This is funny- I was complaining to DH last night that our old Bosch dishwasher has a lot of build up and I might just buy a container of tang and clean it. I know this to be an old "cleaning out of military housing" trick- it was even written in the paperwork we would get from the housing offices back when DH served in the 1990s :^)

What do you mean a ton of soap? Is it foaming up? Are you using a rinse agent in a built in reservoir? I've heard of people having foaming/residue problems with improperly dispensing rise agent in bosch dishwashers, where it's basically dumping out large quantities of the rinse agent and it causes a lot of foam in the machine that never seems to clear out. If that's a possibility, run the machine until the rinse agent reservoir is empty and see if the soap film stops.

If it is soap, you could try repeatedly running an empty washer and adding 1 cup of vinegar to the washer until it clears? With our machine, it does a pre rinse that lasts 4 or 5 minutes, then drains and reloads for a longer wash. When adding anything to the machine, I wait until after that initial rinse.

Our big issue with our DW is hard water and detergent residue build up. That is where the tang comes in. It is high in citric acid and breaks that sort of thing down. When I can find it, I buy little packets of a product called "Lemme Shine dishwasher cleaner" which is also citric acid based and breaks down all that hard stuff. Not sure it would do much for a soap problem though.

Too much rinse aid will cause foaming. But too many times I've seen where someone has put Dawn dish detergent in the rinse aid dispenser. (both are blue) !st set the rinse aid dispenser to it's lowest setting and see if you still get foaming.

The fastest way to knock down foam in a dishwasher is to use cooking oil. Usually 2 tablespoons is all it takes. Start the D/W, let run 10 minutes and then add the cooking oil.

If you think you have detergent in the rinse aid dispenser you can take a turkey baster and use it to flush hot water into the dispenser over an over again to dilute and flush out the dispenser. In a worse case the dispenser may have to be replaced.

Citric acid works for removing calcium and lime build up but won't do much for cleaning out soap deposits.

When I open the door to the dishwasher (after 7 minutes) to add the Tang, there is water on the bottom of the machine with about 3-4 inches of soap. This has happened now 3-4 times. I mean, where is all this soap coming from?! In the past I've used Jet Dry. There's a goofy reservoir--you can't really tell what the level is. Seems like every 4-5 loads the light would come on to add a rinse agent. The dishwasher runs forever, too. We were told this was an energy and water saving feature, but that makes no sense. The only good thing I can say about the dishwasher is that it is quiet. This is about the third dishwasher we've had. The first one was so noisy it sounded like someone was trying to break out of it. I hate all dishwashers because of the weird loading requirements.

Rinse aid is not released until the last rinse cycle. Add the cooking oil to the dishwasher as directed and let the cycle finish.

Besides the suggestions from Jakvis and quasifish (which I would try first), one thing came to mind when you mentioned having bought a "crazy expensive" Bosch DW: Do you have one of the the Bosch models (Benchmark?) with its own water softener? If so, has anyone checked it?

Since you do not mention soapy residues in anything else (washing machine, showers, etc.), I'm guessing you probably do not have overly soft water or a whole house water softener.

The only other thing that comes to mind beyond what has been suggested previously is detergent dosing. Have you tried reduced dosing, say, using only half a tab or half or less of the recommended lliquid or powder? I mention this having solved a similar problem for a friend who had been filling the dispenser cup in the belief that she should do so because that was a recommended dosage.

FWIW, powdered drink mixes like Tang and Countryttime Lemonade powder use pretty helthy doses of citric acid in place of oranges and lemons . You see them recommended for descaling and cleaning because people might be more likely to have them in their pantry than citric acid. Products such as Lemi Shine come in a variety of formulations, some including citric acid and some not. You may have to read labels to figure out which version of a product you are looking at.

FWIW, I run mine at least once every day and when I was using rinse agent, the reservoir would last a long time (more than a month). It should not be emptying out in 4 or 5 loads. I think the reservoir and rinse agent might be your problem.

ETA: here is a link to the post/problem I was recalling. Turns out it was here on Houzz

https://www.gardenweb.com/discussions/2514012/bosch-dishwasher-not-cleaning-at-all#n=36

ilovecomputers --

I posted my above comment before Houzz displayed your most recent post and the reply from Jakvis. Sorry for any confusion that might cause.

Might be useful to post the model number of your Bosch DW.

You mentioned: "Seems like every 4-5 loads the light would come on to add a rinse agent." If you were getting that message, it sounds like the dispenser dose was set too high or maybe the dispenser is cracked. In previous models of Bosch DWs, the amount dispensed was set by a dial in the dispenser compartment. In the current Bosch dishwashers, the rinse aid setting is by non-intuitive programming. For my recent Bosch DW (a 300 series model), the instructions for re-programming/setting the amount dispensed can be found in the "Instructions" (a/k/a User Guide") on page 12 under the caption "Setting the amount of rinse aid used." Your higher-end model probably has similar instructions.

