Help Me! Spots on My Clothes After Being Washed...

I used to have the same problem but I haven't used Tide in years. Now I use a combination of All Free & Clear (or the Kirkland brand), OxiClean (which they also make in a fragrance-free version), and 1 cup of vinegar (which eliminates ALL odors). I also add everything to the water to dilute and dissolve BEFORE I put my clothes in. I haven't had any laundry problems in a long, long time. Good luck!

I believe that it is the Tide. We had a top loading washer and used Tide and Bounce and had the spots. We switched to All (Free) and they seemed to go away. After buying a front loader, we couldn't find All HE, so we had to go back to Tide. I hadn't noticed any spotting until recently. I take the clothes I find and spray them with Shout, and run them through again. It does take out those spots, but I don't know how to prevent new ones. There is no other way to put soap in a front loader, and I am using liquid. I would suggest changing detergents if possible, or buy stock in Shout.

We were having a similar problem and someone mentioned chapstick does it everytime. Is anyone leaving chapstick in their pants? I think my 3 year old was. Maybe on occasion I would too.

I used to use Tide and bounce as well and had the same problem. Believe it or not, Tide actually contains ground-up fiberglass as a filler. Now I use MelaPower and MelaSoft instead and haven't had the problem since. You can use PreSpot to spray on the grease stains. These products are free of harsh chemicals such as chlorine bleach, ammonia, formaldehyde and fiberglass so they are safer for your family as well. Plus, they are so concentrated, you only use 1/2 oz per load, that you will save money as well! Good luck!

Oey, we had this happen, concluded that it was from the liquid softner we bought from Costco.
Our solution, threw the rest out and used a stain remover and rewashed. The best stain remover in the world is that old school bar soap looking one. I forget the name. My mom lives in California and finds them at the dollar store! Anywho, also what area do you live in? We are in Kalispell, Mt and during the colder months we are suggested to use hot water mixed with warm in the washer BECAUSE the water temp is TOO cold to wash clothes sucessfully with.

Hi M.,
It is possible that you have some kind of greasy substance stuck inside your washer or your dryer. Perhaps you could try to wipe out your washer and dryer and check out your hamper or laundry baskets also. Maybe some lotion or chapstick or something is sitting somewhere that your laundry touches and you don't realize it.
I had a problem with orange spots on my clothes and after changing all of the detergents and softeners and being frustrated for months I figured out that it was the particular face wash we were using. Anything I washed with our wash cloths would end up with sporadic orange spots.
I feel your frustration. I hope you find an answer.
Take care, B.

Hi M..
We also were having spots on our clothes and determined it was the agitator style / age of our washing machine. Our top load, agitator style washer was over 17 years old and served us well! But it was time to replace it. For your sake, I hope the cause of your stains is from face wash as these other fine moms have found and not that you have to replace the washer. Good luck!

I have had this happen too. I really notice it on my Old Navy shirts! I love them but they are alot more up keep for me. LOL Anyway I use dawn dish soap on the spot I let it sit for at least thirty minutes or over night and then wash em. Takes the mark right out. I don't know what causes em, but since I found a way to get rid of spots I don't let it bug me anymore! Good Luck!

M. M,
I would say that you need to run your wash with only vinegar and baking soda for one whole load, no clothes, and that at some point maybe a pen or something got washed or something with grease that stayed in the washer. I would personally give up on bounce, have you ever read the label on the back, it actually states for the sheets not to come into contact with clothing. Not sure but I thought that was the purpose, personally I only use Melaleuca's brands and I will say that our clothes last so much longer, we outgrow clothes in our house, we don't wear them out.

I have the same problem on occasion. Usually, I can tie the spots to cooking splatters or kids dripping buttery or oily foods on clothing. Other times, I can not account for the cause but I DO have a solution. There is a product called De-Solv-it that is a citrus solution. According to the packaging, it is environmentally friendly, biodegradable and 100% organic. I find it at the hardware store with products like Goof Off for paint removal. I used to get it at Walmart but haven't been able to find it there lately. It is not a harsh chemical. It is approved for skin and hair (think bandaid residue and gum in hair removal). I used it to clean bandaid gunk off my daughter's knee last week and she liked that it didn't burn like alcohol and it required less rubbing. When I find grease spots on clothing, even after washing & drying, I simply spray the spot right before I throw it in the washer again. Problem solved. This is a staple product in my laundry room. Good luck!

Spots on clothing are such a nuisance. If nobody gives you a sure-fire answer as to what the spots are, take a couple of garments over to your local dry-cleaning people and ask them. They seem to know what spots are caused by what just by glancing at them! For what it's worth, by the way, I was advised by my appliance repair man that dryer sheets may pose health and safety hazards, and that liquid softener is better to use.

