I find dishwasher flooding to be humerous because it is so utterly dramatic and so easy to fix. By flooding, I mean a kitchen really full of soap suds. Several inches deep and a real mess.
"My dishwasher has flooded everywhere!"
I could depend on my dear mother doing this every three years. She would run out of Cascade, forget and use regular dishwasher hand soap instead of real dishwasher soap. With regular detergent, the turbulation of the pump creates an unbelievable amount of suds and out they would pour.
In this happenstance, several circumstances come into play. First, few people are aware that true dishwasher soap includes sudsing retardant chemicals. These chemicals are a bit fragile and lose their effectiveness if they are old or have been frozen. Buying discounted soap in bulk can get you into trouble.
This very strange call only happens occasionally and requires both good detective work and some good salemenship to convince the customer of your diagnosis. They really won't believe you.
So what can a customer do in mid-flood? By far the most effective suds killer is adding fabric softener. It requires a fair amount, 1/2 cup or more, several times to either quell the flood or flush out the bad soap residue. Fill, add softener, run a bit, and drain until the foaming stops.
A sure sign of this situation is a residual layer of foam on the water inside the dishwasher as soon as you run the pump. Good soap only generates the tiniest amount of bubbles.