Tiny Holes in My Cotton Shirts

If you have granite counter tops then they are ausing it - There is either a small chip in an area where you lean across a lot or your edges are too sharp ( usually with a bevel this happens). I had the same problem for 8 years! Recently put masking tape all the around the edges of my counter tops to test this. No new holes. Just paid a guy to come and smooth down the edges all the way around - expensive but the savings in therapy bills will be worth it- I had been driving myself crazy tring to figure it out and slowly eliminated all other suggestions. I read where one women just started wearing an apron and that solved it for her but I spend too much time in the kitchen for that.

Try the tape - it is a cheap (though not attractive) test. I left it on for a month to be sure. Make sure to check bathroom counters, laundry room ,etc.

Good luck!
Ann

It is not the washer!!! It is absolutely JEANS well the button anyway... After discussing this in detail over and over again with friends and family....we have all done the BUTTON test. check your shirts (new) before you wear the shirt and then after!!! you will notice "wearing" where the button is. That in turn creates tiny holes in the abdominal area!!!!

It's not your washer . . . I just found it that my granite counter top with a beveled edge has tiny sharp edges on it - not enough to feel sharp to your hand, but sharp enough to cut the fabric of my shirts. I have 14 shirts now ruined. I actually felt it happen just tonight as I slid my belly along the counter as I was washing dishes. Looked at the shirt (which is brand new) and sure enough a tiny hole was there. Totally ticked me off!

Honestly people - it is not bugs. Bugs are not discerning enough to eat exactly the same place in every shirt you own. Ditto your washing machine. You think that your machine (or the bugs) can tell the difference between the front and the back of your shirt? Let's be sensible about this.

Mine started happening at the same time as I had my kitchen remodelled with...you guessed it...granite counter tops. It's not tiny sticking out bits that does this to your clothes, it's actually tiny holes in the granite. The holes have sharp edges which catch the clothes and create the problem. Wearing an apron while cooking does help, but that doesn't stop them from happening when you are just in the kitchen to get a drink and you lean over the counter top for something.

Have had the same problem for 3 years. It is not wear, cotton manufacturing or chemicals causing the holes. It is a bug or moth larva eating my cotton. I have only ever found two cocoons and never seen a flying moth though. They tend to attack my clothes and not my husbands. They seem to like the area around my belly button and the top of my big toe and this is where the holes appear in my clothing. Here are a few suggestions that have helped me reduce the occurrence of holes:

1. Place silica packets in the laundry & drawers. Silica absorbs moisture that moths are attracted to.
2. Place clove or "Moth Away" sachets in drawers and closets.
3. Do the laundry more frequently.
4. Individually ziplock bag items like cotton t-shirts and underwear with a silica pack. I even do this with worn cotton shirts in the laundry before i can wash them.

5. For more extreme cases The container store carries SLA spray which is quite toxic. http://www.containerstore.com/shop/closet/clothingProtection/chemical?productId=10008039

I have also read that freezing your clothing for 48 hours will kill any larvae that might be in or on it. I'm not really sure if this works even though i do it. Aromatic cedar balls have also felt ineffective.

I am going to purchase some of the pheromone traps as suggested in other posts.

I also thought I had moths in my cupboard, but what buffeled me was that my husbands, who shares same cupboard with me doesn't experience the same problem. It is espesially in the past two years that I have been experiencing the problem and guess what? Two years ago we had our kitchen remodelled and we had granite tops installed. And yes, the holes always appear at the front of my T-Shirts at counter top level. I suppose the fact that I often wear jeans and a belt worsten the problem because the t-shirt gets squased in between the belt buckle or jean button and the granite. My husband doesn't spend much time in the kitchen, that would explain why he doesn't experience the same problem.

I too have discovered tiny holes in my tops. I do not use bleach, it is not wear and tear. One new top, worn once and washed, no bleach and minimal detergent now has six tiny holes right in front. I am sick of this problem as I've thrown three shirts away now and three more have holes. It's not bleach, it's not detergent, it's not my washer, it's not buttons, it's not rivits.........I'm convinced it's a tiny insect that munches away in tiny spots that show up when washed as the fabric is weakened. Now I don't know how to rid my closet of this little critter (s) I iron most of my tops, so you'd think no bugs could live, yet tiny holes keep appearing!!!!

