Black cotton clothes - what am I doing wrong?

[MadameBethune]

I splashed out on some good quality black cotton shirts and dresses for work this summer, but I can't keep them looking good. Every time I wash, they come out with white marks, even after extra rinses. Sometimes the marks are like smudges here and there, sometimes like a white marbling effect over whole areas. I iron them, and grey lines appear.

I have done a hot wash to clean the washing machine. We do live in a hard water area, is that the problem?

Are you using powder soap or liquid?
Black clothes usually want cold water, and to be inside out when washing and drying to avoid a fade happening.

I'm using liquid, washing in cold water. I don't think this is a fading issue, these are marks on the surface.

I found liquids left sludge in my machine that marked clothes. I wash inside out and use powder (you can also buy powder for colours).

Try adding vinegar to your softener drawer to make sure the detergent is being washed out properly if your water is hard. Also, don’t use fabric softener.

You can get a liquid detergent specifically for dark clothes.

Also if you haven’t run a washing machine cleaning cycle in a while, definitely worth doing to get rid of build up.

I find I get the marks on dark clothes when I’ve over loaded the washing machine. It’s usually on DHs dark cotton T-shirts.

Maybe washing cold is the problem - try 40 degrees, or 30?

Thank you for suggestions, I will give them a try.

If they’re cotton and pure black you can always use Dylon dye to bring them back to life.

I’m glad you asked this, I have exactly the same problem. I wash at 30 and use liquid.

Switching to washing powder eliminated this problem for me.

Do a maintenance wash at 90 with dr beckmans - cleans out all residual powder/sludge etc.