Baffled by white marks on your freshly laundered clothes? It’s a dilemma many face post-wash as puzzling stains and blemishes materialise out of nowhere.
You might attribute these to other garments’ dye bleeding or perhaps a bleach mishap if you attempted to tackle a stubborn stain and went overboard.
However, if you’ve dismissed such culprits and persistently notice white marks especially, the explanation might be straightforward – it boils down to your washing technique.
This solution emerged on Reddit where someone lamented their “8-10 months” struggle with persistent white residue on their attire.
Their post detailed how the affected clothes didn’t retain any odour – discounting the likelihood of mould – plus their futile effort to clean the washing machine thoroughly.
They observed: “The thing is, it’s not happening to all of the clothes! Clothes will come out of the wash looking clean, and some items will develop this residue, and some will not. The primary victims are jeans, pants, and some dresses (not all). Most of our tops and tees are fine,” reports the Mirror.
Those annoying white marks on clothes that often appear after washing and drying can be attributed to a common laundry mistake, which is thankfully easy to fix. The issue? Overuse of washing powder.
When the problem was shared online, savvy internet users were quick to suggest using “less detergent”, particularly after it was revealed that the original poster had been filling “half the tray” with washing liquid for each load.
One commenter advised: “This looks like you’re using too much detergent, so the clothes can’t rinse properly, and the detergent can’t dissolve in the amount of water in the wash cycle.
“Build-up tends to stick and build up on ‘coarser’ fabrics when it doesn’t dissolve well. Just rewash the stained clothes on a normal cycle and go super easy on the detergent.”
Another added their voice to the conversation, recommending: “Use less detergent, only 1-2 tablespoon max per load.”
It’s important to note that the quantity of detergent required can vary based on the size of your washing machine and the size of the load.
For instance, Ariel, a popular washing powder brand, recommends approximately 35ml of liquid detergent for machines between 4-5kg, 55ml for those with a capacity of 6-8kg, and 70ml for machines over 9kg.
Powder detergent measurements are slightly higher, with 105ml suggested for 4-5kg loads, 160ml for 6-8kg, and 210ml for loads exceeding 9kg.
