Why do I keep getting weird marks on my washing?

[Toffeefudgecake]

My Mum gave me some navy-blue towels last year and they all ended up with strange pink blotches on them. She thought I'd used bleach on them, but I hadn't. It looks as if the dye has come out in patches.

Now my MIL has given me some more navy-blue towels and I've washed them for the first time - and the same thing has happened! I don't understand it. I use Surcare - surely not the most abbrasive washing powder in the world?

I get all sorts of other marks on my washing too. Anything dark blue gets white marks on it that won't come out (deodorant? Yet I'm careful not to put clothes on until I'm dry). And I also get grease stains that won't come out, particularly on the children's clothes.

Maybe I need to change my washing powder . I use Surcare because it's perfume-free.

Any ideas, anyone?

Sounds like your powder isn't dissolving properly and lumps of it are coming into contact with your washing. This can cause patches of localized bleaching, which could be pink, brown, white, lots pf colours depending on the dye used in the fabric. White patches can also be residue of wading powder. Very unlikely to be deodorant, as this washes out fairly easily unless it's a big crusty patch in the underarm.

Possible solutions are:
change your powder
Swap powder for a liquid or gel product which dissolves easier
Only use powder on whites
Don't use powder on short wash cycles
Make sure your machine is not overloaded, which can trap lumps of detergent

Hope that helps! :)

Thank you, Flutey! It could be that, as I only ever use the Surcare tablets, never the liquid.

I will change to the liquid and see if that makes a difference. And I'll use up the powder on the whites only.

Do you use any skincare products that have benzoyl peroxide in them? That can bleach things.

Yes, Teeny, I do, although I've stopped recently. That's scary - to be putting something that can bleach towels onto my skin . Have recently swapped to Liz Earle stuff, though, so shouldn't be a problem anymore.

Are you washing on a low temperature? I think that powders need a hotter wash than liquid detergents otherwise they don't dissolve properly.

Also you might have a build up of grease in the washing machine itself - try running the machine empty on a very hot wash cycle occasionally with some white vinegar (although I hate doing this as I think it's a waste of energy!!).

the grease marks could be your iron. Even though there are no marks on my washing, when its been ironed they seem to have fat stains on them, another wash gets rid of them but I know its definetly coming from my iron somehow!

Certain toothpastes can leave funny bleach-like marks on dark towels if maybe children aren't rinsing that well but then wiping their faces on the towel.

Do you use calgon or anything like that in your washing machine to clear out the build-up?

Do you occasionally do a very hot (65 / 95 degree) wash? I try and do one a week as I'm sure it cleans out the gunk in the machine.

Gingefringe - I wash darks on 40. I thought that was OK. I'll try the idea of running the machine empty on a very hot wash - thanks for that.

Kbaby - I'm baffled by the grease marks. I have a fairly new iron, so it shouldn't be doing that to the clothes. And, anyway, I iron as little as possible, so I'm fairly sure that the grease marks are already on the clothes when they come out of the machine. I thought maybe I just had very greasy-fingered children .

Alibaba - hmm, DS1 probably wipes a toothpastey face on the towel, but I'm not sure if that's the culprit. Thanks for the tip about Calgon. And no, I don't ever clear out any build up in the machine. Didn't know I was meant to!

Meglet - another vote for running the machine on a very hot cycle to clear out the gunk. Thanks.

So, which is better? Calgon or vinegar? At any rate, I'll try running the machine on a hot wash and I'm switching to liquid soap for darks, so I'll see if any of these things help. The irony is that I changed from white hand towels in the bathroom to navy-blue towels because my mother pointed out that the white towels were not very, er, white anymore (although I put a clean towel in the bathroom every day - the towels aren't dirty, just marked) and that a dark colour would be better.