What am I doing wrong?

amother

Periwinkle

Mon, Sep 05 2016, 10:54 pm

My washing machine is the top of the line whirlpool front loader however I notice that 1 particular set of linen always has stains.
We use that linen in the guest room and we have guests quite often, every time I strip the linen I notice new stains. Usually I wash the linen and the cleaning lady puts it back on the beds.
My question is, am I washing the linen wrong, is my washing machine not doing a good job, or is the linen (expensive set from elegant linen) poor quality?
I do not have this issue with any other linen however the other linen is darker colored so it's possible I'm missing the stains.
I wash the linen on the towel setting which is hot water and fast spin.
Am I doing something wrong or did I spend $300 on a bad quality set of linen?
It amazes me how the linen gets so dirty to begin with.. The set is gray and white so I guess every thing shows up.

zaq

Tue, Sep 06 2016, 8:16 am

You might want to try either soaking the linens first in cold water with an enzyme cleaner that digests protein, or soaking and washing in cold water first and then hot. Hot water sets protein stains such as, ahem, body fluids, which is why you need the initial cold-water soak to remove the proteinaceous material. It does seem odd that you'd have this problem only with this set of linens, though.

Another possibility is that what you're seeing is color bleeding and showing up on the white areas. One would expect expensive linens to be colorfast, but you could have been scammed or gotten a bad batch. If that is the case, bring the linens back to the store and ask for a refund or replacement.

What do the stains look like--color, shape, size? Did you observe the stains only after laundering, or when you stripped the beds? Obviously if the stains appear before laundering, neither the washer nor the laundering method is at fault. Perhaps the bed frame or mattress is transferring something--rust? grease from the manufacturing process?--to the linens.

amother

Periwinkle

Tue, Sep 06 2016, 10:38 am

Zaq, thanks for your reply. I actually did an 8 hour soak this time before washing the linen. Great idea about the cold water, I'll try that next.
I'm noticing it when I strip the linen, but like I said my cleaning lady makes the beds so I don't usually get involved until after the guests have left. The linens just finished in the dryer so I'll take a look and see if they still have stains.
The stains look light brown/tan.
Don't think it's from the bed or mattress the bedroom in newly redone with brand new furniture and we don't have headboards or anything like that.
I'm guessing a bad batch of linen. Would elegant linen laugh at me? I've had the linen over a year.