IIRC, mine came from the factory at setting 5, which is next to highest. I've turned it down to 1 (just above off.)

Might want to try setting it to 0 (which is off) and repeating the runs suggested by Jakvis. If you've had too much rinse-aid dispensed, it will take a couple of runs to clear the tub.

Also, you mentioned "The dishwasher runs forever, too." Most current Bosch DWs have an opitional fast cycle. On my 300 series model, it is called "Clean30." It runs a full wash in 30 minutes or so. Your higher-end model probably has something similar. Try engaging that option for running your cleaning & rinsing cycles. It will go through the wash cycles and etc. much faster.

As I understand it, the Clean30 cycle uses a bit more water and does not do as a good a job at drying. (The actual time varies, depending on the load, from 30 to 40 minutes.) However, you can enhance drying by engaging the option called "Extra Dry" which adds about 20 minutes to the cycle and substantially improves the drying. I save the longer cycles ("Heavy," "Auto" and "normal") for bigger and/or more soiled loads, a tip I picked up from several posters here last year when I bought my new Bosch. . Numbers of us have posted here about regularly using Clean30 + ExtraDry for ordinary loads.

jwvideo, it sounds like you know a lot more about newer Bosch dishwashers than I do. Mine is old and the dial type. The knob has gotten loose over the years and no longer dispenses rinse aid appropriately, which is why between that and the above posted link, that would be my first guess for OP. You also got the name of Lemi Shine right, whereas I misspelled it- that's one I never get right for some reason!

OP, hope you get your dishwasher problem sorted out soon. I hate doing dishes too.

Do a search for Lemi Shine Appliance Cleaner. I use one packet of that product once per month. It advertises itself as 100% citric extract and ingredients are natural citric extracts, citrus oils and sodium bicarbonate.

Wow I didn't even know they still sell Tang? The drink of the astronauts. Geese, I thought the stuff tasted gross even as a kid.

Instead of using a rinse product, I use Lemishine in the rinse compartment, and it works perfectly. I tried all kinds of things but that stuff has citric acid and salt in the correct ratio to remove the gunk left, due to our hard water. You don't need to use much--maybe less than a Tbs. in the compartment.

I had that film that looked like a soap film. Buy Lemishine at the store. It comes in a canister like a scouring powder, and is found with the electric dish detergents. I don't like to use Lemishine with my wood handled kitchen knives because they feel funny afterwards, so I hand wash the knives.

Tang is not needed. Why dump sugar in the dishwasher. Just get some citric acid.

The reason Tang is used is because of the citric acid. Just buy citric acid.

For those that do not know look for citric acid in the area that has canning goods. If you ask where to find it no one knows nor has ever heard of it. It is used to sprinkle on fruit to keep them from discoloring when you are freezing them.

If you can't find it in your local grocery, you can buy citric acid from Amazon. It's also used in cheesemaking.

And in canning. A little goes a long way.

I don’t believe citric acid is enough. There’s something about the citric acid and salt combo... You can look up your own Lemishine recipe online.

What dishwasher detergent and what rinse agent are you using? Take photos of the boxes if you prefer. What geographical location are you in, roughly? The formulas can vary by location.

I occasionally use white distilled vinegar instead of Finish (formerly Jet Dry) in my rinse agent dispenser in my Bosch dishwasher. Even on the lowest rinse agent setting, it needs refilling about every 15 washes).

I use Lemi-shine to clean white calcium deposits off a few times per year. I have moderately hard water.

I switched from the Finish powerball packets to a Cascase liquid detergent. The rinse agent was JetDry. It does not allow me to change the setting on the rinse agent; it just has a reservoir to fill. Here we are a week later, still using Tang, still getting lots of soap, but I noticed the water temperature is not hot. I run the faucet in the kitchen until it is extremely hot before starting the dishwasher, but when I dump the Tang the water is tepid. This is maddening. My husband isn't keen on the idea of me adding vegetable oil to the soapy water. (pulls hair out in clumps)

Wait....are you actually washing dishes in tang?

Are you prewashing or rinsong your dished before putting them in the dishwasher?

Honestly, I tried many detergents and the absolute only thing that makes a load clean for me is Lemishine. The citric acid and salt cling to the deposits from our hard water that would otherwise be left behind on my dishes; my homemade one worked just as well but I decided it was more expensive, for me.

I put a tab in the soap compartment, close the door, then open the door of the rinse compartment, put in a little lemishine, close it and start the machine. That's it, and it makes all the difference.