Tide used to do that to my clothes all the time, try a different brand. I love all free and clear, and i've never had a problem with spots

How are you putting the detergent in the washer? Do you have one that has a specific place for liquid detergent or are you putting it directly into the clothes? I used to get spots on my clothes if I used liquid detergent and put it directly into the clothes, even if the water was all full before I put it in. If you're putting detergent directly into the clothes cavity, you should be using the powder kind. If you have a spot that dispenses it with the water, then you should be fine with liquid. If that is the case, then I don't know about the spots. I use Tide with Bounce dryer sheets, as well as a liquid softener, and my clothes don't get spots on them that weren't there already. In other words, they don't get spots from the detergent. But I have a place to pour the detergent on the side of the machine that dispenses the soap with the water so it's all mixed up before it ever gets to my clothes. Hope that helps a little. If not, at least you know it my not be the detergent itself. I've seen two posts about using exactly what you use with no problem. But who knows... Good luck.

I have the SAME problem! My husband is getting frustrated cuz everytime he goes to iron his dress shirts, he comes across these stains/marks. I got one out this morning with a baby wipe. I'm just not sure where the problem lies. Let me know what you find out: ____@____.com

Have a good day!

Thanks,
P.

M. - You are not alone in this. I have this same issue all the time. For me, it's always the same few shirts. What brand of washer do you have? I don't have any help for you, but I 'm curious to see what responses you get from this inquiry.

Thanks for asking this. I have the same problem. I don't think it is cooking grease, cleanser, or anything else being transferred to the clothes because I wash my towels, etc. seperately. I also use Tide. I recently decided to try Wisk HE because I have a front loader. I felt like Tide wasn't getting my clothes clean. I am frustrated because it always seems to happen to our new or nicer clothes. I can't always get the stains out either. I just bought a new white shirt and a cream shirt and both of them have spots on the front now. Let me know if you find something that works. Tonya

I had the same problem. It is part inside your washing machine, I think, like a black part that is causing the spots and grease marks. Try cleaning your washing machine with a dry, white rag and see if it gets any greasy/black gunk on it.

Marci

I've had that happen to me before when I had a top-loader washer. My only guess was that the laundry detergent was somehow causing it. I do know that once that stain is there it is not going to go away, unfortunately.

So, I started to fill the washer up and add all of my stuff (detergent, oxiclean, whatever) without the clothes, wait for it to agitate and then add my clothes. That way, everything could dissolve first before the clothes are in it. I know it's kind of an annoying step but that problem never happened again. It also hasn't happened with my front loader. Good luck!

I've had these and what worked for me how I put the detergent in... After I started filling the tub up with water, adding the detergent to the tub, and then adding clothes, the spots went away. Good luck.

I always keep Dawn Dishwashing soap in my laundry room. Even after something has come out of the dryer, and it looks like a grease spot put Dawn dishwashing soap right on the stain and rewash, it will usually come right out.

My kids used to get spots on their clothes all the time. We discovered that it was the facial cleanser they were using Some of the cleanser got left on the washcloth and then spread when the laundry was combined and washed. It could be something like that.

I use Tide and Bounce drier sheets and have no spots show up on my clothes. Have
you checked the inside of your washer and drier? I would try cleaning the insides of
the washer and dryer. Best of luck!

We have this problem when a rag from the kitchen accidentally gets mixed in and spreads grease through the whole load. Try adding a squirt of Dawn dish soap to a load with all the clothes that have spots and see what happens. Also be sure you are not adding too many clothes to a load. They will not have enough space to agitate and get clean.

Thank God, it's not just me. I thought I was crazy... I had a reasonably new LG front-loading clothes washer and have begun to see what appears to be be dark oil-like spots on my colored cotton and cotton blend tee shirts. I tried rewashing them to no avail and figured they were just ruined -- very frustrating, as they are virtually brand new. I am going to try to run a cycle with just hot water and bleach as several people have recommended, because it is true that I wash a chapstick through a load about a year ago. But I figured that it had been all washed out by now. If anyone has any other ideas for how to resolve this particularly with a front-loader, I'd be grateful for the advice. Thanks, everyone!

My grandmother told me a trick that has worked on stains, I could not get out... She said citrus and apple stains (they look slightly beige/oily) respond to sunlight. So I always put any odd stains outside in a sunny place, even old stains that have been washed sometimes disappear in sunlight. I leave them outside for a couple of hours. Well maybe it will work.

C.

Hi M.,
I can help you with your laundry problem because I used to have the same problem. I use Melaleuca laundry products - you can't buy them at the store, but it's really easy to get them. They are the BEST. Please email me at ____@____.com and I would love to help you out!!

Is it possible you have hard water?