Finally figured out why my dark clothes were covered in white fuzz

I had the exact same issue with my old Maytag. I kept blaming the hard water in our area and was dumping way too much Calgon in every load. I even replaced the drain hose thinking it was backing up. It wasn't until I saw a video about "scrud"—that waxy buildup of fabric softener and detergent—that I realized my agitator was prolly the culprit.

When I finally pried the top off, the smell was the first thing that hit me. It was like sour laundry and old soap. I used a long-handled bottle brush and about a gallon of boiling water mixed with a cup of OxiClean. The amount of grey slime that washed out was unbelievable. I honestly think modern high-efficiency soaps don't dissolve well if you're using cold water cycles exclusively like I was.

Since that deep clean, I've switched to using about half the amount of Tide I used to, and I run a "Clean Washer" cycle with an Affresh tablet once a month. It's been six months and my black leggings actually stay black. It's a bit of a chore to pull that plastic piece out, but it definitely beats spending $800 on a new Speed Queen right now.

I actually went through the same cleaning ritual with my old Whirlpool top-loader, but scrubbing the agitator didn't solve it for me. I was still getting those annoying white streaks on my black jeans and hoodies. I eventually realized the problem was my habit of using the "tap cold" setting for every single load while sticking to cheap powder detergent. The powder just wasn't dissolving completely in our local winter water temperatures, which get pretty icy here in Vermont. It was leaving a grainy residue that looked identical to lint. I switched over to a liquid like Persil and started using the "Warm" setting for my darks. I also stopped stuffing the drum to the brim. Giving the clothes more room to circulate made a huge difference. If cleaning the machine doesn't work, definitely look at your water temp and how much soap you're really dumping in.

You're spot on about the agitator, but don't forget to check the fabric softener dispenser cup if yours has one. I found that even after I scrubbed the main column, I was still getting flakes beacuse the wax inside that little cup had turned into a solid crust. Pop it out and soak it in a bowl of boiling water for twenty minutes. It’s wild how much blue or pink sludge comes out of those tiny weep holes. If those holes are partially blocked, the softener doesn't dispense at the right time and just ends up staining your hoodies later.