Holes can be due to poor laundry practices, moths, and other pests.
The Spruce / Leticia Almeida
Why do you keep finding small holes in your clothes?
Two other main culprits cause holes in clothing, too.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
Moth larvae eat the fibers of clothing after the mature insects lay eggs in your closet.
Check your clothing and promptly remove the insects from your closet if you see any signs of an infestation.
Improper Sorting
Prevent holes bysorting clothesbefore you wash and dry them.
The Spruce / Ashley Nicole DeLeon
Never wash a delicate garment with heavy jeans, clothes with zippers, studs, or other embellishments.
Put delicates inmesh laundry bagsbefore washing.
The bleach can be too strong on fabrics if it is not properly mixed with water before washing.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
Smooth the rough edges with sandpaper and you will see a difference.
Rapid spinning aggressively pulls the garments into the washer’s drum and damages your clothing’s fibers.
Find themanual onlineif necessary.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
Jamming the Washing Machine
Overloading the washing machineaffects the cleaning level of each cycle.
It can cause clothing to become tangled with other garments' embellishments, zippers, and buttons.
When sorting clothes, always fasten items and turn them inside out before tossing them in the washer.
The Spruce / Letícia Almeida
The Spruce / Sanja Kostic
Missing Bra Wires
Underwiring can poke through bras and snag clothing.
If you have found a bra with a missing wire, that may be the culprit.
Check for the missing wire by removing the outer housing of the washer.
The Spruce / Kori Livingston
The Spruce / Fiona Campbell
Misaligned Dryer Drum
Your dryer’s drum could also be damaging clothing.
Totroubleshoot this dryer issue, remove the outer housing of the dryer.
Shine a flashlight so you could see the back of the dryer drum.
The Spruce / Sanja Kostic
Have someone let you know if they can see the light shining through the drum.
If the item has too much damage, you should throw away clothing with moth holes.
Sometimes it is impossible to fix a severely moth-infested garment.
The Spruce / Fiona Campbell
Moths leave multiple holes in clothing, never just one hole.
There is a “honeycomb” effect on the fabric from the moth larvae eating away at the fibers.
Or, you may find tunnels or “trenches” in your clothing.
The Spruce / Olivia Inman
Laundry detergent by itself should not cause holes in clothing.
10 Tips to Manage Clothes Moths.Northwest Center for Alternatives to Pesticides.
