Funny grey spots

[HaplessHousewife]

So DD 3.2 is starting ballet lessons and we bought her her kit at the weekend. She's so excited that she's been wearing it on and off ever since. Fast forward to today when she gets to the toilet a little bit late and I chuck the pink leotard in the wash only for it to come out with grey spots over the top half of the front and the sleeves ? aarrgghh.

It was a 30˚ wash and nothing else is affected even white knickers. Help! Any ideas what it could be? I've bunged it back in the machine with some Vanish powder to see if that helps but don't know what else to try.

Any thoughts gratefully received (or suggestions for what I can tell DD!).

it might be the usual soap and fibre sludge in the machine.

Give the machine a Maintenance Wash on the HOT HOT HOT setting with no powder or fabsoft. Put in some old cotton towels if you have them. If the water goes grey or foams up, that will be the old sludge dissolving in the hot water. Do it again until the water stays clean and no longer foams. Take out the soap drawer and scrub the sludge and mildew off it with hot water (kitchen cleaner with bleach will kill the mildew) and do the same with the cavity the drawer goes in to.

You can add washing soda if you like, it will help dissolve old soap and any grease residue.

Take out and clean the pump filter while you're at it.

The sludge is usually a result of doing lots of cool washes, where the soap or detergent does not dissolve well and accumulates in the machine.

I don't know why the spots are only on the leotard, I would guess it might be a different fabric from the other garments an either attracted or retained them.

If the waste hose from the washer connects to the trap of the kitchen sink, post back, as there is another potential problem.

Thanks but I regularly maintain my washing machine (it's been done twice since Christmas) so I don't think it's that and waste hose goes directly outside.

Second run through with Vanish made no difference so looks like I might be buying a new one!

no idea then. If it was black spots it might have been grease from the drum bearing breaking up, that is seldom seen.

not bits of tissue or fluff as they would have picked off.