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. Don’t overload the washing machine either. Not using enough detergent combined with overloading can cause poor wash results and redistribution of grease onto laundry, so something that didn’t have grease spots on it before can come out of the wash with one on.
If your laundry sometimes comes out of the washer with greasy dark stains on coloured garments (or stains with a waxy appearance) here are a few possible causes –
- 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
- Make sure you don’t use too much fabric conditioner : Pre-treat with Ariel Liquid and soak in warm water for 10 minutes before washing as normal
How to remove grease marks or spots on clothes from cooking oil (and other grease spots)
One common method to try is 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.
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Sarah says
November 3, 2010 at 12:25 pmMy 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
August 8, 2012 at 6:24 pmi 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
August 13, 2012 at 11:35 amBlack marks or spots can be caused by black mould, is there black mould on the door seal?
Drew says
October 15, 2014 at 4:48 pmThanks Washerhelp that’s what it was grease and a little mold on the door. easy fix
Fran says
March 6, 2015 at 12:12 pmWhen I do a wash I always get black spots on my clothing. Can you tell me why that is.
Andy Trigg (Whitegoodshelp) says
March 20, 2015 at 12:03 pmBlack 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
September 12, 2015 at 12:00 amSome 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
September 14, 2015 at 11:56 amOil 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.