White streaks on clothes when taken out of Washer

21stCentury

Hey all, i have had a problem for several months with whiteish streaks on my clothing when i take it out of the washer.

I wash my clothes, which are mostly dark colors, in my building's washing machine. Whenever i take my clothes out after a cycle, there are whitish streaks on them, which are especially visible on darker pieces of clothing. I can rub those out when the clothes are still humid but A) I often miss spots It's a pain. I've tried switching machines to no avail. I use Gain Flings 3-in-1 detergent pods. I've used those for a while but the whitish streaks seem to have started occurring in the middle of that so IDK?

Did that ever happen to anyone here? Thanks in advance for the help!

Heffling

Here's a list of reasons from a quick google search. I suspect it's number 4, 6, or 7 as these machines probably need some maintenance.

https://www.thespruce.com/causes-white-residue-washed-clothes-2146672

I have a similar problem, but it involves brown streaks... =p

bowen

Yeah it used to happen all the time to me with poorly maintained apartment/laundromat washers with shitty bleach reservoirs still had some bleach hanging out.

I've ruined so many black shirts this way. I used to just run a load of whites ahead of time (without adding my own bleach) just to help clear out whatever was in there still. Some washers will dump the bleach regardless of the setting (whites/colors) because of the "color bleach" they have now.

Fiendishrabbit

IMHO someone has done a washing using all machines and way too much detergent, so there's residue somewhere in the machines.
Do a single empty wash in a machine with half a cup of white vinegar and see if that fixes the problem.

I would also check the filters to see if they're gunked up.

21stCentury

Fiendishrabbit wrote: »

IMHO someone has done a washing using all machines and way too much detergent, so there's residue somewhere in the machines.
Do a single empty wash in a machine with half a cup of white vinegar and see if that fixes the problem.

I would also check the filters to see if they're gunked up.

It's not my own washer, i guess i'll have to complain to the landlady. The machines look very old... Hrm.

Fiendishrabbit

There are a couple of other possibilities, but that involves using too much detergent/softener or overloading the washer.
But if you haven't changed washing patterns...

tastydonuts

You're using one pod per load, correct? Pod in first?

Assuming you're leaving enough room for the pod to properly tumble/agitate and disperse stuff? The pack itself has to dissolve and if the process happens later (during the other phases) then you tend to get streaks. At worst you can get "snot globs" of the casing on your clothes. They dissolve too, but yeah. Balance is key.

Is the washer an HE washer?

dispatch.o

I've had issues with those pods not dissolving. I switched to a liquid detergent and it solved 99% of my problems. You also don't really need nearly as much detergent as packaging suggests, so it saves quite a bit of money.

ceres

Fiendishrabbit wrote: »

IMHO someone has done a washing using all machines and way too much detergent, so there's residue somewhere in the machines.
Do a single empty wash in a machine with half a cup of white vinegar and see if that fixes the problem.

I would also check the filters to see if they're gunked up.

I think this is probably a great idea but I can't imagine it is in any way your responsibility to troubleshoot. It's their machine, people who live there need clean clothes, the landlord needs to fix their shit.

21stCentury

tastydonuts wrote: »

You're using one pod per load, correct? Pod in first?

Assuming you're leaving enough room for the pod to properly tumble/agitate and disperse stuff? The pack itself has to dissolve and if the process happens later (during the other phases) then you tend to get streaks. At worst you can get "snot globs" of the casing on your clothes. They dissolve too, but yeah. Balance is key.

Is the washer an HE washer?

I use one pod per wash, i used to do big big loads with two pods without getting streaks, so i'm guessing it's the machines at this point.

IDK what kind of washers they are, I could check, I guess.

tastydonuts

Oh, if it's HE it'll have like a sticker or the HE seal on it:



If they are HE and someone is using non-HE detergent then that could be the reason why you're getting streaks. Buildup would happen faster since HE washers use way less water.

21stCentury

tastydonuts wrote: »

Oh, if it's HE it'll have like a sticker or the HE seal on it:



If they are HE and someone is using non-HE detergent then that could be the reason why you're getting streaks. Buildup would happen faster since HE washers use way less water.

it's not a HE washing machine. They're all real old.

Bliss 101

Try adding 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the fabric conditioner dispenser. That should help dissolve any detergent residue, and also leaves your laundry smelling fresh (the vinegary odor doesn't stick to fabrics).

Also +1 vote for liquid detergent.

21stCentury

Bliss 101 wrote: »

Try adding 1/2 cup of white vinegar in the fabric conditioner dispenser. That should help dissolve any detergent residue, and also leaves your laundry smelling fresh (the vinegary odor doesn't stick to fabrics).

Also +1 vote for liquid detergent.

the washers don't have any dispenser tanks, actually.

mts

you can add to rinse cycle

tastydonuts

wow... they are truly really old machines... is it a top loader?

21stCentury

tastydonuts wrote: »

wow... they are truly really old machines... is it a top loader?

yeah.