Dehydrators are beneficial to us when we need to dry out fruits, vegetables, meat, or herbs for use all through the year. For those that prefer non-chemical preserved foods, dehydration is a lifesaver.
But not all people understand how they work and the safety precautions to operate one successfully.
And, since some dehydrator recipes dry for longer than 12 hours, you may be wondering if it’s possible to keep it running for that long. Should you leave it overnight? Or should you run it only when you’re around?
It’s safe to leave your dehydrator on overnight. Dehydrators are designed to run for more than 12 hours, just ensure that you follow the proper drying procedures and safety precautions to avoid overdrying your food. Additionally, good dehydrators have automatic shut-off timers, so you won’t have to stress over them.
However, similar to any electrical appliance, always go for high-quality dehydrators. Cheaper ones can have defective wiring and accessories, which cause heat build-up within the dehydrators and can pose a fire hazard.
Our absolute favorite so far is the dehydrator from Cosori. We’ve tried quite a few but this one isn’t leaving our home.
Is It Safe to Leave a Dehydrator On Overnight?
Now that you’re aware that you can leave your dehydrator overnight, you might ask whether it’s safe to do so. Here’s all you need to know.
The dehydrators, by design, can work non-stop for as long as three days or even more. Some fruits take 24 to 36 hours to dry completely, meaning that your dehydrators have to be on. As such, it’s safe to leave them on overnight.
Also, leaving it on overnight is beneficial to those who go to work in the morning and come back in the evenings. I would prefer to have it on at night when I’m around, whether sleeping or not, more than having it on during the day when I’m not around. Additionally, dehydrators have the same minute fire risk as refrigerators.
Safety Tips For Dehydrator
When using electrical appliances, ensure maximum safety as they’re fire hazards; and so too is the dehydrator. Here are some safety tips when drying food.
- Check for damaged or faulty parts periodically. Return your dehydrator to the nearest authorized service shop for repair or examination when it starts malfunctioning. And ensure that the repair shop uses only factory original accessories and parts during repair.
- Disconnect the appliance from the power source before cleaning, changing accessories, or servicing.
- Ensure that the appliance is stable while you’re using it. All four feet must be firmly on a flat surface to limit movement during operation.
- Don’t operate dehydrators close to any combustible or flammable material. Also, only operate them indoors while allowing for proper air circulation.
- After cleaning, ensure that your dehydrator is fully dry before powering it on to lessen electrocution cases.
- Don’t modify the electrical plug, as doing so exposes you to electrical shocks.
How Long Do You Dehydrate Different Foods?
Dehydrating food is a practice that has been used for generations to save up enough food reserves for winters and droughts. And, as it’s effective, we are now turning to technology to make the process even faster and safer.
However, a significant challenge is that most people don’t have a clear picture of the setting and time it takes to dehydrate their food.
Meat
For meat, once you’ve preheated it at 160°F, keep your dehydrator at a temperature of 130 to 140°F for 6 to 12 hours until it’s hard. Here are the reasons why
- The dehydration process must be quick enough to prevent the food from spoiling.
- It must dehydrate/ remove water at a rate that doesn’t allow the growth of microorganisms.
Illnesses due to bacteria strains found in dehydrated food will always bring doubt and raise questions about the safety of dehydration as a method of food preservation.
However, most of these complaints arise due to poor food handling practices that introduce pathogens into the food before dehydration.
Also, different foods have different methods of preparation that you have to be aware of. For example, The USDA Meat and Poultry recommends that we heat meat first to 160°F before commencing the dehydrating processes.
Preheating meat ascertains that the wet heat will eliminate any disease-causing pathogens present. You might not find instructions about preheating meat in most dehydrators, as some might not reach sufficient temperatures to preheat meat.
Chicken and Turkey
For chicken, first, preheat/ cook it at 165°F to destroy some heat-resistant bacteria. You’ll then spread it in your dehydrator at a temperature of 145°F for 6 to 12 hours until completely dry.
Drying times vary depending on circumstances such as:
- Your room’s relative humidity.
- The poultry’s temperature at the start of dehydrating.
- The food load.
- The leanness of your meat.
