New washing machine leaving black marks on clothes

[TKH]

Hi

My new washing machine is leaving black streaks on my clothes, and it happened with my last machine too. It is driving me insane! No one could get to the bottom of it so I paid for a washing machine repair guy to come round and he thought it might be the seal deteriorating and the marks may be from the rubber where the clothes are getting caught in the seal.

However I clean the seal every time as I’m so paranoid about it. I don’t overload my machine and nothing I put in is that dirty, no greasy clothes etc. I do a service wash at 90 with the powder that Hotpoint recommended to keep my machine clean. I am at my wits end. I have a 3 month old baby and all his white vests and baby grows are coming out with black streaks. My bedding is ruined. I’m too scared to put whites in now. The marks are a similar pattern, they have a white streak in between the black marks, like they are getting caught on something.

I wonder if anything else/the plumbing could be causing this. I’ve googled this problem and usually it’s caused by a build up of dirt and this is happening with a new machine and I’ve tried everything that’s been suggested re not overloading, cleaning the seal, doing a service wash. I also switched from liquid detergent in the drawer to liquid capsules in the drum (usually bio) with whitening powder in the drawer and whitening sheets in the drum as I’m so paranoid about the marks but this just came out covered in black streaks as well. I usually wash at 40 and avoid short washes but when I have done a short wash the marks are even worse 

Any help gratefully received. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

This might seem like a daft question but do you use a tumble dryer too? I once had troublesome marks on laundry where the washing machine got blamed but it turned out to be the dryer causing them. Apart from that, the marks look like the laundry is getting nipped or trapped in the door seal. However, door seals are grey and shouldn't cause black marks. All of the hoses inside the washing machine such as the sump hose and the main water inlet hose are black. But the only way laundry could come into contact with them is when pressed through the holes in the drum. That would leave spots not lines.

Washer dryers have a rubber flange at the top of the door seal where the hot air is blown into the drum. It's possible for laundry to catch up there. Try getting a white piece of cloth or sock stretched out over a hand and rub all around the drum firmly. Rub it in between the door seal and drum and around the hot air vent at the top of the seal. See if you can get any black marks on it which would show where they are coming from.

[TKH]

Yes I do use a tumble dryer too. I didn’t put the last load in so didn’t see it when it came out of the washing machine, only the tumble dryer 

However with my previous machines I had similar marks and it was definitely from the washing machine as I was washing in the Summer and not using the tumble dryer 

I’ll try the cloth suggestion and I will check the clothes before they go in the tumble dryer and report back 

What could it be in the tumble dryer that’s causing the marks and how do I get it sorted? 

I’ve got another plumber coming round on Friday as I didn’t want to go back to Hotpoint again until I’ve ruled everything else out 

Tina 

 

 

 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

I have to say it was a long time ago but I never forgot the lesson it taught me about not making assumptions. Back then it was a Hoover tumble dryer and it was black grease from the dryer's front bearings. It's probably quite unlikely these days but just double check that the marks are only appearing after the wash. Check the other things I mentioned too and hopefully you may find something to report.

[CSL]

Hi. I’m fascinated to hear where TKH got to with this as I literally have had exactly the same scenario with a Bosch washer dryer which ruined countless white / light items of clothing with black (almost oil like) marks. It was less than two years old but we replaced it as it was destroying our babies clothes and bedding. We ended up replacing it with a Siemens washer dryer but the exact same problem is happening again. 

We had countless Bosch engineers out for the last machine and all said it was exceptionally clean so that’s the issue and like TKH, I don’t overload it and I run 90 degree empty washes to clean it out! Now wondering if it’s our water / pipes...

Any ideas? Any help GREATLY appreciated! Thanks! 

[nicola]

Hi 

Yes I am also having this problem , I purchased a Samsung Eco Bubble in November and am having lots of light items ruined due to these black marks 

Its driving me crazy , white polo shool shirts bed linen , the machine itself is clean i have carried out the maintenance wash I , I have had the engineer out who said he cannot find anything wrong with it , I am at my witts end 

[Djcox]

Hi all 

I had same problem with two new Siemens 500 washing machines.  Found a smear of black residue at back of drum after a 1500 rpm spin which was default spin for a 60 degrees.  So, I experimented with different spin speeds and found that setting it at 800 or 1000 rpm there are no marks or oily residue.   Not ideal as washing comes out slightly wetter but I think I solved it. 

