Where are these stains coming from??

Shopmiami49

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 12:43 pm

I can not figure this out - Every now and then, very randomly, a load will come out of the wash with gray blotchy stains in random places on some or all of the clothes. Needless to say, most of those clothes can not be worn afterwards - those stains do NOT come out. (I have had better luck with the stains on white clothes because bleach or a good stain remover does the trick.)

The first time this happened, it was 3 years ago and it was immediately after one load of clothes came out of the wash COMPLETELY gray. We called in a technician and he cleaned out the hose and said it was because of stones and dirt that got stuck inside and came back up. But the gray stains, he said, were different and were from too much fabric softener or too much heat.

Ever since then, I am EXTREMELY careful not to use too much softener and to keep the water on a cold setting. I use basically the same amount of detergent each time (in proportion to the amount of clothes, of course). Still, every couple of months, I will find a ruined load of clothes and it is SO frustrating! Sometimes, I don't even catch it until after it has gone through the dryer and then there is really no hope - even for whites.

What can this be from? Has anyone ever experienced this before?

tizunabi

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 12:57 pm

I sometimes get "dark" stains on my clothing (the look like the fabric is still wet). I assume that it is from buildup in the machine and since then I've been good about running a HOT load every once in a while to clean the machine.
I haven't had it reoccur yet.

MrsDuby

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 2:41 pm

yes ! I get them too !!! and its so sad when they happen to nicer clothes....

my Mother in law also suggested to me about cleaning the washer -- shes says they sell special washing machine soap for this exact thing. (ive yet to do it Smile

But definitely cleaning the tub about once a month should help.
So happy to hear im not the only one with this issue !

seeker

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 2:55 pm

It's been happening to me too, the way tizunabi said that it looks like a water spot but then doesn't come out - ever. Even if I washed it on cold and didn't put it in the dryer, the spots NEVER come out. It's so sad Sad

I can't even try the machine cleaning eitza because we don't own our own machine, we use a laundromat. And can't complain to the laundromat either, of course it's all use at your own risk Rolling Eyes

tizunabi

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 3:03 pm

MrsDuby wrote:

my Mother in law also suggested to me about cleaning the washer -- shes says they sell special washing machine soap for this exact thing. (ive yet to do it Smile

yeah, we used this once (it came for free with our washer when we bought). You are supposed to use it every three months. I never re-bought the stuff. All the things I saw online said to just run a HOT wash with soap. If you still see suds at the end of the cycle, do it again. It works just fine.

Seeker- try washing your stuff on a warm cycle. I think its a build up problem that happens when people only do cold washes.

ra_mom

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 4:21 pm

MrsDuby wrote:

im surprpised youre supposed to do it WITH soap. I was under hte impression its a build up of clogged / old detergent.

Me too. I would think it should be done with vinegar, maybe some baking soda too?

CherryBerry

Mon, Aug 27 2012, 9:04 pm

I used to get light blue stains like this all over a load and I figured out finally it was from my blue fabric softener. I started buying white fabric softener and adding extra water to the dispenser as well to dilute it even though it isn't concentrated in the first place. I've never had a problem since.