I know that if a Chapstick goes through the wash, it will stain my clothes, but could identical stains be indicative of a washing machine malfunction? The stains in question look just like baby-oil stains, not grease or motor-oil. The research I've done so far suggests that a washing machine seal break or leak would result in a dirtier type stain, more grease-like. We don't use any kind of fabric softener or dryer sheets, so I've ruled those out. Thanks in advance!
posted by Tim McDonough on Jul 13, 2009 - 4 answers

How do you remove a stain....if you don't know what the stain is? [more inside]
posted by EmpressCallipygos on Jul 5, 2009 - 8 answers

Laundry Filter: Help me get our yellow pillowcase white again (without bleach). [more inside]
posted by gchucky on Jul 5, 2009 - 20 answers

How do I remove dirt stains on pants? [more inside]
posted by otherwordlyglow on May 15, 2009 - 7 answers

What's the best way to remove stains from a shirt that has been washed over and over? (And anyone from NYC ever find that their shirts come out worse after washing?) [more inside]
posted by gchucky on Feb 12, 2009 - 10 answers

When doing the wash, I refuse to mix my laundry with towels that our puppy has peed on, for fear that my clothes will somehow end up smelling like pee afterward, even if only faintly. My roommate, on the other hand, thinks this is completely irrational and that you can mix anything in the laundry because the soap and hot water get it all clean anyway. So, neutral third party, I ask you: who is in the right? [more inside]
posted by iamisaid on Aug 14, 2008 - 39 answers

Has anyone had any success with removing sweat / antiperspirant combo stains? [more inside]
posted by GleepGlop on Sep 8, 2007 - 17 answers

Have you seen illustrated decals that embellish laundry stains and turn them into "creatures"? [more inside]
posted by gusset on Apr 10, 2007 - 3 answers

I have an awesome polo shirt with a white collar that got accidentally tossed in with a red shirt that bled all over everything in the load. Most of the other stuff was either jeans or house tees, but is there any way to salvage this collar without ruining the rest of the shirt?
posted by saysthis on Sep 11, 2005 - 7 answers

It’s laundry day: After doing my second load of laundry, I discovered some not-so-tiny black spots on one of my favourite shirts, as well as many other items in the load. [mi] [more inside]
posted by genevieve on Dec 9, 2004 - 6 answers

ULTIMATE USE OF ASK METAFILTER: Yellow pit stains on the white cotton t-shirts. What are the remedies? Throw the shirt out or do you have a proven bleaching/detergent technique?
posted by Peter H on Mar 4, 2004 - 24 answers