[Freddie]

I am having exactly the same issue with a Bosch Serie 6 WVG30461GB washer dryer.

It leaves black marks that can sometimes be partially scraped off or using a sticky tape to get 70% of it off. However it is really starting to p*** me off because it has ruined a couple of my expensive work shirts now.

Before every wash I run a drum clean on 90deg, clean the rubber sealant thoroughly, and check the filters. I have also used cleaning products but to no avail- the problem remains. Had a Bosch service engineer check it too. I will never buy another Bosch washing machine again as there is clearly an issue with them.

I will try the above suggestion of running at a lower RPM.

Failing that, I will buy a laundry bag to put the clothes in before washing.

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Try carefully going through all the points and advice in the following articles in case anything helps, and to eliminate the various possibilities listed

• Washing not getting clean in washing machine
• Grease marks on clothes after washing

[NFPPW]

I have the same issue. Its not a greasy stain. 

It's like it's been pinched between black rubber and a black mark is left. I've managed to lighten the stain after copious amounts of stain remover and scrubbing, but it's just made marks on another load. 

I have a bosch. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Take something like a white cloth, preferably made of the same type of material that is being affected. Then drag it firmly all around the door seal between the lip of the drum and the gap. Try to rub it all the way around, and try to drag it on the lip of the outer drum too. See if you can get any marks that correlate to the marks you are having trouble with. Inside a washing machine this is the only place that clothes could get dragged against something. Otherwise they are totally contained within the inner drum. With some fabric such as cotton's, when they go on a fast spin the laundry does get pressed through the holes in the drum and in certain circumstances can pick up marks. However these marks will be small spots correlating with the holes in the drum. Apart from these two possibilities it is not possible for laundry to be physically marked by anything else. 

[Hoover]

I have a hoover washer only 7 month old and doesn't matter what setting dark or colours or white all come out with oily marks on normally a quick 30 mins for darks n colour but white an hour on 60 wash?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hi. If you mostly use 30 degree washes I'd expect the washing machine to be covered in gunge and slime inside. Have you checked the 2 articles I linked to a couple of replies back?

[btyczkowski@snet.net]

Could this be from motor oil in a previous washload of laundry?

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

On 28/03/2020 at 14:21, btyczkowski@snet.net said:

Could this be from motor oil in a previous washload of laundry?

I would imagine it would be hard to get rid of motor oil from a washing machine as it doesn't attach to the water. So the oil may continually keep marking laundry.

[George81]

On 16/05/2019 at 20:31, Freddie said:

I am having exactly the same issue with a Bosch Serie 6 WVG30461GB washer dryer.

It leaves black marks that can sometimes be partially scraped off or using a sticky tape to get 70% of it off. However it is really starting to p*** me off because it has ruined a couple of my expensive work shirts now.

Before every wash I run a drum clean on 90deg, clean the rubber sealant thoroughly, and check the filters. I have also used cleaning products but to no avail- the problem remains. Had a Bosch service engineer check it too. I will never buy another Bosch washing machine again as there is clearly an issue with them.

I will try the above suggestion of running at a lower RPM.

Failing that, I will buy a laundry bag to put the clothes in before washing.

Hi there, I'm having the exact same issue with the exact same washer dryer ... just wondering if you managed to find a solution in the end? Thanks Freddie.

[Whippets]

I am very interested in reading that other people are having the same problem with black streaks particularly on whites. I have tried numerous cleaning products to no avail. I to the dry the deal after the final wash. I never suffered with this annoying problem before when living in a soft water area, unlike now where it is hard water, is this the problem?

 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

Hard water can cause a build up of limescale and scum I if you don’t use enough detergent, which won’t help, but I wouldn’t expect marks to be black. Black marks are more likely to be from black mould or a rotting water seal.
 

Try dragging and rubbing a white cloth all the way around the door seal under the lip of the seal to see if anything is there. Especially in washer dryers at the top. Also carefully secs in the door seal near the door all the way around and underneath. 

