Keep finding my bedsheets stained with green little dots
i’ve been trying to find the answer for this for years.
1. I’m the only person who sleeps in this bed
2. I don’t eat or drink anything in my bedroom
3. I don’t have hair that is dyed or dyed green
I’ve also had these same exact splotches show up blue before too
OP's green stains appear around the back/neck/head area.
The green stain issue has been occurring on and off for years.
OP has not shaved recently.
OP does not use any special hair wax, gel, shampoo, or hair products "every now and again". Depending on which comment you read it either sounds as if OP has used exactly the same hygiene and styling products consistently for years, or so many different hygiene and styling products to prevent any kind of consistency in this variable over that amount of time. Additionally, all of OP's hygiene and styling products are white.
OP uses white shampoo and conditioner.
OP's earwax is yellow.
OP does not wear any jewellery.
There is nothing on the underside of OP's sheets, just a mattress protector. Clever from OP to protect a mattress, mattresses need protecting.
OP is adamant that they do not have sulfhemoglobinemia, despite not being specifically tested for this.
OP donates blood.
OP does not eat an excessive amount of veggies.
OP does not vape.
OP does not work, they are a college student.
OP does not have exposed copper piping running along their ceiling of their bedroom.
OP is not leaking copper.
OP has a cat. The cat litter they use are the "big pine pellets". OP has had the cat for 10 years
OP has a desk close to their bed, but they do not have any green pens or markers. OP only has pencils and black pens.
OP does not wear anything metallic when going to bed, nothing else on their bed is green, and they do not own green pyjamas.
OP may or may not drool toothpaste but regardless, OP's toothpaste is white.
OP is adamant that they do not have bed bugs. They do not have bites and are not itchy. No one else in OP's house has had any issues like this.
Most of OP's studying is done on the computer.
OP is certain it is not due to washing detergent. Everyone else in OP's house uses the same washing detergent and doesn't have this issue.
OP does not believe it is due to cockroach poop.
OP has cotton sheets.
OP has never had any spiders in their room.
OP does not wear glasses.
OP has never seen mice or rats within their house and does not use mouse traps.
The green substance does not smell of anything, just "sheet smell".
OP lives in a standalone house.
OP has been applying minoxidil but only for a few months, not for the length of time that the green stain issue has persisted.
OP sleeps with their hands near, or around their head (I suppose most people do thinking about it, right?).
The darker, black spots in the centre of most of the green blotches are just darker portions of the stain, they are not holes. There is no visible residue/material left on the surface of the bedsheet, only the stain which has soaked in.
OP is potentially Vulcan.
I feel like we've all learnt a lot about OP today.
I initially put an updated theory on here re minoxidil, yet speaking to OP they have only been using minoxidil for a matter of months - whereas the green staining has been for years.
The cat has been with OP for 10 years, I think a lot of evidence is pointing towards the cat.
Okay here’s my hypothesis as it looks JUST like something that appeared on my husbands sheets when we first moved in together. YES your household all uses the same laundry detergent, but do you all use it the same way?
Is it powder detergent? Do you wash your sheets/laundry and others wash their own? Do you add it before the water begins, during, or after the waters finished running? I’m telling you this looks identical to powder detergent that wasn’t incorporated into a load properly. IDENTICAL to that man
ETA: if I had to assume, you’re loading up a top load washer with a lot of stuff, like all of your bedding and sheets and comforter? And then adding in a powder detergent once all of the sheets and bedding are in there, then you’re closing it and going on your merry way. I think it’s an overloaded washer not incorporating the powder and then those little teeny dots of the scented part dries and then stains once in the drier.
A lot of people have suggested laundry detergent as the reasoning, which would make sense. The only issue with this being it doesn't explain the localised nature of the green spots around the head/neck/back? If OP slept in pyjamas the staining would be more spread, equally if OP didn't wear PJ's then this also doesn't ring true. The detergent may be a factor but the restricted localisation of it to one specific area makes me think there's something else at play.
Please keep your kitty away from minoxidil. It kills cats and dogs fast and ruthlessly. Many cats have died after sleeping close to their owners' pillows bc they use minoxidil. Be safe.
Well, pine litter and some other kitty litters can have dyes. My guess is the puddy gets either a bit of litter on the paws or something else if the cat has outside adventures.
Does your cat litter have little blue and green crystals in mixed in? Your cat might get their feet wet from peeing and possibly track some of those onto your white sheets? I use tidy cats multi cat clumping litter, and it has the little blueish green crystals.
Source: my cat sucks at peeing, and his white paws are sometimes a greenish blue color.
I think I figured out out-OP has a post from 1y ago about having had a problem with carpet beetles… and wouldn’t ya know it, carpet beetle larva leaves green spots on sheets-
I mean, I could be totally wrong and OP should definitely check with their doctor to make sure it’s not CSF leaking out of their ears or something terrible.
In this case, I think it’s best to apply Occam’s razor (the simplest, most elegant explanation is usually the one closest to the truth)-the stains are most likely insect-related.
minoxidil is INCREDIBLY toxic to cats!!!! OP PLEASE discontinue usage of the minoxidil if your cat is anywhere NEAR your bed, pillow, hair, or hands after applying it. Seriously!!
Do you come into contact with anything remotely green, bronze or copper, or maybe some fluff from a garment that's leeching dye after contacting perfume/aftershave?
