Your most beloved white shirt comes out of the dryer with mysterious-looking laundry stains, and you don’t know where it came from or why it’s there. It wasn’t there when you started the wash so where did it come from? Here are some common causes of such stains.
First Cause of Laundry Stains
One of the most common causes of a clear-looking, greasy stain can actually come from fabric softener. Liquid fabric softeners contain fats that are added to the laundry to protect it during the drying process. As a result, if too much is used, you could end up with a grease spot on your laundry.
Fortunately, if fabric softener is the culprit, a simple re-washing should take care of the problem. We do suggest that you try rubbing some dawn dish soap into the stain just before washing. This will aid in the removal of the excess fats.
Second Cause of Laundry Stains
Another cause of laundry stains, on your dry laundry, could have come from something that made it through the wash and then melted in the drying process. The most common culprit here is lip balm (AKA: Chapstick).
Why does this happen? Well, if you used a cold or warm water wash, the chapstick won’t melt until it gets into the dryer. Once it melts in the dryer it will most likely deposit a greasy film onto a few items of clothing.
Again you should be able to remedy this with a degreaser such as OxiClean sprayed onto the stain just before re-washing.
How To Avoid Greasy Laundry Stains
Here are a few simple tricks to use for a better wash. Always check your pockets before you start the wash. Pre-treat any, and all stains with a quality pre-treater. This will help the detergent do a better job.
Finally, use only the recommended amount of fabric softener. If the load is small, and only calls for a 1/4 cap of softener, add enough water to the cap to fill it up. This will help the product distribute more evenly and may prevent greasy stains.
