You pull your favorite shirt out of the laundry, put it on, and suddenly notice a tiny hole near the bottom. Then you find another one on a sweater. And another on a T-shirt.

Before blaming your washing machine—or assuming you have moths—take a closer look at where the holes are and what the fabric looks like around them. The location and pattern can often tell you what caused the damage.

Small holes commonly come from repeated friction, snagging during laundry, excessive heat, rough surfaces, or fabric-eating pests. Once you identify the culprit, a few simple changes can make a surprisingly big difference.

Start With Where the Hole Appears

The location of the hole is one of your best clues.

If several shirts develop holes in roughly the same area around the lower front, repeated friction may be responsible. Belts, jeans buttons, belt buckles, kitchen counters, desks, and other hard surfaces can rub against fabric throughout the day. Over time, that repeated contact can weaken the fibers until they finally break.

If the holes appear randomly across stored sweaters or other natural-fiber clothing, insects become more suspicious.

And if you notice damage immediately after washing, inspect your laundry routine for zippers, hooks, overloaded loads, or other sources of snagging.

This simple check can save you from treating the wrong problem.

1. Friction May Be Eating Through Your Shirts

This is one of the most overlooked causes of those mysterious little holes.

Think about how often the front of your shirt rubs against something during the day:

• Kitchen counters
• Desk edges
• Seat belts
• Belt buckles
• Jeans buttons
• Purse or backpack straps
• Rough furniture

The damage tends to appear in a repeatable location because the same area of fabric is being rubbed again and again.

How to Prevent Friction Damage

Pay attention the next time you’re cooking, working at a desk, or sitting in the car.

If your shirt repeatedly catches against the same rough surface, try changing your position or adding a barrier between the fabric and the surface.

Also check the buttons, buckles, and hardware on the clothes you wear most often.

You may discover that the washing machine isn’t involved at all.

2. Your Washing Machine Can Cause Snags

Laundry puts clothing through considerable mechanical stress.

Zippers, hooks, bra clasps, and other hardware can catch delicate fabrics during a wash cycle. Overloading the machine can make the problem worse because garments have less room to move freely and can become tangled together.

Before Washing

Take a few seconds to:

• Zip jackets and pants completely.
• Fasten hooks and clasps.
• Turn delicate garments inside out.
• Put lingerie and fragile items in mesh laundry bags.
• Separate very delicate fabrics from clothing with rough hardware.

A mesh laundry bag is particularly useful for delicate garments because it helps reduce tangling and direct contact with other items during the cycle.

3. Overloading the Washer Creates Extra Wear

Stuffing the washer until there’s barely any room left may seem efficient, but it can be rough on clothing.

A packed drum means garments rub and twist against each other more intensely. Delicate fabrics can also become trapped against zippers, buttons, and other hardware.

Instead, give clothes enough room to move through the wash.

You don’t need to run tiny loads for everything, but avoid packing the drum so tightly that clothes can’t circulate properly.

4. High Heat Can Weaken Fabric

Your dryer may be quietly shortening the life of your clothes.

Repeated exposure to high temperatures can contribute to fiber deterioration, shrinkage, and general wear. Delicate fabrics and lightweight garments are particularly vulnerable.

For everyday laundry: