Something is eating my clothes...

mummy2jack

Over the last few weeks I have noticed a few tiny holes in mine and DS tops..
DH thinks I am imagining it and says it is probably the washing powder
but I have changed it so it cannot be that.
I have looked in the wardrobes and cannot see any sign of moths, I am racking my brains trying to think of anything else that eats clothing..
It is really starting to annoy me now as I have just noticed a new top I bought last month has holes in now and I have only worn it once!
Any ideas on what it could be or a cure for it would be very much appreciated

celyn90

Oh, I get this too sometimes!

The only explanantion I could come up with is that I think that there are lots of things that can weaken fabric, then you put them in the wash and the hole appears. Nail polish remover and cleaning stuff are two of the worst for it - splashes you don't notice leading to little holes once they've been laundered. I notice it more on things I wear at work - as I deal with a lot of organic solvents, I quite often get little holes in my tops, normally around the middle.

pigpen

it isn't moths that eat the clothes it is the caterpillars which become the moths.. might be worth getting some mothballs to deter them just in case.

Gingernutmeg

If it is moths, you need to deal with it NOW rather than later. Pigpen is right, it's the grubs that eat your cloths and not the moths. I speak from experience, my granny had a terrible moth infestation in her house and we *never* saw a moth ... It was awful, as they will eat anything that's a natural fibre, and my gran's house had untreated wool carpets, and she was a terrible hoarder of things like clothes and knitting wool. The infestation got so bad that the carpets had to be ripped out, everything had to be washed and cleaned, everywhere was treated with spray and mothballs and all of the clothes had to be washed, inspected and bagged up. Nightmare.

So I'd check your clothes carefully - is the stuff that's getting holes made from natural fibres? If it is, get some mothballs and clear out your closets!

On a less worrying note, I've also heard that there are some brands of washing machine that are well known for putting holes in clothes. Might be worth googling yours to see if it's one of the ones that does ...

HariboJunkie

If you don't like the smell of mothballs, lavender is a good natural alternative.

Poggie123

I read somewhere about holes being caused by the sharp bits on the inside of the drum - something getting caught in the little holes and making a sharp edge which tears the clothes. I checked mine because I kept getting holes in my tops, but I realised it was a sharp bit on my belt that was doing it in the end! :rolleyes:

pigpen

I have a pair of jeans that has studs on.. and being black I wash them inside out and the stud did a fairly substantial amount of damage to a few vests!

Hippy110

It may be carpet beetles - the larvae from those are very destructive especially to natural fibres like wool and cotton. The beetles are smaller than a ladybird but most likely you will see the casts that the larvae moult. Now is the time when they are appearing after hibernating possibly in the roof space over Winter.

I think there is another thread on here about treatments.

kazwookie

washing machine drum may have damage and this could be catching your clothes, or the base of the iron

affordmylife

all my tops are holed at the front from my jeans and this has happened when im not wearing a belt. really annoying cos even with a brand new top it happens first time i wear it.

i cant work out where or why tho cos there dont appear to be any sharp bits on them at all.

emmilou

Poggie123 wrote: »

I read somewhere about holes being caused by the sharp bits on the inside of the drum - something getting caught in the little holes and making a sharp edge which tears the clothes. I checked mine because I kept getting holes in my tops, but I realised it was a sharp bit on my belt that was doing it in the end! :rolleyes:

me too I've got a few holes in tops in the tummy area! One I only wore once and I blame it on my jeans button or belt