very weird behavior on new Bosch Serie 8 dishwasher: do they change operation if water gets too sudsy? what is this noise? (with a video)

[wholelottared]

Hi everyone! Hope you’re all doing great

So, I’ve noticed some strange behavior on my Bosch dishwasher that started (I think) right after I switched from Finish Ultimate Plus tablets to Fairy Platinum Plus tablets. That’s why I suspect it might be related to suds, but I’m not totally sure. I've been using this machine for MONTHS with several different loads, and it never did this before, until the recent loads.

Here’s what happens:

During the pre-wash, everything runs normally.

Once the main wash starts and the detergent is released, after a while the top spray arm makes a really loud pumping sound that wasn’t there before. It doesn’t sound broken, just like it’s working way harder to push the water and struggling a bit. You can hear it from other rooms (I noticed it by the sound it makes.)

At the same time, the bottom PowerControl arm slows down and sprays with way less pressure. It also makes the hard pumping sound, but it's quieter compared to the top one.

During the rinse programs, the noise disappears.

My question is: do Bosch dishwashers have some kind of “anti-suds” system that changes how they run if they detect too many suds?

If so, that would explain it, and I’ll probably just switch back to Finish after finishing this pack of Fairy. I honestly didn’t expect a different brand of tablet to change how the dishwasher behaves this much.

If not, then maybe something is actually wrong with the machine, in which case I'll be more worried and start inspecting more. Really want to hope it's a suds thing.

In the video, please ignore the loud fridge sound in the background And the noise the dishwasher makes actually sounds way louder on the video, it's not that bad in real life, but it's still really noticable.

Thanks a lot for your insights!

model: SMS8YDI82T Serie 8 with PowerControl

 

[lavamat_jon]

The pump is cavitating from excess suds. Nothing wrong with the machine itself.

I’ve found in my experience Finish tablets tend to be the worst tablets in the European market for sudsing and cavitating.

 

[logixx]

Not a fan of these sudsy P&G detergents. I tried it once and was worried the suds would make it into the zeolite container.

 

[wholelottared]

Not a fan of these sudsy P&G detergents. I tried it once and was worried the suds would make it into the zeolite container.

Oh my god so the problem really is the Fairy? I'm shocked NEVER buying them again after I finish this pack.

 

[lavamat_jon]

Interestingly I find the newer Fairy Platinum Plus much better than previous iterations for cavitating. I much prefer Fairy vs Finish for cleaning, and Fairy also seems to be the only detergent that doesn’t leave an iridescence effect on stainless steel pans.

The worst I’ve encountered for cavitating are Finish Ultimate (or whatever their premium called nowadays). The stench the leave behind is awful too.

I have some Somat too which I picked up when we were in Spain last month - they clean really well without much sudsing so might be worth a try if you can get them.