Stains may appear in several colors on washed clothes. These may be yellow, brown, or blue. In either way, these stains can destroy your favorite outfits. Therefore, it is necessary to understand the proper laundry process. Learning some precautionary measures would also be really helpful in keeping the clothes clean as new.
Blue stains on your clothes might occur due to a number of reasons. One of which may be the overfilling of softener and detergent compartment. In this case, the softener or the detergent dispense in the washtub, which causes the occurrence of blue stains.
Other than this, there can be a number of other factors that lead to the development of blue stains on clothes. If you are also frustrated with seeing these stains repetitively on your clothes, then this guide is for you. You will get to know the various reasons that form blue stains on clothes and the method to treat them. Stay with me to the end.
Color Transfer
Sometimes you wash light-colored clothes with darker ones. This can result in color transfer that causes the appearance of blue spots or stains on the clothes. Other times, a garment starts color bleeding, which can also be the cause of the formation of blue stains. Such type of stains are usually not permanent, but they may be permanent in some cases.
Treatment
Simply washing the affected garments again in the washing machine with detergent. This can remove these stains. However, if the stains are stubborn, you can use a stain-removing solution to get rid of them.
To use a stain-removing solution:
- Apply the chemical to the affected parts of the garment.
- Leave it for a while, and then wash off the chemical.
- Launder the garment in the washing machine as usual. You will get nice clean clothes again.
Prevention
You need to carefully separate the dark and light-colored clothes before putting them in the washer. Make sure to wash the light clothes first and then the dark ones.
Always check dark-colored clothes if they color bleed or not. For that, you can soak that specific garment in water for 2 to 3 minutes. If the garment bleed, you should wash it separately.
Fabric Softener
Overfilling of fabric softener in its compartment can cause blue staining on clothes. Another reason could be the blue color of the fabric softener.
Some people do not follow the instructions, and therefore, improper use of fabric softener can also result in the formation of blue stains on clothes. Other times, a lot of blue gunk in the fabric softener dispenser becomes responsible for these stains. These stains are not permanent and can be treated.
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Treatment
The treatment is quite simple. You don’t need to buy a stain-removing solution. Simply rub the affected area of your garment with bar soap. You can also treat the stains with detergent. After that, wash the cloth as you normally do in the washer.
Prevention
Always see the max level of the fabric softener compartment, and fill it up to that line.
You can also dilute the fabric softener right before you add it to the softener compartment. This will prevent the popping up of blue stains on clothes.
In the case of blue gunk formation, you can avoid using the dispenser. It is better to add the fabric softener during the rinse. You will be happy to see the results.
Detergent
Blue color present in the laundry detergent might not disperse properly and thus aids in the formation of blue stains. This may occur due to liquid laundry detergent, as powdered detergents are usually white and do not include blue color.
Blue stains can also form due to laundry aid or pretreat containing blue color. This type of stain can be removed, and they are not permanent.
Read More: Laundry Detergent: Before or After Clothes?
Treatment
When blue stains are formed due to laundry detergent, you can make a solution and soak clothes in it. This is how you do it.
Take 1 cup of white vinegar and 0.95 Liters of water. Mix them well and put them in a plastic tub. Soak the affected clothes in this solution at least for an hour. After that, take them out and rinse well. You can wash them again if you like, for better results.
Prevention
You can run your washing machine without clothes to clean the washer. For that, add detergent and water to the washer. Run it once and then drain the water.
Be careful to use the recommended amount of detergent next time. Do not exceed the recommended amount.
Water
Many times you cannot figure out the issue causing blue stains. When everything from detergent to washing machine is working perfectly fine, then the doubt goes to the water you are using.
Sometimes it may happen that the pipelines connecting to the washer start carrying dirty water to the washing machine. Over time, the water coming to your house becomes acidic as the pipes continue to go bad due to dirty water.
The acidity of water occurs due to carbon dioxide as it dissolves in water, forming carbonic acid. This acid appears as a blue stain on clothes.
The other reason could be hard water. Since hard water contains lots of minerals, these mineral deposits got left on the clothes in the form of mineral deposits. Hard water also carries soil along with it. This can also build up on the clothes.
Treatment
A simple yet effective method can remove the blue stains from clothes caused by water.
You have to take almost half a cup of bleach and mix it with half a cup of warm water. Now you have to use a piece of cloth, preferably white, to apply the solution to the blue stains. Let the solution sit on the stains for a while. Wash the clothes in the washing machine after that for the clean results.
For the stains caused by hard water, you cannot really do anything with water as it is not in your hands. However, you can prevent the formation of these blue stains by using a scoop of Oxyclean in every load. Oxyclean can also make you get rid of previously formed blue stains on the clothes.
Prevention
The best prevention is to keep a check on all the pipes of the house. If you see any leakage or pipe deteriorating anywhere, get it repaired quickly to prevent such mishaps from happening again.
Some Other Preventions
Keep Your Washer Clean
There is a big misconception among people that the washer doesn’t need cleaning, as it gets cleaned with the detergent that we add to wash clothes. This is so not true.
Over time, the dirt accumulates in the corners of your washer. With time, that dirt starts showing its effects on the clothes in the form of stains and spots.
Therefore, it is recommended to wash the inside of your washer at least once a week. For that, simply fill the washing machine with water and throw in some detergent. Run it on the wash cycle once.
This is an easy yet quick trick to prevent the formation of stains on your clothes. Keeping the washer clean also kicks away molds and other microorganisms.
Watch Over Your Dryer
Stains do not always come from the washing machine. The dryer can also be the reason behind this disaster. You would not know about it until you start checking the clothes after taking them out of the washer.
When you start seeing the blue stains on your clothes, you should be vigilant when you bring the clothes out of the washer. If you see no stains when you take the clothes out from the washer, and see them once out from the dryer, then it is obvious that the problem is caused by your dryer.
Protect Your Colored Clothes
Colored clothes can be a bit tricky to wash, especially when they get stained and color bleed. Take these few points into consideration to get over the issue of staining.
- Always look for stains. If you find any, pretreat them either with a pretreat solution or simply with the detergent.
- Allow your clothes to dry in the sun if possible. The dryer usually fades away the colors of clothes.
- Always turn the new colored clothes inside out to prevent the clothes from getting stained.
- Even if the clothes do not bleed, there are chances that the color leech onto each other if the clothes are left together for a long time. Therefore, make sure to separate them immediately as soon as the wash cycle finishes.
Takeaway
Don’t panic if you see the appearance of blue stains on your expensive clothes. Stop getting anxious and start figuring out the possible source of these blue stains.
There could be no other source of blue stains than those I have mentioned in this article. For your convenience, I have mentioned the treatment as well. However, the next time, you have to be super careful and act on the prevention methods to avoid the happening of such circumstances again.
Also, learn the simple techniques and the correct method of doing laundry. Right skills can save you from a lot of disasters.