Too Much Foam

[Lee S]

Hi,

I'm having an issue with my Beko WME8227B machine where about 20-30 minutes into a wash cycle the drum is filling with suds and they start pouring out of the detergent drawer.

I've read a few of the threads on the forum but I can't seem to see anything that I've not checked.

I recently went back to using powder, and I was using some Asda powder tablets that I had left over from when I'd used them in the past. Popped them in for a 60 degree cotton wash with 2 bed sheets and 20 minutes into the cycle the suds were coming out of the detergent drawer. I'd used the tablets in the past and never had any issues with them, so I thought it could be that they're past their use by date or possibly the machine needs a clean out.

So first I put it on a 90 degree cycle with nothing in, and then I bought one of those Dr Beckman Service It liquid cleaners and put that through as well on a 60 degree cycle to give it a clean.

Next I bought a new box of Surf powder, measured 60ml of powder as per the box directions, and put that in with a couple of sheets on a 60 degree wash. There did seem to be quite a bit of suds, but they didn't fill the drum or overflow this time.

I noticed later that my machine seemed to have a bit of a smell, so this time I bought a Dettol 5 in 1 washing cleaner, tried putting that through on 60 degree wash and 25 minutes into the cycle the drum was full of suds and overflowing from the detergent drawer.

I'm now at a loss what the problem could be, I'm not overloading the machine, it doesn't look to be be overfilling, and I've never had an issue put a washing machine cleaner liquid through it. I thing the strangest thing is that I've done these things in the past and not had an issue before. I've used a few different powders and tablets in the past with no issue and I've used a few different cleaners in the past with no issue. Nothing has physically changed with the washing machine either, it's still in the same spot for the last 3 years, no changes to pipes or connections.

The only thing I can think of is a fault with the machine, but I'm not sure what kind of fault would cause this.

I've read about people advising to use a softener, but I've never used softener and it's not suitable for some of the things I wash. Plus a softener can't be used with a cleaning liquid.

Any help anyone can offer would greatly appreciated, thanks.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hello Lee. Yes I'm not aware of any faults on a washing machine that can cause excessive foam. I suppose it's possible that if it is not rinsing properly you could get a build up of detergent. But most faults these days will trigger some sort of error code. If the washing machine pump filter is partially blocked, or if there is any partial blockage anywhere in the drain hose, or at the U bend under the sink if it pumps into there then this could restrict the efficiency of rinses. It would have to be a fine balance that allowed the washing machine to still apparently function okay.

If there was a bizarre fault causing the drum to just agitate constantly that may well whip up a lot of excess soapsuds but this is not a known fault.

The first thing would be to properly check how soft your water is. If you know for sure that you are in a hard water area then fair enough but if you are not sure you should send off for a free water hardness checking kit that is usually available from your water authority, or even at the Calgon website.

Also make sure you don't use any extra products like limescale protection which soften the water, or that there isn't any water softening devices installed anywhere in the plumbing.

If you have soft water you have to use less detergent otherwise it will cause too much foam. Ironically though if you don't have soft water and you don't use enough detergent that can actually cause an excess of what appears to be suds but is a apparently something else in the rinse water - although that sounds like a different problem to yours, which is happening during the wash cycle.

Have a good look at my article here in case it helps Excessive soapsuds and foam in the washing machine drum

[Lee S]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for your response.  I don't think it can be anything to do with the pump or rinsing, as it occurs about 20-30 minutes into a 2 hour program, so it's well before the rinse stage and before it starts pumping any water out.

I do live in a soft water area, but I've been following the dosage instructions for a soft water 4-5kg load.

The Dettol cleaner is a different thing though, it just says use 15ml to clean the drawer and rubber seals, then once that's done pour the rest into the detergent drawer and put it on a 60 degree wash, the dosage doesn't vary depending on the water hardness. Although reading some online reviews I'm not the only person who's had this issue with the Dettol Cleaner, so maybe it's not suitable for soft water.

I'll check out your article as well, thanks.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Thanks for the update Lee. If it starts to get excessive foam after about 20 to 30 minutes into the wash cycle then yes you would think it is nothing to do with rinsing, though my point was that if there was a problem with the rinsing it could cause a buildup of undissolved and deposited detergent inside the washing machine. And that could cause extra soapsuds.

Have you checked whether the Dettol cleaner causes some type of soapsuds? Have you tried putting it on the 60° wash with just the Dettol cleaner inside? If it is specifically designed to wash inside a washing machine though then as long as you are only using the suggested quantity you wouldn't expect it to be a problem .

So if your excess soapsuds are nothing to do with a fault on the washing machine it can only be caused by something that's being added into the machine. I would try putting your washing machine on the 60° wash cycle without any laundry or normal detergent in as many times as necessary until there is no soapsuds created from detergent residue. If you find that putting it on the 60° wash without any laundry or detergent in still creates a lot of soapsuds then this would imply that there is a lot of residue inside the washing machine.