There is no heating element (which we were concerned about, as well) but this dishwasher dries perfectly. Minutes before the entire cycle is done, the door auto opens to assist in the drying process. As you know, your rinse aid helps the drying also. We use Cascade Platinum Pods and Cascade Platinum Power Dry which do a beautiful job on the dishes. We have had/purchased many different brands of dishwashers including Bosch, GE, KitchenAid (the most expensive KitchenAid model and was my favorite), LG, Maytag, and this Samsung is comparable to the best of these brands. We purchased what we are hoping is our last home this past summer and bought a whole Samsung kitchen suite in the Tuscan finish. It all works great and looks beautiful in our kitchen.