PURPOSE: To improve the drying workability by a method wherein the elements to be dried up are contained in a vessel through the intermediary of a carrier and after feeding hot water to the vessel to immerse the elements in the hot water, the hot water is drained from the vessel while lowering the hot water level and then the vessel is vacuumized.

CONSTITUTION: A valve V1 is opened to feed hot water to a vessel 1 and then closed as soon as all wafers 7 are immersed in the hot water. Another valve V2 is opened immediately after the valve V1 is closed or the specified time elapsed to drain the hot water from the vessel 1; the hot water level is slowly lowered; the valve V2 is closed as soon as the hot water is drained from the vessel 1; and the other valves V4, V5 are opened to vacuumize the vessel 1. THe wafers 7 are dried up by the vacuumizing process. Later nitrogen gas is fed to the vessel 1 to be restored to the atmospheric pressure and after closing the other V3, a cover 1a is opened to pick up a carrier 8 for finishing one time drying process. Through these procedures, the drying workability can be improved wasting less hot water.