Do you use one of the products meant for stopping mildew in the bath? They're mostly bleach.

Does anyone in your house use an acne product with benzoyl peroxide?

I had yellow streaks on my bedroom wallpaper. I know my houses's previous owner was a heavy smoker. I think it was nicotine that had penetrated down to the dry wall.

Just a thought: my neighbors son uses an acne wash product; Proactive (which works really well, btw), and it has discolored most of her towels.
Second thought: I was getting what looked like small rust colored spots on my clothes and towels (not all of the time, or all of the clothes). After I bought a new washer, it stopped happening.

I hate proactive. It ruined my skins. Died it out so bad that it is now peeling all over the place. I am sending mine back to get a refund.

Yup, acne meds. My towels were the same way for years. The kids are gone and so are the bleach stains. When the kids come home, they use their old towels. I was always worried about what that stuff does to their skin if it's so hard on my towels.

Sherry

Well I do use an MD Formulations cleanser-though I can't be sure I was when the stains started to appear. And I have a brand new washer (but it has happened in other washers, too). Don't smoke. Must be the acid in the cleanser. I like the idea of a dedicated stain towel.
Thanks!

Many acne products contain benzol peroxide. Peroxide is a bleach.