---
title: "Bosch error code E:30/-20"
description: "Bosch error code E:30/-20: there is more detergent in the machine than it can handle."
url: "https://boschmiami.support/error-codes/error-code-e-30-20/"
date_modified: "2026-08-18"
Appliance type: "Washers"
---


# Bosch error code E:30/-20

### What this one means

There is more detergent in the machine than it can handle. It is a code the manufacturer publishes for this appliance, not one we have worked out — and it is decoded here rather than left as three characters on a display.

### The other ways your machine may say it

The same condition is published under more than one label, because it has been carried across generations of this appliance:

- **A soap bubbles icon is shown** — how a model with no digital display says it. On that machine, the lights are the code

### What the code covers

A published cause names a circuit rather than a component, which is the single most useful thing to know before ordering a part. This one covers:

- Overdosing
- Extra water added by hand
- The solenoid valve, if neither of those applies

### What to try yourself

- Reduce the detergent noticeably on the next wash — a compact drum needs a fraction of what the bottle suggests
- Do not add water to the machine while it is running

### Then what

Foam confuses the machine’s level sensing, so it cannot confirm what it has done. It is one of the few codes with a fix that costs nothing and changes a habit.

This code is published for washers. The [full list of codes](https://boschmiami.support/error-codes/) has the rest of them, searchable, including the labels older and newer machines use for the same conditions.

What this code means

What this one means

There is more detergent in the machine than it can handle. It is a code the manufacturer publishes for this appliance, not one we have worked out — and it is decoded here rather than left as three characters on a display.

The other ways your machine may say it

The same condition is published under more than one label, because it has been carried across generations of this appliance:

A soap bubbles icon is shown — how a model with no digital display says it. On that machine, the lights are the code

What the code covers

A published cause names a circuit rather than a component, which is the single most useful thing to know before ordering a part. This one covers:

Overdosing

Extra water added by hand

The solenoid valve, if neither of those applies

What to try yourself

Reduce the detergent noticeably on the next wash — a compact drum needs a fraction of what the bottle suggests

Do not add water to the machine while it is running

Then what

Foam confuses the machine’s level sensing, so it cannot confirm what it has done. It is one of the few codes with a fix that costs nothing and changes a habit.

This code is published for washers. The full list of codes has the rest of them, searchable, including the labels older and newer machines use for the same conditions.

---

**[Read full article: Bosch error code E:30/-20](https://boschmiami.support/error-codes/error-code-e-30-20/)**