Clothes ruined in the washing machine

[Ketryne]

Re-posting this here as I’m hoping for the knowledge of people more proficient in household tasks than me! I’m at my wits end.

Our clothes (especially pale coloured baby clothes) keep coming out of the washing machine with little round grease stains all over them that won’t wash out. We used to have an old washer dryer that was failing in other ways so I assumed it was down to that, so we recently got a brand new washing machine and separate drier and it’s happening again!

I can only assume now that it’s something to do with the detergent. We use Fairy non bio gel because my skin has always reacted to anything else. Has anyone else had this issue?

I think it’s worse at lower temps (30 rather than 40) but my spiderman-obsessed DS has a bunch of character T-shirts that seem to fade at 40 degrees.

What am I doing wrong?? I can’t keep replacing clothes at this pace.

Can anyone…
Either suggest how I might stop these grease stains on clothes.

OR suggest a super skin kind gentle detergent I could try instead!

Thank you.

We use the same detergent as you, are you putting too much laundry in the washing machine? Could it be detergent left on clothes due to this

run a cleaning cycle on the machine, then run it with the minimum amount of detergent recommended on the bottle and no fabric conditioner then dry without using any tumble-dryer sheets or fragrance beads. look to see if its any better, with issues like this its a process of elimination.

where do you store clothes prior to washing? could it be something in the washing basket or being sprayed in the bathroom like a fragrance dispenser?

Possibly a machine cleaner needed? Make sure not to overload machine, and don't put too much detergent in.

I had this and it was something to do with grease from a drive belt or similar..

I had that when using too much detergent, also with fairy non bio that you squeeze into a cap. I cut the amount of detergent in half and made sure the when I put the cap into the washing machine it stayed upright so it would only turn over once the washing machine turned on. I think sometimes the cap would over turn and if I’d put the wash on a delay it would mark the clothes if I let the sit in the concentrated detergent.

I use smol laundry pods now and haven’t had this issue again. I found they worked well for my son but we didn’t switch until he was 2.

It’s a brand new washing machine, only a few weeks old, and the most recent items of clothing I’ve seen the stains on were brand new since the new washing machine (DD moved up to the next size at the same time). But the stains are exactly the same as we were getting with the old one. Is it possibly something from the water supply/pipe?

I don’t use any other product except occasionally Napisan, which I mostly stopped to eliminate one possible cause.

I am possibly putting too much detergent in, and we occasionally leave the washing in the machine with the detergent on a timer to wash in the night, could that be the problem?

I don’t think it’s due to overloading as the new machine is bigger than the old one and it is mostly on the kids’ clothes which are usually washed in a separate load to adult ones and never a very full wash.

I really thought the new washing machine would fix the problem so I can’t believe I’m still finding grease stains on brand new baby sleep suits. I can’t work out how detergent could cause stains that won’t then wash out 😩

Ahh! This might be the problem.

I’ll try reducing the detergent and keeping the cap upright. I might try the tablets to avoid leaving things soaking in the stuff, but a few years ago I had issues with the tablet coating not dissolving properly and leaving a sticky residue. Maybe they’ve improved since then?

'Grease stains on clothes after washing may indicate a problem with your washing machine, specifically, worn-out parts like bearings or seals leaking oil or grease. To address the issue and remove stains, treat them immediately with dish soap, baking soda, and/or commercial stain removers, and consider cleaning your washing machine or seeking professional repair.'

Op I would run a washing cleaner through on a boiled wash, and the retry. Otherwise it sounds like the washer/fittings. Who fitted it?

I would think these would cause detergent stains though, not grease stains. On past occasions when I've out too much detergent (blue liquid in), I've ended up with blue stains, not grease.

This is what we assumed, which is why we replaced the old washer-drier. It had only started happening in the last 6 months so we figured it was due to a failing machine. The new one was installed by John Lewis but was a fairly simple case of plugging into the water supply and waste pipes.

The stains look like water droplets but they obviously don’t dry or go away on subsequent washes.

@Ketryne try fairy powder instead? I find that the gel and liquid do leave grease stains especially if I set the machine up before bed on the timer. Don’t have the same issue with the power or the liquid pods.

Use powder not gel.

Powder is better I find

Does the manufacturer (eg Philips, Bosch) have an FAQ or chat bot, or a users’ forum?

I use liquid but put it in the drawer rather than the drum. Wash everything at 40 and nit had any problems with stains. Could you do DH's tshirts on a seperate wash?

You’re not using bubbles a lot are you? Bubble mix stains like this.

Can you clarify whether you put the detergent into the washing machine tray or if you pour it inside the drum, directly onto the clothes?

I had this issue back when I lived in uni halls and you had to pour detergent directly onto the clothes. But whenever I have used a washing machine with a detergent tray, I have never had this issue.

Yes! We use loads of bubbles, the kids love them. But I don’t notice stains appearing while she’s wearing the clothes, only after washing, could the marks take that long to appear?

I’m using the doser cup and putting it directly into the machine so I think maybe that’s my error.

Yes they react with the detergent unfortunately and create the spots during washing. There’s stain-free bubble mix, I think it’s the Gazillion stuff.

Is it draining correctly? Can the water drain out from the pipes ok ?

Good news is that it’s not your washing machine! Bad news is that they are very difficult stains to get rid of, but hopefully if you swap out the bubble mix you won’t get any new ones! I always suspect bubble mix when someone with young kids is complaining about grease spots after washing, it’s textbook. The detergent causes a chemical reaction with the bubble mix spots during the washing cycle, but the bubble mix dries invisible before then so people blame the washing machine etc. when it’s the bubble mix (or rather the chemical reaction between the bubble mix and detergent). We had several clothes casualties before we switched to the stain-free stuff.

You could try an enzymatic cleaner or spot treat with washing up liquid to try and remove them.

Well I had no idea! I’m off to buy some Gazillion bubble mix now. It would explain why it’s mostly on the baby clothes. Bubbles keep her happy better than anything!

Do some towels or something on a really long, hot wash.

Then switch to powder and see what happens.

I agree, I don't put anything other than a colour catching sheet into the drum. Detergent does in the draw.