DW detergent should NOT have any suds. Do you have a water softener for the home?

Try adding some cooking oil to cut the suds.

Meganmca: We don't have liquid detergent, so no chance of a switch, but a good thought...

GreenDesigns: We do have a water softener, but until just recently, there has never been a problem with the sudsing.
I read that there shouldn't be more than 1/4 inch of suds. I have inches, even when I don't add detergent.

Dadoes: How much oil? Which cycle...normal?

Is there any chance something is blocked? It drains, so I can't figure it out.

How much oil? just a couple tablespoons will do it. It kills the suds pretty quick when you restart the D/W. You can also try fabric softner it will also kill the suds.

Doesn't matter which cycle. Rinse/Hold is fine ... just add a tablespoon or two directly to the tub, let the machine swish it around and drain. Fabric softener kills suds in washing machines so it'd surely do the same in a dishwasher ... very little should be needed, less than a tablespoon.

Dishwasher detergent ideally should not generate any suds. Suds interfere with rotation of the spray arm, dragging it down from proper speed ... and can also cause a vapor lock on the pump, starving it for water, reducing spray pressure and resulting in bad washing/rinsing performance.

Rinse aid is a sort of detergent or soap and can cause sudsing in the final rinse if the dosage is too high for the water conditions (hardness). Dispensers inject just milliliters of rinse aid. Adjustable rinse aid dispensers typically release from 1 ML at the lowest setting to maybe 5 ML at the highest. 1 teaspoon is 4.9 ML.

No "regular" liquid hand-dishwashing detergent in the household? Seems a little odd, LOL. Sudsing can be caused by residue left on dishware that has been sloshed in soapy water in the sink and then loaded into the machine.

If you have been using the same DW detergent and this just started I suspect there is some sort of soap residue on a bowl or dish, whether it is shampoo, hand soap, or whatever. I learned that lesson ages ago, when I put in a bowl that had some dried up Orvus paste (livestock shampoo) in it. yipes.

I think dadoes is right. I do have a liquid hand washing soap. I was thinking only about the Auto DW and not hand washing soap. I can't imagine how, but it must have been used in the rinse dispenser. I have been trying to clear it out by pouring cold water into the dispenser, letting it run out and then sopping up the soapy water with a towel. When it wasn't quite so soapy, I let it run into the dishwasher and I would drain it out. I am out of vinegar right now, having used most of it up in trying to clear out the suds earlier. I will fill the dispenser with vinegar and see if I can get the rest out.

Thanks for your help. You are all great!

Try a turkey baster to suction the solution out of the dispenser.

Great idea! I will try it.
Thanks!

I accidentally used some kind of laundry detergent in my dishwasher and it bubbled and foamed like crazy. I think the cooking oil remedy did the job. Fingers crossed.