Sudsing (And Detergents)

Oversudsing is when too much detergent activates, and a lot of suds overwhelms the unit and causes issues.

Customers might see suds foaming out the door, or it might present itself in the form of a leak.

Common Causes of Oversudsing

• The water temperature coming in is too low.
  • Most detergents activate at 65°F. When we’re running a dishwasher, we generally want hotter water.
  • Most dishwashers get their hot water from the sink hot water. If the hot water heater is far away from the sink, it can take up to a minute, even longer before hot water is to the sink. If this is the case, then the dishwasher likely won’t be getting hot water. Run the sink until the water is hot, then start the dishwasher.
• The dishes are too clean.
  • Detergents need something to activate to. If the customer is thoroughly prewashing dishes, or they’re putting soapy dishes in the dishwasher, then the soap that activates in the dishwasher will roll right off those dishes and will foam up at the bottom.
  • Ensure the dishes have some light debris on them: like sauces or gravy, for the detergent to activate to.
• Too Much Detergent, or Improperly Placed Detergent.
  • Dishwasher pods are designed to have the proper amount of detergent in them. This reduces the issue of the customer using too much detergent.
  • The detergent should always be placed in the detergent tray, not in the tub or in the silverware racks. When they are placed in the silverware racks, the detergent is dissolving before the proper wash cycle. Most dishwashers surge water over the dishes before going to dispense the detergent. When the detergent is being dispensed before it should, you’re going to see reduced performance.
  • Depending on the water hardness, more detergent might be needed.

Troubleshooting

Troubleshooting oversudsing instances can be difficult. You need to take into account a variety of factors. You should be asking the customer some questions:

• When did they first start to notice these issues?
  • If it’s a Day One issue, then you might need to fix the customer rather than the unit.
• Does it happen every cycle, or intermittently?
  • If it’s intermittent, are you able to replicate? If not, then you would want to advise the customer on use. Ensure they’re not overly prewashing their dishes, are allowing hot water to the unit, and are not using too much detergent.
• What kind of detergent, and how much are they using?
  • If they’re using liquid or powder detergent, then maybe try pods. Or reduce the amount they use.
• Are they prewashing their dishes?
  • Completely clean, or soapy dishes do not provide adequate debris for the detergent to activate to.

Remedies

If you’re seeing sudsing when you run a cycle without adding any detergent, then you’ve likely got some residual detergent hiding somewhere out of sight. You will want to run a few Clean Cycles with cleaning agents, like Afresh, or baking soda and vinegar.

While this is not generally recommended as overuse can cause damage to the unit, you can run a cycle with a cup of table salt. The salt will break down detergent deposits. But remember, avoid this because abuse can cause rusting and that’s not what we want.