Having googled this problem, it seems that it's quite common but no-one
seems to know the answer. Can anyone here enlighten me at all?
Jo
<http://laundry.about.com/od/stainremoval/f/removepollen.htm>
--
Rod
Bee droppings, probably. On the first warm day after winter, they
emerge from the hives in large numbers and unload a whole winter's
worth of bee crap en-masse.
The first warm-enough day would have been some weeks ago. Probably
other insects leave similar yellow deposits as well. I believe they
may also rest on laundry to suck up moisture. Any hives nearby? Is it
under any trees (honey dew, aphid excreta)? Any flowering crops that
would place you under the bee flight-path?
>Having googled this problem, it seems that it's quite common but no-one
>seems to know the answer. Can anyone here enlighten me at all?
If you can find something relatively unimportant (like a white hanky)
or something which will withstand bleach such as a teatowel or a white
towel try putting the item in a bleach solution for an hour or so -
does the stain change colour or reduce?
Something melted in the tumble drier?
What detergent are you using?
Could this have started with a new box/bottle of detergent?
--
Andrew Gabriel
[email address is not usable -- followup in the newsgroup]
Quashed bed bugs?
--
Alan
news2009 {at} admac {dot} myzen {dot} co {dot} uk
Andy C
I've been noticing for some time, that flannels seem to develop yellow spots
even when bleached. Don't know why: its as if there is a phantom turmeric
source somewhere in the house!
S
Nothing has melted in the tumble drier, that's for sure. I've been using
various detergents so I can't really put it down to that either. It's a
mystery!
It's probably iron spots caused by your local water supply. Ask your
water company if they're aware of any iron content in the water.
In fact the Drinking Water Inspectorate (I believe) publish analyses
of water for various areas.
--
Frank Erskine
> Trying washing two white pieces of material without any detergent.
> Dry one in the drier and one on the line.
> This *might* prove the contamination is coming from inside the washing
> machine or far less likely, the drier.
Surely better to wash one in the machine and dry naturally (line/airer) and
wash the other (same detergent) by hand and dry in the drier. If they're
both marked, it's the detergent. If only one is marked, it's the relevant
machine.
--
Regards,
"The car in front is a Toyota",
aren't you glad it's in front?
As Frank Erskin says above, it may be your water supply, but not just at the
water company's end. If you still have an iron pipe between your house and
the road it may be this that is gradually rotting. If it gets very bad you
will start to hear a hissing noise when the pipe starts to leak (That's how
they detect people defying hose pipe bans.). In our road the pipes all went
within a fairly short period - as they would all have been installed at the
same time - so ask your neighbours if they are having similar problems or if
any have had to have their supply pipes replaced recently.
S
The bee poo theory was promising.
I'd be looking at the water supply and storage inside the house. Is
the cold water supply from the mains? Is the hot supply from a combi
or a storage cylinder?
I once heard of a problem with a leak from a district/council heating
system. It eventually turned out the family wearing brown clothes had
plumbed their washing machine in themselves ;-).
While possible, that is far less likely at this time of year, it is
more common in February or March (you try holding it all in for three
or four months!) During the rest of the year I rarely see any voiding
- having a greenhouse right next to some of my hives and with a
regularly used washing line less than 10 feet away any voiding would
be really noticeable.
Returning foraging bees (carrying nectar/and or pollen) quite often
rest for a few minutes either to clean themselves up or just to get
their breath back before a final short flight to the hive, usually
this resting place will be within a few tens of feet of a hive. A bed
sheet on a washing line is a visible target and being grippy on a bee
scale it makes a good resting place. If there has been a dry spell
you can also get water carrying bees sucking up water from damp
washing, they might have a bit of pollen debris on their bodies.
Maybe my bees are better toilet trained and use the adjacent field,
but In twenty odd years of keeping bees, marking of washing hasn't
ever been a significant problem.
--
Reminds me of an interview of Michael Caine talking about making
The Swarm (which I've never seen). Aparently, the bees were boxed up
for rather a long time on set. When they were finally released, a
million bees who had been waiting patiently with their legs tightly
crossed for too long (bees are very clean and don't crap at home), all
relieved themselves at once as they took to the air. The actors were
all wearing white lab coats, which instantly all turned yellow...
I have only ever experienced this with the drier overheating.
John Gifford
We had a similar problem. It was solved when we replaced the washing
machine.
--
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