Maybe it's the water? I know water hardness influences how dyes set, so it wouldn't surprise me if it influences how stains set.

For those of you who hand-wash things, what do you use? Laundry's expensive at my complex, and unless I've worn every pair of shorts and every short-sleeve jersey I possess (or washing a few days' worth of mine and BF's stuff), it's not worth the $1.50 to use the washer.

I use a spot of dish soap or hand soap (depends what's on hand) to get the isolated grease spots out of my jerseys.