You may need to blot fat droplets from the surface of your poultry occasionally.
Fruits
First, position the fruits in a single layer on dehydrating trays and set your dehydrators at 135 to 145°F.
Fruits such as nectarines, apples, peaches, and bananas have drying times between 6 to 16 hours. Figs, grapes, pears, and apricots last longer and can take 20 to 36 hours to dry thoroughly.
You’ll know that the dehydration is complete if the fruits become leathery.
Vegetables
First, you’ll steam or blanch the tough and fibrous vegetables or the ones that you wouldn’t eat while raw. These include beans, sweet potatoes, potatoes, corn, asparagus, carrots, broccoli, etc. Don’t steam okra, celery, mushrooms, spinach, and other soft vegetables.
Here are the dehydrating times and temperatures
The best dehydrating temperature for vegetables is 125°F to avoid scorching. As a result, it will take anywhere from 4 to 13 hours to dehydrate depending on the vegetable, dehydrator rating, load size, ambient humidity, etc.
Grains
Dehydrate all cooked grains such as rice at 145°F for 6 to 12 hours until you feel that they’re completely dry. Various online sources suggest that you can dehydrate grains at temperatures as low as 125°F, but that information is misleading. Bacteria such as Bacillus cereus thrive in temperatures lower than 135°F.
Pasta
Dehydrate pasta at 135°F for 6 to 12 hours until it gets brittle and dry. Additionally, spread it evenly on your dehydrator tray to minimize the thickness of the layer.
Beans and Lentils
Dehydrate beans and lentils at 125°F for 6 to 12 hours or until you feel that they’re hard. And, home pressure cooked beans don’t dehydrate as well as canned beans. Regardless, both beans and lentils dehydrate and rehydrate well.
How Hot Do Dehydrators Get?
How hot your dehydrator can get depends on the make and model. But generally, most will get to a 165 to 170°F maximum heat rating.
The USDA recommends that all-purpose dehydrators should be able to dehydrate meat at 160°F and poultry at 165°F. But that figure shouldn’t limit you; some dehydrators get hotter than 200°F.
Can a Dehydrator Overheat and Catch On Fire?
Yes! They can quickly overheat and catch fire due to several factors. These include:
- A faulty heating element
- Broken or malfunctioning fan blades
- You might be underloading your batches
Therefore, before using a dehydrator, check to ensure that all parts are working. Also, inspect the moving parts such as fans for alignment and binding issues.
Don’t block the air vents at the back of your dehydrator, as they’re essential for air and heat circulation.
Blocking these air vents may cause the temperatures to rise excessively and cause a fire. As a result, keep your dehydrator a minimum of 6 inches or 15 cm away from the wall.
What Happens If You Leave Food In a Dehydrator For Too Long?
The essence of drying food is to remove as much water as possible to limit bacterial growth. Therefore, leaving food in the dehydrator for extended periods overdrive the food leaving it inedible.
Overdrying also rids the food of nutrients and can result in hardening; when the outside of the fruit dries excessively, it turns into a hard shell before it’s dried.
The hard surface restricts moisture release from the inside of the fruit and can cause mold development during storage.
Do Dehydrators Turn Off Automatically?
Some do shut off automatically while others don’t. Just like any electrical appliance at home or work, dehydrators have different safety and convenience features that vary from one model or make to another. In other words, you’ll get what you pay for.
Some cheap dehydrators don’t have essential components such as fans or adjustable temperature settings despite relying on proper air circulation and temperatures to dry your food.
Therefore, unless your dehydrator has an automatic shut-off feature, don’t expect it to turn off automatically.
A timer with an automatic shut-off works similar to the sensor-actuator systems in our cars. If you’re drying meat that you suspect will take close to 9 hours but are not sure, you can set your timer to run for 6 hours. Afterward, the timer acts as a sensor and triggers the automatic shut-off feature to turn off the dehydrator.
Another time when you can use the timer and automatic shut-off feature is when you’re drying different food simultaneously. Let’s say you’re drying vegetables and fruits.
You can set your dehydrator to turn off automatically when the vegetables are dry. You can then come back and turn it on later to continue drying the fruits.