joannqn Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Kind of a spin off from the mystery stains...I have plenty of those. But my shirts also get tiny holes in them. I wear almost exclusively cotton tops. I get these tiny (1-2mm diamter) holes in the front center lower abdomen (couple of inches below my belly button) of my shirts. One of my shirts has about a dozen of them all within a palm-sized circle. Another has three of them. They are well below my waist level and below where I bump up against the counters when I'm in the kitchen. Any ideas where they are coming from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SquirrellyMama Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Kind of a spin off from the mystery stains...I have plenty of those. But my shirts also get tiny holes in them. I wear almost exclusively cotton tops. I get these tiny (1-2mm diamter) holes in the front center lower abdomen (couple of inches below my belly button) of my shirts. One of my shirts has about a dozen of them all within a palm-sized circle. Another has three of them. They are well below my waist level and below where I bump up against the counters when I'm in the kitchen. Any ideas where they are coming from? My dh says it is from my acid belly button :tongue_smilie: I think it is from my shirt rubbing on the area of my jeans that pokes out just a bit (the area where the two sides come together at the button) and then they (shirt and pants) rub against the counter when I'm doing dishes. Is it possible that your shirt rides up a bit when rubbing up against a counter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tammyw Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Could it be when you are zipping up your pants and maybe snagging the shirt? I've done that. Also, do you make sure all zippers are done up when doing the wash? I know that the zippers can snag other clothes in the wash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fairfarmhand Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 round here those are barbed wire holes. All my shirts have them too. (climbed through any barbed wire fences lately?) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle in AL Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Have them too, around the belly button area on thin cotton tees. I don't think I bump up to counters too much. A friend told me she thinks that's where the tee hits the button on jeans. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extendedforecast Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Those are a mystery around here too. Only my shirts get these holes, and they ate in the same location as yours. My SIL gets them too and credits her front loader washer as the culprit. I don't agree. I think it's the poor quality shirts rubbing against where the jeans come together at the button. If you figure it out, let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 this has been driving me CRAZY for years! The holes aren't confined to one place. We get them on the back, shoulders, etc. I've often wondered if it was caused by the tossing in the dryer when they rub against a zipper? I don't know. But I'd really like to know what's causing them!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 this has been driving me CRAZY for years! The holes aren't confined to one place. We get them on the back, shoulders, etc. I've often wondered if it was caused by the tossing in the dryer when they rub against a zipper? I don't know. But I'd really like to know what's causing them!!! :iagree::iagree: I am driven crazy by those little holes as well. It doesn't seem to matter whether I buy cheap cotton shirts or expensive shirts. They all seem to get those little holes even though I hang dry the expensive ones. Ugh!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indigomama Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I feel so much better! It doesn't happen to only me:lol:. I have not been able to figure out those tiny holes in the belly area for years, and any time I asked people they looked at me like I was crazy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OH_Homeschooler Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I don't know but I was wearing a new t-shirt for maybe the second time on Sunday. I don't know how it happened but I pulled on a tiny section of it and a tiny hole just popped open. It was ridiculous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan in TX Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 It's a big mystery here too. It happens with my shirts and my teenaged daughters' shirts. Susan in TX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 Well, ya'll are a lot of help! :D At least I'm not the only one running around wearing holey shirts. Could I just call them holy shirts and feel less self-conscious about the state of my attire? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12Stars Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 We get those as well it is quite frustrating. It could be brand new and it gets washed and holes appear. I have to think it could be a zipper or the buttons, since we wear a lot of jeans around here. Or it could be some kind of phenomenon that we just don't know about. I wish we knew exactly so we could stop throwing so many shirts out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aliya Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I get those too. I think they're from the seatbelt. I always get in the car and put on my seatbelt. Then I yank my shirt so it's not pulling under the seatbelt. I think I'm rubbing the seatbelt against the shirt too much. But what do I know.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 DD gets them too, and I am forever yelling at her about them! I have narrowed it down to two things: 1. She is being abducted by aliens while wearing the shirts, and they do not undress her before they probe her. 2. They are cat-claw holes. Dd is adamant they are cat-claw holes, but I have my doubts... :tongue_smilie: So the questions are: Do y'all have cats or other animals with small claws? Probably even small rodents or even birds would make these holes. Or are any of you "missing" certain amounts of time?:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AK_Mom4 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I get those too. I think they're from the seatbelt. I always get in the car and put on my seatbelt. Then I yank my shirt so it's not pulling under the seatbelt. I think I'm rubbing the seatbelt against the shirt too much. But what do I know.....? :iagree: They happen to me too, but much more often in the summer than winter - probably because I wear a heavy jacket all winter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeannie in NJ Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I have started washing all clothes with zippers seperately from other clothes to see if that will help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12Stars Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 We don't have any animals, well only a bird that is in her cage and two fish. Last summer we had so many ruined shirts, but we also noticed we had carpet beetles. I am assuming they came from all the rain we got. They like being in wooden dressers and of course carpets . From my understanding they like to eat natural fibers. Most if not all our shirts are cotton. We had to do some major cleaning, and get into all the nooks and crannies of all our furniture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
