will go and nothing is ever totally dry, plastics are the worst. I am frustrated beyond belief and now have trepidation that other, high end d/w's will be like this we well.

We are returning the LG for sure. I am considering the KA M series or Architect 2 series, but I want true feedback on how it dries the dishes. Would you believe drying isn't a feature mentioned at all in the Consumer Reports d/w article? It should be.

Also, does anyone know the difference between the KA KUDT03ST and KUDT03FT models? It appears the outside size is different, but does that mean it is bigger inside? All the other specs seem the same (I am working off the Best Buy comparisons)?

We need to make a decision soon as we only have so many days to return it and that date is coming up soon. I never thought it would be so hard to choose an appliance! Now I have a list of things I want to bring - a couple big pots, our cookie sheets, a wine glass. I may feel a bit foolish doing it, but the spacing of the interior means a lot more than I thought it did, besides the drying feature!

Thanks for any and all help you can give me. I just want to be happy and have clean dishes.

Can anyone give any insight on this? We need to decide in a couple days and my brain is truly overwhelmed.

Some models don't have heated drying according to the comparison charts. I suppose those are out for what I am trying to accomplish?

I've had the Kenmore elite cousin of the KA you're thinking about. Had it since last May. I've found the heated dry and the new JetDry Turbo work extremely well.

After turning up the rinse aid my KA is working really well. There is a very small amount of moisture after a normal wash/heat dry cycle, more like humidity. Someone described it as muggy which is a good description. But this is right after the cycle. Usually I don't open the door until several hours after a run and everything is dry.

I really like this dw. It's really big inside so you can fit a TON of stuff in and everything comes out really clean. I would recommend KitchenAid.

tlbb

Rearranging dishes has not helped. They still come out wet and glasses must be hand dried before putting them away in our new cabinets in fear of water marks ruining the interior. We use heat dry and a rinse aid; it gets hot but the moisture stays stuck inside leaving condensation on the stainless steel walls, wet plastics, glasses tops and any little rim wet. Our silverware is now rusting and must be replaced. The only thing that works is to open the door for hours and let things air dry. And this interferes with our ability to open adjacent cabs/ drawers. It is a pain and we never had a problem with other less expensive brands. This model KUDC10FXBL1

I have a similar question.
I am a property manager, one of my tenants keeps complaining about an odor from the dishwasher--which was one month old when she moved in last July. She quit using it, has not used it in 6 weeks, but the inside is full of condensation....I opened the door and water is running down the inside of it.

We have had a plumber, handman, and Sears repairman out. Everybody says it is fine....Sears will no longer honor the warranty. Any ideas?

I agree rinconmd, my KitchenAid is only 4 months old and I have three issues, with only one fixed. First, it just quit cleaning (Fixed) Second, it has the same drying problem as yours, completely wet on the inside (not fixed yet) and Third, top cover over the controls pops off when opening the door. The worst part of all of this is their customer service. It takes 2 weeks to get service, they are rude when calling and they do not return emails. I would take my old Kenmore back in second over this piece of junk! I will never buy another KitchenAid product again.

I built a new house and moved in August of 2019 and had a new Samsung dishwasher installed. I dealt with it for a year of not cleaning properly but dishes were always dry. I wanted a kitchen aid as that is what I had previously and loved it. Well big surprise, not sure I like it anymore. I just got it 2 weeks ago and my dishwasher is wet inside everywhere. I am hoping I don't have another dud. I even tried the extra heat dry cycle and that didn't even work. Model KDFM404KBS

@Sheri Atkinson,

Rinse aid is required. Are using it, filled the dispenser?

If you are using rinse aid, what cycle and options are you typically using?

I got a new KitchenAid dishwasher a couple of months ago. My previous dishwasher was also a KitchenAid which only lasted about four years and then the motor died. With the old dishwasher until it stopped working the dishes were always completely dry and there was no moisture whatsoever on the inside walls of the dishwasher.

I’ve tried every cycle with this new one and I do extended dry and use rinse aid. andAt the end of the cycle, the dishes are wet and The stainless interior including the door very wet...Plus the dishes are not as clean as they should be

Russrose, that is contrary to all the other comments I've heard about the new KitchenAid models. Have you tried the same combination of cycle & options, but using the Sani Rinse option instead?

Its 2021 and my new kitchenaid is not drying my dishes either, the inside is moist and the dishes are not dry, wow now have to return it! and yes i used a rinse and yes i put it on heat dry, but you shouldnt have to go through all this, it needs to dry your dishes rather i use rinse aid or not

Does your model have the extended Heated Dry option? Also, select the Sani Rinse option and see how dry dishes are after sitting in there over night. Mine are bone dry, except for some plastic things. What cycle and options are you usually using? Do you run the hot tap at your sink until it gets hot before you turn on the dishwasher. That is stated in the manual too.

yes used the sani rinse and used extended heat, for the price, you should not have to go through rinse, and all this stuff, for the price, no one should be complaining about it. Why hasnt Kitchen aid fixed this problem? I see complaints about it from 13 years ago on here! Whats wrong with this company

I just purchased a new KitchenAid 44 DBA Front Control Dishwasher with

FreeFlex Third Level Rack and ProWash Cycle,

Stainless Steel. I have the same problem - the interior of the door, walls, and floor of the dishwasher are all wet after each wash. I have tried Heated and Extended options, added rinse aid, etc. Still no improvement. Contacted Kitchenaid.com, they said it's normal condensation. It's definitely more than just normal condensation. My previous dishwasher was a Bosch and did not have this problem. Anyone figure out a workaround?

Have you also included the Sanirinse ooption?

I haven't yet, but can try in the next load

Try running the prowash cycle with heated dry. Unfortunately pretty much every dishwasher will be wet inside after the cycle is complete. I pop mine open a few inches just after the cycle is complete. Everything is dry after about 30 minutes.