Dishwasher Overfoaming - Too Much Foam

Appearance

Foam flows through the dishwasher door seal during the wash cycle or the machine stops during the cycle. The foam cut-out or overfill sensor can be activated where fitted.

There is foam remaining in the dishwasher once the cycle is complete.

This problem is not caused by a fault on your dishwasher and no repair or service visit will cure it.

Usually the result of:

Use of laundry or hand wash detergent
Excessive rinse aid present in the dishwasher after filling the rinse aid dispenser
Certain food soils which contain a high level of protein, for example, egg

Cause & Prevention

Cause

Oversudsing is commonly caused by the inadvertent use of laundry or hand wash (liquid soap such as Fairy liquid) detergent instead of proper dishwasher detergent.

Another cause can be spilled rinse aid whilst filling the rinse aid compartment as rinse aid causes foaming at low temperature, typically less than 40?C.

Treatment

Switch off the dishwasher as soon as foaming is observed or the machine is heard to be struggling to pump the water.

Allow the foam to settle for at least one hour, empty the machine and then perform a rinse and hold cycle to clear the suds. This may have to be repeated and, if unsuccessful you will likely require and engineer's visit.

Prevention

Ensure that ONLY dishwasher detergent is used for domestic dishwasher and NOT handwash detergent, washing up liquid, commercial dishwasher detergent or laundry detergent in particular.

Take care filling the rinse aid compartment and, if any is spilled, mop it up before using the dishwasher.

Scrape any excess egg off plates before washing.