Small brown/orange stains on white clothing, after washing

elsmandino

Morning all.

We have been suffering with an ongoing issue, whereby white clothes are coming out of our washing machine with small (only a couple of millimeters) but very visible browny/orangy specs.

This started to happen every-so-often (about six months ago) but seems to be happening more frequently - the other day, twice in a row.

In case it is relevant, we have a Samsung Ecobubble (only three years old) and we keep it spotlessly clean.

The specs only seem to appear on things like shirts and underwear - we washed a white towel with them but that did not have anything on it.

I have checked the drum for rust (found nothing at all) and there are definitely no coins trapped anywhere.

Any advice would be much appreciated, as it is driving us made.

littlegreen

Have you done a washing machine wash with some washing machine cleaner or you can do a homemade version with bicarb etc (have a look on google). Hard water area, does it need some decaler? I have found some fabric conditioners do leave a mark but usually more browny grey ans only occassionally. I've stopped using fabric conditioner personally, just occassionally throw in a few of those scent boosters, and I've stopped getting the marks.

Sure someone will be along soon with more ideas

elsmandino

Thanks, littlegreen.

We have used all types of cleaner - homemade and commercial.

We do, however, live in a particularly hard water area.

I might see if descaler will help.

I have also come accross this, 

The Best Inline Water Filter For Washing Machines | 6 Best Inline Water Filter (dailyfilters.com)

which might help, but not too sure whether it is a bit of a gimmick or not.

I have actually read that people are turning against fabric conditioners as they can cause more problems than the solve.  Do you find your clothes are just as good without?

pieroabcd

You could try to do an empty cycle with only percarbonate for whites at 60 degrees (oxygen based bleaching agent).
Something like 4 scoops.
You can the same to every wash. 
Anyway it's strange that don't appear on towels. 

pieroabcd

By the way, the worst problems of modern washing machines is that they always use too little water.
I always add several liters at every cycle and do a double rinse, that removes the detergent smell. 

Silvertabby

elsmandino said:

Thanks, littlegreen.

We have used all types of cleaner - homemade and commercial.

We do, however, live in a particularly hard water area.

I might see if descaler will help.

I have also come accross this, 

The Best Inline Water Filter For Washing Machines | 6 Best Inline Water Filter (dailyfilters.com)

which might help, but not too sure whether it is a bit of a gimmick or not.

I have actually read that people are turning against fabric conditioners as they can cause more problems than the solve.  Do you find your clothes are just as good without?

I've always used half a cup of white vinegar instead of fabric softener.  Doesn't smell, leaves clothes soft (without the sticky feel that some fabric softeners can leave) and keeps the washing machine clean.  Although, being in a hard water area, I run a descaler through every couple of months.

greenbee

I’ve also used vinegar instead of softener for years. You can add a drop of lavender essential oil to it if you like. It also means you can wash towels with other stuff and not worry about their absorbency being affected. The WM is less stinky, and less likely to get the drawer clogged. I run a drum clean cycle (on previous machines that didn’t have this, a 90c wash with nothing in it) once a month - soda crystals one month to degunk, citric acid the other to descale. And clean the filter before I do that (I also wash pet bedding just before doing this so the machine is clean afterwards). 

elsmandino

Thanks everyone - really helpful information.

In the end, we found a solution that seemed to work.

We have stopped using fabric softener and now use a mixture of vinegar, bicarb and water (1:1:2), which we put in the softener compartment.  As suggested, a few drops of essential oils adds a bit of fragrance.

We also bought a pack of Calgon (4 in 1) that includes rust protection - this gets added to the draw at every wash as well.

The issue seems to have stopped, now.

Thanks again for everyone's input - very much appreciated.