Solved

Powder Residue Left On Dark Clothes

SPsparky
Asked over 19 years ago 5,222 views
0

Hi, Just wondering if anyone can advise me on this issue. After a dark wash and the clothes dry there is white stains all through my dark clothes. This I presume is the remains of washing powder not being rinsed ? Can anyone tell me if this is the most likey cause and can I get the machine repaired to fix the lack of final rinse or something to that affect ?

Tks

Solution Summary

AI-generated from this discussion

This thread was marked as solved. Here's a summary of the problem and the fix, generated from the discussion below.

White powdery residue on dark clothes after washing

The problem
Dark clothing was coming out with white marks/stains visible once dry. The poster suspected washing powder not rinsing away properly.
Likely cause
The accepted reply says the most likely causes are wash load issues rather than a confirmed machine fault: overloading causing detergent to be trapped in folds, incorrect detergent dosing, powdered detergent reacting with hard water, or poor flushing of detergent from the dispenser due to low cold water pressure or a partially kinked fill hose.
What fixed it
Recommended actions were to rewash affected garments without detergent to see if the marks clear, avoid overloading, use the correct detergent dose for local water hardness and soil level, place any in-drum detergent container on top of the load towards the back of the drum, and check whether detergent is being left in or under the dispenser drawer. No specific component failure or repair was confirmed.
Checks to try
  • Rewash affected garments without detergent to see if the marks come out
  • Check for overloading
  • Check detergent dosage against water hardness and soiling level
  • Check whether detergent is left in or under the dispenser drawer
  • Check for low cold water pressure or a partially kinked fill hose
Cause identifiedGenerated 8 Aug 2026 · AI summaries can make mistakes — read the full thread below.
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1 Answer

Accepted Answer
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WH
WhitegoodshelpVerified Engineer
Answered over 19 years ago

Hello Sparky. Here are the most likely causes of your whitish marks on your washing -

White streaks of fine powder are usually caused by overloading. If you rewash the affected garments without any detergent the marks should come out if that's what they are. If there is too much washing inside the drum then it turns round in one mass and the laundry doesn't get chance to open up. Undissolved detergent can get trapped inside folds in particular

If you place the detergent in a container inside the drum then make sure it's placed right on top of all the laundry and preferably towards the back of the washing machine drum to prevent it getting trapped under parts of the laundry and restricting the dispersion of detergent

If you don't use the proper amount, some powdered detergents, can react with minerals in hard water causing a whitish residue that looks similar to undissolved detergent. Make sure you use the right dosage according to the type of water in your area and the soiling level

Low cold water pressure (or even a partially kinked fill hose) can mean that if detergent is placed in the soap dispenser drawer it may not be flushed efficiently into the drum on wash. This can leave some detergent inside the soap dispenser drawer or even underneath the drawer in the bottom of the dispenser. This detergent then gets flushed onto the laundry during rinsing

White streaks or residual washing powder after washing (my white goods Blog)

Whitegoods Help — appliance repair expert and forum host.

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