I would clean with citric acid, and clean the filters...than try using half a tab. Method Smarty tabs broke in half are great. Finish tends to suds to much for lot of folks. Ecover is also another good but low suds detergent. Oh also the one made by Oxiclean. If your prewashing or rinsing stop....scrape only.

No, I am not washing my dishes in Tang.

I will have to look at Lemishine. My grocery store sells about two types of dishwasher products. I was rinsing but I will stop. Now I want to look at the heating element. Perhaps that isn't working and I'm not getting hot water and that is leaving the residue. I've also read that 2 cups of white vinegar works well if you run the machine for a few minutes and then let it soak. Damn, I must have the cleanest dishwasher in the world by now.

ilovecomputers -- please post the model number of your Bosch so one of us can find the rinse aid dosage programing instructions for you.

Also, it may change your husband's mind to know that dadoes is a highly respected longtime poster here who is very knowledgeable and whose advice can be trusted. That advice may help with removing the foam you were finding.

I agree about Dadoes and his knowledge. Whatever advice Dadoes gives will be spot on.Trust him.

You mentioned having been using Powerball tabs. Using Powerballs, which dispense their own rinse-aid, with the DW's default setting for the high levels of rinse aid could put way too much rinse aid into the washes and give rise to symptoms like those you have described.

FWIW, when I bought my 300 series Bosch last year, it came with a note saying to turn off the rinse-aid dispenser when using tabs which incorporate their own rinse aid. Maybe that got left out of the instructions for your new Bosch?

Lemi Shine might help clean out excess rinse aid deposits but it will work faster if we can shut off your dispenser so that the amounts can dissipate while you run cycles to rinse out the excess.

Let's see if we can figure out how to shut off your rinse-aid dispenser.

Vinegar and rinse aid are chemically different. Vinegar has some effect on combating mineral residue but it doesn't promote water evaporation for improved drying performance.

Rinse aid dispensers inject *very* small amounts of liquid, measured in milliliters. Mine ranges from 1ml to 5ml (0.2 to 1.01 tsp). Others may be a bit higher at the maximum dosage ... but the amount of vinegar released via the dispenser is ... not much.

It all depends on where you live; in other words, how hard your water is. When they took out the polluting detergents from dw "soap" several years ago, my problem started. Cleaning the dishwasher with vinegar, baking soda, citric acid, etc. did not help. The only thing to be done is to add that citric acid plus salt with EVERY load. Just google it if you want to make your own, or check out Amazon, though I don't know how much lemishine is there. I buy mine at Target.

Sjerin. I'm assuming you mean when the phosphates were removed in 2010. That's when a lot of folks started having problems. Automatic dishwasher detergent has come far since than but some people do continue with problems. You can still buy dishwasher detergent with phosphates. .check out Bubble Bandit or Cascade Boil Out.

OP, As sjerin just mentioned, Target has Lemi Shine products. I just ordered some online, and incidentally, it was much cheaper than Tang :^) (seriously, I looked). They have a decent selection at very good prices if you are looking for a source. And of course Amazon has pretty much everything, right?

The oil is a good solution to try. I was told to do it with a front loader washing machine early in ownership when I was inadvertently using too much detergent and ending up with build up in the pump that would release at the worst possible time and leave the washer FULL of suds. Why is your husband opposed to putting oil in the dishwasher? Don't you put all sorts of other food and grease products in there just in the course of washing dishes? Maybe not in large quantities, but dishwashers and detergent are designed to handle that sort of thing.

Adding the 1 - 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the dishwasher to knock down suds is a common service tech trick. The oil is the fasted way to kill the suds and solve soap residue issues. I occasionally see where dish soap is added to a dishwasher. If a customer calls me with this issue I don't even set up an appointment for service. I just have them add the couple tablespoons of veg oil and restart the dishwasher. Many times the suds are gone before I get off the phone with them.

For frontload washers I recommend adding a 1/4 cup of fabric softner. This works as well as the oil and won't mess up any clothes.

ILoveComputers - repeated attempts to clear the sudsing have apparently been to no avail so my guess is that either someone put liquid dishwashing detergent in the rinse aid dispenser or the rinse aid dispenser is dispensing too much product, set at too high of a dose or malfunctioning (although it should be near to empty by now after as many runs).

Rinse aid dispenser malfunction is also evidenced by the refill light triggering after 4 to 5 loads ... a full-fill of it should last much longer under normal conditions.

Remove the fill cap and use a turkey baster to suck out the remaining fluid in the rinse aid dispenser. Then use the baster to flush the dispenser with water ... repeatedly squirt water in and then suck it out and dispose in the sink until it's clear. Some designs don't have a removable cap, in which case you can just keep squirting water into the dispenser to overflow it onto the door until it's clear. It's a good idea to sop-up the water on the door before closing it so the water doesn't run down and under bottom edge of the door when it's raised up.