Too much foam in your washing machine can lead to poorly washed clothes and needing to wash again. So what can you do to prevent it and what causes it? First, though, why is too much foam a bad thing? Too many suds prevent a good wash by cushioning the clothes from rubbing against one another. It’s this rubbing that’s one of the most important parts of washing.
Today’s modern washing machines have sensors which monitor the levels of suds in the drum. If the machine senses excessive suds it continues to complete extra rinses until the suds are removed. This not only wastes water, energy & time it also impacts the freshness left on the fabrics as the extra rinses can start to wash away any perfumes.
Too many suds can also stop the washing machine from pumping out the water, blocking the system and just whipping up more and more foam.
So what causes it?
The most common causes of too much foam are too much detergent or not using a quality detergent like Ariel. Ariel is specially formulated to deliver the right level of cleaning power, with added ingredients that ensure the levels of suds are also controlled to an optimum level.
So the best thing you can do to prevent excessive foam is adding just the right amount of a quality detergent. The easiest solution is to use a pre-dosed detergent such as Ariel Automatic 3in1 PODS Original, or use a dosing device with your Ariel detergent.
How else can you solve it?
It’s also important to check your water hardness. If your water is softer than you think, you could be adding too much detergent, so check with your local water authority.
Anti-lime-scale products also soften the water, so stop using them if you have too much foam. Also check for any other water softening system.
For an instant fix on a single wash, adding a cap of fabric conditioner to your dispenser drawer can help. Best to add it when the machine next takes in water for a rinse to stop concentrated fabric conditioner getting on the clothes. This should help reduce the amount of foam.
A rinse and spin issue
If you get excess foam on your rinse and spin, then it could be caused by a partial blockage of your system. This is quite rare, as it needs the blockage to be large enough to restrict flow out of the drum, but small enough that water can still flow out. In this case, suds will be present, but there shouldn’t be too much.
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