My husband and I were both getting small holes in the front of cotton shirts always about waist level. In fact, the holes are both at counter height. We have granite counter tops and I've read that certain types of counters can have imperceivable rough edges that cannot be felt. The fact that all the holes are in the same area and are at counter height rules out mites or moths. It would also make sense why it is most commonly noticed on thinner cotton fabric.

I am just happy that I am not crazy! I thought I was the only one and yes, actually did consider it could be some kind of belly dwelling bug. I thought it was my pants too and just got these Jag jeans to diminish the problem. They literally look like maternity pants with a stretch waste but they look nice on and no snap or fly part to stick out. However I just did the counter top test and guess what? Mine are granite and come exactly where the problem is. I think we are getting to the bottom of this. I too have gone through at least 20 shirts that I barely wore. If we all wear maternity clothes and boycott kitchen duty, we can save our shirts! We must ban together. :)

It seems little tiny holes are appearing in all soft cotton type fabric. This has been going on for 4 years and everyone initially thought that it was their detergent, washing machine or that they pulled the fabric somehow. It turns out that it's defective fabric used to make these clothes.

After 4 years of throwing money away, I am starting to return all items or go back to the manufacturers to resolve these issues. Shirts made from this fabric last 2-6 months at max if worn a couple of times a month. I started to return all the shirts made from this defective fabric in the last few months. Neiman's, Nordstom, Gap, Barney's have all acknowledged this problem when I returned these shirts. Saks Fifth Ave still won't admit this problem exists and said they are looking into it and did not issue me a credit.


Bring it back to the retailer/manufacturer!!! They need to stop using this fabric!

Mdwa
My wife and I started noticing this problem with shirts that we wear out of our pants, shorts or jeans. It does not happen with business shirts that I tuck in. Any jean buttons, whether they be copper or other metal, are usually covered by a belt, so I'm not buying that theory. Not keen on the belly button option, and we ruled out bugs or our particular washing machine sometime ago for the reason that the holes always appear in the same location. We thought is may be our pet parrot that climbs over us from time to time, but discounted this option as he spends most of the time on our shoulders where no holes appear. Can't be the bench tops as we are all different heights, I suspect, yet the holes appear in the same location. I am going with the car seat belt theory, I suspect its the only thing we all have in common, my wife is not convinced, however.

The holes comes from clothes moth larvae. It has been an ongoing thing for over a year. I have tried everything. Read up on it. Says the female can lay eggs that hatch and can keep going for over 2 years. Went 3 mos without and now they are back. Never have seen a moth. It is making me crazy. Think I got the first infestation from a skirt that I got at Goodwill. Then Costco. Cheap clothes have them. Now trying dry ice with clothes in plastic bags.

I have this same issue with the holes being in the navel area of my cotton shirts. I have a bit of a Buddha Belly. My belly not huge however could I be rubbing up against many things along with my seat belt? Its awful always on my favorite shirts. I also have front loaded machine and granite counters I use a Costco brand detergent soap no chlorine. If it were bugs why only cotton shirts and why only front?

I have the same problem and I am so frustrated! I don't have granite counter tops, and, at least for me, I have to eliminate the above solutions. I don't have a duet washer. I am sure it is not bugs, since, I agree as stated above, bugs wouldn't zero in on the same spot ever time and only on my cotton tops, not my husbands. I don't use bleach on colors and my tops that are damaged are all colors. I have just worn a new colored cotton blend top for one day, not washed yet, and noticed the white marks at the center, waist level, that precede the holes. The shirts always start showing white marks first, then these turn to holes. None of these solutions seem likely. Uggh! But, I am still on the case! I will solve this! If anybody else does first, Bless you! I hope you do. I will keep checking the site.

Seeing so much about counter tops and jeans and seat belts, but seriously, my holes are not in the same part of my shirts. I found some on the top back of my shirt the other day. Plus, I've always had some type of stone counter top and never saw this problem until I bought front-loading washer & dryer. Technician said to wash on gentle cycle. Not sure it's helping. Best thing I can do without going back to the top loaders is to get a mesh laundry bag and put any garment you don't want holes in inside the laundry bag and throw that entire thing into the washer.

Do you have granite bench tops? I just read a site that suggested it is because we rub up again a granite bench top which is sharp, hence all the holes are in the same place!

If you use bleach cut back this will do same thing "less soap plz"