What FOAMING Means
WHICH MACHINES THIS APPLIES TO: Asko washers with a text window rather than a numeric display report their problems in words, and several generations do it. The Use and Care Guides for the US W6761, W640 and W660 carry one such table; the operating instructions for the W8844XL and the W6884 Eco carry another; and the WM60 service manual carries the problem-indication tables for the WM60.2 and WM60.3 panels. The wording varies slightly between them and the section below says which document each form comes from. All of these machines introduce the table the same way: a message appears on the display if an error occurs during the program, and it is cleared by turning the machine off and then back on.
WHAT ASKO PRINTS: the W6761, W640 and W660 guide gives the action as "Run the Rinse program again. Try using less detergent and softener. Use low-sudsing detergents." The W600-series service manual explains how the machine knew: "Via the level sensor the machine has 'felt' that there is a lot of foam left after the main wash. Run the Rinse program once."
HOW A WASHING MACHINE DETECTS FOAM AT ALL: it does not see it. It reads the pressure at the bottom of the tub through a level sensor, and foam changes that reading in a way water alone does not. When the control finds the sensor reporting a level that behaves like foam rather than like water after the main wash, it says so.
WHY IT MATTERS RATHER THAN BEING COSMETIC: foam cushions the load, so the mechanical action that actually cleans the laundry is reduced. It also carries over into the rinses, which is why over-dosed washing comes out feeling stiff or slightly slippery. And a tub full of foam makes the spin harder to balance, so a foaming wash often produces an unbalance message on the same cycle.
THE USUAL CAUSE, AND IT IS RARELY THE MACHINE: too much detergent for the load size, the soil level or the water hardness. Soft water needs markedly less detergent than the dose printed on the box, which is written for the average case. High-efficiency machines use very little water, so a dose meant for an older machine is a large overdose in one of these. Fabric softener adds to it. Detergent that is not low-sudsing adds to it.
CLASSIFICATION: normal detection working correctly. Nothing has failed and there is nothing to repair.
Common Causes of FOAMING
- Too much detergent for the load size or the soil level
- Detergent dosed for a conventional machine in a high-efficiency one
- Soft water, which needs much less detergent than the printed dose
- Detergent that is not low-sudsing
- Too much fabric softener
- Accumulated detergent residue in the outer tub releasing back into the wash
🔧 One Safe Check You Can Try
Run the rinse program again, which is Asko's instruction, and let it finish - that clears the foam that is already there. Then change the dosing rather than the machine. Use the measure that comes with the detergent rather than pouring by eye, start at the lower end of the range printed on the pack, and reduce further if your water is soft; if the laundry comes out clean at the smaller dose, that is the right dose. Use a detergent described as low-sudsing or made for high-efficiency machines, because these washers use very little water and a conventional powder foams heavily in them. Cut back on fabric softener, or stop using it for a few loads to see whether the message goes. Do not run half-empty loads with a full dose, since the dose should follow the load size. If the message keeps appearing on a sensible dose of a low-sudsing detergent, run a drum cleaning cycle on an empty machine to clear the accumulated residue in the outer tub, because old detergent build-up releases back into the water and foams on its own. If it still appears after all that, the level sensing is worth having looked at, but that is a long way down the list.
⚠ Why You Shouldn't Go Further Than That
- None - running the rinse program again and adjusting the dose is ordinary use and is exactly what the manual asks for.
- If the message persists on a correct dose of a low-sudsing detergent, the next step is a service call rather than anything inside the machine, because the level sensing and its pressure hose are in the cabinet.
Opening a panel to inspect or repair something yourself doesn't automatically cancel your manufacturer's warranty — but it can risk accidental damage, and some manufacturers do have specific service conditions. Check your product's warranty terms, or ask us, before deciding.