There are various possible causes for grease marks on clothes after washing. To try and prevent it always make sure you use a good quality detergent, and use the correct amount as advised on the packet for your water hardness and the level of soiling. Don’t overload the washing machine either..
Not using enough detergent combined with overloading can cause poor wash results. It can also cause “redistribution” of grease onto the laundry.
So something that didn’t have grease spots on it before can come out of the wash with marks on it. If you imagine that some of the dirt and grease is lifted out of some laundry but then deposited on another item. This is because the dirt and grease isn’t held by the detergent because there wasn’t enough in there.
How to remove grease marks or spots on clothes
Oil and grease spills during meals or during cooking can be particularly stubborn to remove from polyester. Pre-treat with something like Ariel Liquid and wash at the highest temperature recommended on the care label of the article.
Try using washing up liquid and an old toothbrush. Put some washing up liquid onto the toothbrush and gently rub the affected area round and round with it. After treating, put the laundry back in the wash on the wash cycle recommended for the garment as stated on its wash label.
Sarah says
My mum always put some Swarfega on any greasy marks on clothes before putting them in the washing machine, and it seems to work. Try on a bit of the fabric you won’t see first though, just to check.
kim burke says
i have black mark all around the drum and it looks like grease and i cannot seem to shift these marks so when cycle is finished especially with the larger items the are getting marked as the washing is pulled out.
Washerhelp says
Black marks or spots can be caused by black mould, is there black mould on the door seal?
Drew says
Thanks Washerhelp that’s what it was grease and a little mold on the door. easy fix
Fran says
When I do a wash I always get black spots on my clothing. Can you tell me why that is.
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Black spots are commonly caused by black mould though they normally appear on the door seal rather than on the laundry (What causes black mould on washing machines?). But if the door seal is covered in black mould then clothes could be picking up black marks from there. Have a good look at the inside of your door seal to see if it is affected and if so read the article I’ve just linked to.
If the door seal appears to be perfectly clean and not covered in black mould than the other place clothes could pick up black marks from are from the inside of the main outer drum when they get pushed through the small holes in the inner drum during spin. If the outer drum is covered with gunge inside they could pick it up from there. However again, if the washing machine was so badly gunged up inside I would expect the door seal to be equally affected.
Another possibility is oil from worn drum bearings. If this is the case I would expect the washing machine to be quite noisy on spin, usually a rumbling sound.
Louise says
Some of my items in a white wash come out with what appears to look like and smell like oil. Machine appears to be working fine though. No weird noises
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
Oil makes me think of drum bearings. If you are talking about a top loader though they are something I’ve not worked on but I know they sometimes have gearboxes that could leak oil.
Barbara OHagan says
My washing is coming out with brown spots in the pattern of a colander. Must be coming through the drum. Would anyone have any ideas?