No, i don’t wear anything metal going to bed at all. Everything else on my bed is not colored green at all. .i also don’t have any Pajama wear that is green
Always near the head or neck though. Unless OP is bundling the sheet and tossing it into the washer the same way and pouring detergent the same way every time, it wouldn’t be in a consistent location.
Also, i checked the underside of my sheets and there is nothing there. I have a plain white mattress protector under there. Nothing that would cause green
How long have you had your pillows? Do you ever run them through the dryer? Pillows tend to be host to a lot of teeny tiny bugs, and they can leave stains - especially on white sheets.
That being said, if your cat walks on your pillows and leaves dried residue from the litter box, warmth and moisture from you sleeping on it could also give blue/ green stains, depending on ph.
There are some body things that can tint your sweat, but that's easy enough to test with white kleenex.
sulfhemoglobinemia maybe, looks like green blood stains, most likely from spots or scratches.
The green could be caused by some sulphurous medications or excessive consumption of nitrogenous vegetable: spinach, etc .
Also there’s no green stains on my sheets. i have a white matress cover below and there are zero stain on it.
if it was blood i think it would show up on that. I also do not eat an excessive amount of veggies
What are the chances of a pen or colored.pencil or similar being left in a shirt pocket or pair of pants and laundered or dried in the dryer with sheets.
That's my guess too. every now and then the cat will get into something blue or green and get upset and just rub it on OPs pillow to get it off itself. Looks like claw marks to me. Could be the cat eating tidepods then rubbing his teeth/claws clean where he's always done before
One thing I wanted to mention because I'm not sure people know, but blue-green indicates normal urine. If you don't mix the litter every time you scoop you will accumulate blue-green litter at the bottom that has strong ammonia odor. If you mix it the pee will dissipate and you will have less smell.
Your cat is getting on your bed, either when you are there or when you're out. If you don't normally let your cat in the bed, then you must not pull the comforter up over the pillow when you make the bed and leave for work, because the cat is accessing the head/pillow area of the bed while you're not home.
This might be a longshot, but do you eat a lot of those tiny, dot shaped sprinkles? My 2 year old does, and these stains look like what happens to his sheets when there are hidden blue and green sprinkles in his clothes or hair.
I second this. When I saw cat in thought litter as well. My dad buys a litter that has those odor crystal things in it, and I could see the cat shaking some off on his bed and him getting them wet via body heat or sweat etc.
Are those little punctures in the center of the green splotches? If so, my guess is they're from your cat kneading the sheets, and something from the cat's paws is leaving behind traces of green/blue. Does the cat also have a greenish blanket or cushion it likes to knead?
Do you happen to have a tree of any kind where you frequently stand or park your car? Maybe at work or home? And maybe the tree is dropping seeds or flowers or something? Just a thought since no one can seem to get to the bottom of this and since you did say it was near your head area
Since you've eliminated pretty much every other possibility, it really points towards skin bacteria, probably one called Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Basically, it's bacteria that lives on skin and makes a blue green pigment. When you sweat, especially around your head and neck at night, the pigment mixes in and stains the sheets green. The scientific term is Chromhidrosis. It's typically harmless when it's just causing coloured sweat, more weird and annoying than actually dangerous. Your best move is still to see a doctor or dermatologist to get it properly checked out and confirmed. Telling them you suspect chromhidrosis or Pseudomonas might speed things up. While you wait, you could maybe try using an antibacterial soap just on your neck and back area, qnd definitely keep washing those sheets in hot water and make sure they get totally dry.
Do you live in an apartment or dorm? Rodenticide is usually dyed green, sometimes blue, and turns rodent poop this exact color. It's also water soluble, so it'll stain. The blobs look very similar to mouse droppings, and are obviously the origin of the green dye.
This happened to me for SO long except my chicken breasts were all “green”…. I guess there was food coloring that spilled in my spice cabinet and ended up on the bottom of a big salt shaker. Every time I cooked, I would put it down and one thing would touch another and bam, green chicken.
Cockroach poop or bugs. You might not get bitten but there's micro bugs that get in and crawl and stuff. Had this happen to me I changed everything (now I have green hair so fml I guess! Green everything!) maybe bug bomb the house and see
You mentioned these have shown up blue before - any blue pens / markers? Depending on the ink, if could also appear green as it dries and also wicks into the fabric spreads out thinner
Some black inks aren't true black and will bleed out blue or green hues, especially if they are water soluble. You'd have to check your pens and see if the ink composition is similar to the stains.
Do you wear glasses? One metal area on my glasses (that touch the nose) keeps getting green coating/patina/corrosion. I can't keep up with cleaning it. It is gathering so fast. My napkin for wiping glasses has those exact green stains! Similar thing is happening with my cheap-metal necklace chain - after a long day of wearing it I have the green line on the back of my neck because of sweat. Those two things sometimes make green stains on my tshirts/pillow. So maybe if not those then corrosion of some metal objects you have/use near your bed? Try examining metal things in your room if they are covered in something dirty - TV remote, zips, fancy bookmarks, batteries, phone case, lamps, phone charger
10.9k
u/KermodesMassiveHands 1d ago edited 17h ago
[EDITED FOR MORE UPDATES]
The story so far:
I feel like we've all learnt a lot about OP today.