What to Do If You Put Dish Soap in the Dishwasher

Luckily, the plumbing experts at Bardi Heating, Cooling & Plumbing are here to walk you through what to do if you put dish soap in the dishwasher.

• Stop the Machine – The moment you notice you have a sudsy dilemma, stop the dishwasher. It is important that you don’t hesitate to stop the cycle. The longer you allow the dish soap to cycle in your dishwasher the greater your risk of water damage, and damage to your dishwasher.
• Grab the Towels – You’re going to need quite a few towels to get the job done. First, address any water or soap suds that have leaked out of the dishwasher and onto the floor. Then, open the dishwasher and wipe away the soap suds around the seals and door.
• Remove the Dishes – Once you have removed the immediate threat to your cabinets and floors, remove the dishes from the dishwasher. If the water is too hot, place ice cubes in the dishwasher to cool it down. When the water is bearable, remove your dishes.
  The dishes must be taken out as soon as possible. If you don’t remove them, the dish soap that remains on their surfaces will make it difficult to reduce the volume of bubbles.
• Remove the Suds – Next, it’s time to tackle the bubbles. If there is a light to moderate amount of suds, bail them out with a small container. Reach in and scoop out as large a volume of bubbles as possible. Continue to do this until you are able to wipe down the dishwasher with a towel, removing all the bubbles.
  If there is too large a volume of bubbles to handle with a container, pour one cup of vinegar and a few tablespoons of salt into your dishwasher. Then, run the dishwasher for a few moments.
  The vinegar and salt should deactivate the dish soap. If, after a few minutes of running the dishwasher the suds haven’t gone down, add more salt and vinegar and continue the cycle.
• Dry the Dishwasher – Once the bubbles are eliminated, grab a few more dry towels and dry out the dishwasher completely. Be sure to open the soap dish and remove all dish soap residue.
• Run the Rinse Cycle – Finally, run the rinse cycle of the dishwasher to clear out the last of the dish soap residue.