What could be causing reddish brown stains on whites & cottons.?

Question

these stains are predominantly on the fronts of white clothes. At first thougth to be iron manganese, but the satins can be removed with bleach. Of course some of the clothes (light colored cotton t- shirts) that are not totally white cannot be bleached and they are ruined. It also can be seen on light colored jeans. It looks like paint stains- but it's not...it's about the color of dried blood stains, but it's not blood.

I'm wondering if it could be a chemical reaction to something on the shirt (it's not a greasy stain) and the laundry detergent or something else in the water. The city water provider says thier incidenced of iron manganese is within tolerable levels...but it's definately something in the wash...they go in white and come out spotted. It doesn't happen every wash - but it is a frequent occurance and the clothes are ruined. It only happens to light colored cottons. Synthetic fabrics are not affected. Any ideas are appreciated.

Answer 1

Sounds like the inner part of the the washer has rusted out causing the stains. Our old washer did that to lots of clothes and sheets. We have a new one now.

EDITED:

Yes our washer left round rust spots on clothing etc. Yes it can be removed with a Rust Remover....I know Amway sells one.  If I left the clothes in the washer too long after the wash cycle I got the spots. If I removed them immediately they would be fine. Not every load resulted the same way. Have your washer checked out.

Answer 2

You might have rust in your washing machine that is leaching into the fabric while it is washing! Try hand washing your cloths for the time being, if no other stains are apparent when you hand wash then it is definitely your washing machine!

Answer 3

Do you have any crayons melted into one of the machines

Answer 4

I had problems like that .someone told me that most stains in whites are sweat ,but it is not visible when it is new but when you wash it very hot the protein will bind with the cotton .

|You have to wash all white clothes first in cold water that will losen the dirt and then wash hot.

Answer 5

I had that happen and it was rust from my washer basket

Answer 6

It may still be rust but you should clean your washer out every 6 months.

Do this by using the hottest water and highest level settings.  Add 1-2 cups of distilled vinegar and let it run a full wash. Do not add clothes!  This usually cleans out the basket and any "hidden" areas.

Hope that helps

Adieu!

Answer 7

It is a mystery of the laundry world, happens all the time.  It is probably also on your colored clothing but it is not easily seen.  I had the same problem, after going crazy trying to keep the clothing stain free and trying to diagnose the problem I found out that it was a problem with my washing machine.  It was relatively new (3 yrs old) but the tub had a few mars in the enamel coating.  The spots were rust from the tub.  Couldn't see the marred spots on the tub, they were under the spindel at the bottom, probably from jeans and were very small.

Good luck.  Try going to a laundromat with your whites, if it does not happen there, it is probably your machine.

Answer 8

How old is your washing machine? If it's old, the porcelain lining of the basket could have become chipped and there could be rusty places in the basket (the perforated part that you load the clothes into).

Answer 9

I don't know about it exactly but I remember at some point when I was young I mixed in something that had some red(or somewhat like it) in it and turned out that it spread into some brown spectacles. Not entirely sure but you should check for the clothes colors your washing and be sure not to mix vivid colored clothing with light color clothings.

Answer 10

it could be rust stains.  are washer is brand new and we still get them, it has something to do with the well water.  We use a product called rust out that is in a powder form it gets the rust out of clothes and helps clean out the washer so more stains don't appear.  The stains dont appear on the dark clothes just the whites.

Answer 11

dirt from your pores that are soaked in your shirt when you sweat...simple