Laundry mystery

[just4today]

Help me solve my laundry mystery. This is just making me crazy!! A couple of months ago, I bought a new, super-cheap laundry soap. I wanted to save some money and figured "soap is soap" so what does it matter? Well, soon after that I had several t-shirts and blouses that came out of the wash with blue stains. There were stains all over the garments, but heavily concentrated in the armpits I tried everything to get them out - Oxy Clean, bleach, Sray 'n Wash - but nothing worked.

I figured it had to have been caused by the soap, so I discarded it and bought some name-brand soap. Well, this past weekend I did laundry and the same thing happened! I've now had 4 garments completely ruined.

The only other thing I can think of is there is some chemical in my underarm deodorant that is reacting with the soap to cause this. But it happened to one of my DD's shirts too, and we use different deodorants.

Has anybody else had this experience? I would appreciate any advice before I toss out this soap, or my deodorant.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Have you cleaned out your drum and run hot water thru it. My thought is that you have some of the cheap brand caked in your drum somewhere.
Go over it with a fine tooth comb.

 

[Sorsha]

Help me solve my laundry mystery. This is just making me crazy!! A couple of months ago, I bought a new, super-cheap laundry soap. I wanted to save some money and figured "soap is soap" so what does it matter? Well, soon after that I had several t-shirts and blouses that came out of the wash with blue stains. There were stains all over the garments, but heavily concentrated in the armpits I tried everything to get them out - Oxy Clean, bleach, Sray 'n Wash - but nothing worked.

I figured it had to have been caused by the soap, so I discarded it and bought some name-brand soap. Well, this past weekend I did laundry and the same thing happened! I've now had 4 garments completely ruined.

The only other thing I can think of is there is some chemical in my underarm deodorant that is reacting with the soap to cause this. But it happened to one of my DD's shirts too, and we use different deodorants.

Has anybody else had this experience? I would appreciate any advice before I toss out this soap, or my deodorant.

i did a little bit of a search for you and all I could find online was suggestions that your softener or soap may not be dispersing properly. This link says:

Problem: Blue Stains
Solution: Detergent or fabric softener may not be dissolving or dispersing. If detergent causes the problem, soak the garment in a plastic container using a solution of 1 cup white vinegar to 1 quart water. Soak for one hour, then rinse and launder. If you've been using fabric softener, rub stains with bar soap. Rinse and launder.


Problem: To Prevent Stains from Detergent or Fabric Softener
Solution: Add the detergent and turn on the washer before adding laundry. If using fabric softener, dilute it in water before adding to wash or rinse cycle or to dispenser.

I don't think the problem is your deodorant. A few sites said that if your deodorant has a lot of castor oil in it, that might cause staining, but not blue.

Good luck! HTH!

 

[englishteacha]

My husband has one shirt that has blue armpit stains. I have no idea what from. The shirt is a yellow color. I use Tide on his clothes and a free and clear detergent on mine and this had never happened before. I think it's a chemical in his deodorant that reacted with the shirt or the detergent.

 

[just4today]

Thanks for the suggestions. The cheap soap was a liquid, not powder so I guess I don't see how it wouldn't disolve. I use mostly cold water (only use hot for whites w/bleach), so maybe that is contributing to it. I have tried soaking the stained shirts in Oxy Clean overnight but the stains will not budge on my white blouses. My DD's pink t-shirt did have the stains fade somewhat in the Oxy Clean.

And I have run hot water through several times since the first incident. Maybe I should start using warm water instead of cold.

I'm not sure how to "clean the drum" other than to visually inspect it to make sure there is nothing in there.

 

[worm761]

Try soaking your ruined clothes in peroxide. I know it sounds weird but it usually works. Go to the dollar store and get the peroxide cheap. Peroxide will take out most stains. Don't dilute the peroxide.

 

[3boymthr]

To clean the washer don't just run hot water through it.

I was told by the washer repair guy to get a gallon of bleach and pour the whole thing into the washer. Run it with the bleach and hot water and nothing else - no soap, etc. Make sure to run it as a large load and run the longest most vigorous wash cycle the machine has. This will also kill any micro-organisms/bacteria/mold lingering in the machine.

Per the washer repair guy this should be done at least once a year.

Considering how cheap bleach is I thought it was a pretty good way to clean the washer - certainly less money than that new "washer" cleaner being sold by P&G under the Tide label.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

I'm not sure how to "clean the drum" other than to visually inspect it to make sure there is nothing in there.

You get some vinegar and a towel and start wiping it out. See if you get anything on the cloth.

I don't know about your washer but liquid detergent can get gunky around the edge tops of the drum & where you pour it in in mine.

My DH had to take off the lid and we cleaned in those crevices as well.

 

[AlienBrain]

My husband has one shirt that has blue armpit stains. I have no idea what from. The shirt is a yellow color. I use Tide on his clothes and a free and clear detergent on mine and this had never happened before. I think it's a chemical in his deodorant that reacted with the shirt or the detergent.

You are correct about this. My husband switched from anti-perspirant to deodorant and hasn't ever had pit stains since he switched to deodorant about 5 years ago.

It's a common misconception that pit stains are caused by pit sweat. It is caused by the aluminum (I forget the entire chemical name) in the anti-perspirant. FYI, using anti-perspirants raises your chance of having breast cancer because of the aluminum in it. Stay away from it if you can and switch to deodorant instead. Or some natural anti-perspirant alternative.

 

[phamton]

FYI, using anti-perspirants raises your chance of having breast cancer because of the aluminum in it.

This claim is disputed by the American Cancer Society.
http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_6_1x_Antiperspirants.asp?sitearea=PED

And also the National Cancer Institute.
http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/risk/ap-deo

 

[just4today]

Try soaking your ruined clothes in peroxide. I know it sounds weird but it usually works. Go to the dollar store and get the peroxide cheap. Peroxide will take out most stains. Don't dilute the peroxide.

I did this and it had no effect whatsoever.

To clean the washer don't just run hot water through it.

I was told by the washer repair guy to get a gallon of bleach and pour the whole thing into the washer. Run it with the bleach and hot water and nothing else - no soap, etc. Make sure to run it as a large load and run the longest most vigorous wash cycle the machine has. This will also kill any micro-organisms/bacteria/mold lingering in the machine.

Per the washer repair guy this should be done at least once a year.

You get some vinegar and a towel and start wiping it out. See if you get anything on the cloth.

I did both of these things too. I didn't come up with any gunk or grime on the towel. Afterward I ran it through a cycle with bleach and hot water. So I guess I'll have to wait and see what happens next.

The thing that's confusing to me is why it only seems to be happening to light colored shirts. My gray t-shirts are not affected, nor are my bras (which you would think they would be if it was a chemical reaction with the deodorant).

 

[dawson5]

what about trying that color run stuff they sell in the laundry section? (I know it's not a color bleed but it might take it out)

Also, be careful of the bleach if you have septic tank.