[microelk]

This happened to me today in two loads. A pair of white jeans is completely covered in dark grey long streaks that look like grease. After reading all of the above, I think it was due to a full load and the jeans (as well as some towels) being dragged around the crevice of the rubber door seal. There was quite a build up of dark grey gunk, and I grabbed a cloth and also cleaned the clear plastic door build up of lint. It left quite dark marks on the cloth.

I'm just hoping prewash stain remover will get the marks out, othewise I guess I'm dying the jeans.

Machine: Bosch WVG28420AU 8kg/4.5kg Serie 6 Washer Dryer Combo; Age: about 8 months old.

[Brown]

I have a Bosch Serie 4 machine and have recently been experiencing similar marks especially on my duvet covers which have to be sprayed with pre-wash and put back into the machine on a rinse cycle which thankfully removes the marks.  I have been cleaning the rubber around the door seal and lip of the drum every time I use the machine but the marks still appeared. However, today I removed the soap dispenser and the underneath was covered in black mould so I gave the dispenser a good clean with HG mould spray and I even cleaned the inside especially the top where the water enters with a tooth brush to remove all black marks. Ran a clean cycle to remove the HG cleaning product as it contains bleach and then put a white wash on and no black marks so I think it was the black mould in the soap dispenser causing my problem.

[microelk]

Thanks Brown. You might be on to something with the mould, but I reckon it's in the hoses/pipes or something. I don't have any on the dispenser because I cleaned that some time ago, and for the first wash in a few now I got marks on my white sheets again. Not as bad as previously, but still shouldn't be there. I've started leaving the door open and the dispenser open after finishing washing so that they dry out a little quicker. Bosch did contact me after I posted on productreview, but they were suggesting things like low water pressure not getting enought water in to the dispenser, residue in the drawer/detergent not dispensing completely (it doesn't, but I don't understand why the marks would be black). If it keeps doing it I'll call them, they've offered to send out a technician.

[PLSHerts]

We have the same maddening issue. It happens mainly on bigger loads or with bigger items like duvet covers, but not on every wash.  We have a Bosch Serie 4 WAN28201GB. No mould on dispensing tray, no tumble dryer, mainly use 40C washes.  Logically it must be the seal as the marks always look streaky and same colour as the grime that accumulates in the door seal. There is a weird part of the seal at the top with 4 crevices (see pic - the shallow v shaped bit), which must have a purpose I can't fathom, but the crevices were thick with the black/grey residue. It must come out on some washes where the loading or balance is particular, and likely during the spin cycle as otherwise it would wash away.  They always look like 'fresh' marks as soon as the wash is finished. 

[Whitegoodshelp (Andy)]

The gunge that collects inside washing machines that causes dirty marks on laundry is the same gunge that causes bad smells. I would strongly recommend that you read the following article carefully as it describes what causes this horrible greasy guns inside washing machines and how to prevent it. Once it has got a hold of your washing machine you will not be able to get rid of it so you need to act quickly to prevent it getting too bad What causes the gunge inside washing machines?

[AKE]

Hi all, I had the "black streaks" problem for a long time and had unsuccessfully tried all the tips mentioned above but finally found a solution about a year ago. If you ensure that in the spin cycle, the Rotations Per Minute - RPM - is always below 1100 RPM, then there'll be no more black streaks. It seems the agitation of a really fast spin cycle (in my case, a Miele where 1600 RPM is the standard setting on the cotton cycle) either projects any black gunk onto the clothes from crevices in the machine or propels the clothes into the crevices where the black gunk is. I now choose a cycle that has a lower spin RPM or manually turn down the number of RPM to 1000 or 1100 per minute. It's an extra manoeuvre each time, but it's better than the dreaded black streaks. Obvs you still have to clean rubber rings etc fairly regularly.

Hope this helps

[lsa]

Have had same issue with black streaks on clothes for a long time, just like pictures posted by microelk.  Have a top load whirlpool machine. Thoroughly cleaned the machine and black streaks continued to return. Was ready to purchase a new machine.  Found a solution. Read the installation drain system instructions. Have now changed the way we drain the wash machine. Switched the drain system to laundry tub drain system as per manual instructions. Believe the problem was that we never had a Siphon Break kit installed with the previous drain system when first installed.  Since then, laundry has no black streaks!!