White Residue on Clothing - Top Load Washer

White Residue on Clothing

There are a few possible root causes of what is commonly referred to as "white residue".  Typically, white residue is caused by one of the following:

• Excessive lint
• Excess detergent
• Interaction of body soils with detergent, most frequently found on work out clothing or activewear.

Excessive Lint

Excessive lint on clothing often occurs on new clothing items, especially towels. This is normal, and linting will dissipate over time. Use shorter wash times (lower soil levels) if excess linting continues. Using a dryer will remove most excess lint.

Excess detergent

Excess detergent residue can be caused by several different factors, including using too much detergent, and water temperature not hot enough to dissolve detergent. This residue usually appears as white "clumps" of undissolved detergent. Rewashing clothing items should remove these clumps. If using a cold water wash, be sure that water temperature is at least 60 degrees to properly dissolve detergent.  This machine will regulate the cold water temperature by adding hot water to bring the temperature up. Run hot water in the sink closest to the washer to help ensure that hot water is running through the water lines near the washer. Always use only High-Efficiency HE detergent.  Also, use the "Clean Washer" cycle with affresh^® once a month to help eliminate excess detergent.

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Interaction of body soils

The interaction of some body soils with detergent can result in the formation of a residue that is distinct from lint but may appear similar to undissolved detergent. This type of residue has a tendency to accumulate within the folds and wrinkles of garments and may be widely distributed throughout the fabric load and on individual garments. Residue resulting from the interaction of body soils and detergent may actually be more prevalent with the use of warmer water, distinguishing it from typical undissolved detergent. Additionally, this type of residue has a tendency to form within mixed loads (e.g., pieces of cotton mixed with synthetic garments), where the lower friction of synthetic fabrics may impede mechanical action.