claire+3 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 My husband gets these. I tried to figure it out for years! Any chance you are wearing a backpack or kids carrier? Because that's what I decided his were. Right where he buckles the Kelty he gets the tiny holes. Seatbelt is also making sense. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lionfamily1999 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Dh and I both get these around the bottoms of our t-shirts... I thought the detergeant was eating holes in them, or maybe hard water, or maybe the spin cycle... or possibly small critters live in our dryer and chew tiny holes. :lol: IOW, I have no idea where they come from. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Susan C. Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Two things here, I have them. #1, Fire Ants that get into the laundry pile, and #2, the corner of the waistband on my pants. Most of my thinner cotton shirts have them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sara in AZ Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Yes, we get those here! So annoying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redsquirrel Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I have never heard of such a thing. Whoa. I have two, prob useless, thoughts: #1) Do you bleach? What about your household cleaners? Could it be from a mist in the air of a strong counter top cleaner? I once ruined a sweater and DH ruined a pair of pants (not at the same time) from using a bleach based spray cleaning product. We each got this little galaxy of bleached spots. I can see how a t-shirt could get holes instead, esp at the counter level. #2) mildew? I know it can eat holes in things. Is it possible that the clothes are sitting in a damp bathroom laundry basket and getting lightly mildewed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 ants, silverfish, cats these are who I blame Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RahRah Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 ...moths? http://www.ehow.com/how_113375_deal-with-clothes.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JumpyTheFrog Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I haven't read all the replies, so maybe this has been suggested already. Could the hooks from your bra be snagging on your clothes in the wash? Does it only happen to your shirts or do the holes appear on everyone's shirts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EKS Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I used to get these when I worked in a lab where we used acid. It would make a hole in the shirt right where you are talking about and spare the polyester thread. The hole wouldn't happen right away, only after I washed the shirt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonshineLearner Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Ours are where the kitty lies on us :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prairiewindmomma Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I get them too. T-shirts from Old Navy are especially prone to them--I got one after one wearing. It's either jeans or seatbelts at my house. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jujsky Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Haven't read the responses, so forgive me if this is a repeat. Do you have a cat? That's where I get mine. My cats will knead me right there, leaving little holes behind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 It's not zippers in the wash, at least not here. Most of my shirts are red, and I wash reds separately. Many of my shirts don't come in contact with jeans in the dryer. I have cats but they rarely sit in my lap. I don't think I have carpet beetles. If I do, I haven't seen them. I keep the bathroom laundry separate from the regular laundry. The latter isn't kept in the bathroom so I don't think it is mildew. Counters could be part of it, though I've been noticing if my shirts ride up to rub that area of the shirt on the counter and they don't, that I've noticed. Seatbelts are a possibility, too, except no one else in the family has this issue and they were seatbelts too. DD has similar thin cotton shirts and she doesn't get them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donna Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 No cats here but still lots of little holes. Don't fall under my seatbelt in the car. No sharp parts on my jeans. Yes, Old Navy shirts are the worse and sometimes get them after only one wearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CalicoKat Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Kind of a spin off from the mystery stains...I have plenty of those. But my shirts also get tiny holes in them. I wear almost exclusively cotton tops. I get these tiny (1-2mm diamter) holes in the front center lower abdomen (couple of inches below my belly button) of my shirts. One of my shirts has about a dozen of them all within a palm-sized circle. Another has three of them. They are well below my waist level and below where I bump up against the counters when I'm in the kitchen. Any ideas where they are coming from? I get them too. I think they come from the zipper on my pants or the zipper on my fleece that I wear in the winter for extra warmth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmoira Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Cats or carpet beetles? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AmericanMom Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I get these, too! And only me! And mostly on Old Navy t-shirts. I do wear jeans a lot, but I have a hard time seeing how that could make so many little holes. Weird! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joannqn Posted April 12, 2011 Author Share Posted April 12, 2011 So, many people are saying Old Navy is the worst and it happens to thin cotton shirts. I don't shop at Old Navy. Isn't Old Navy known for their low prices? The shirts I have it happen to the most are from Avenue which is also pretty cheap. Cheap often means poor quality...low thread count, cotton plies separated to go further, short fibers spun together come apart easily. Could it be that the fibers are simply pulling apart due to quality with the quality being so poor that it might happen in only a few washings? So, I think it is a quality issue. My guess is that higher quality clothes don't do this. I often wonder if it would be cheaper to buy a few high quality items rather than replacing low quality items more often. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slartibartfast Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I wonder if it is due to some sort of flame retardant on the clothes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosie_0801 Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 Dh discovered the reason we were getting holes in our clothes. There was a nail or something sticking into wash tub of the machine. Neither of us can imagine how it got there, but I'm glad he discovered it because I was about to put a load of woolens on. Rosie Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HLDoll Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 This is one of the most interesting threads I've ever read here, but it still doesn't get me any closer to an answer! I get holes right around the belly of most of my cotton shirts as well, and no one else in my family seems to have the problem. We have no pets, so it isn't cats. I figured I had silverfish in my dresser, and had a bug guy come and spray our upstairs. I also started hanging my favorite T-shirts in the closet instead of folding them in the dresser, but just noticed that one of my closet only shirts has a hole. I wish I knew what caused this. I've worn jeans and seatbelts my whole life, and can't figure out why in just the past few years all my shirts have holes in the same area. No holes in the backs of the shirts or sleeves, and no holes in anyone else's shirts. Maybe it really is all the time I spend standing up against a counter? Strange! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one with this problem. I really hate having to buy new t-shirts every summer and not having them even last the season. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KidsHappen Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 This is really weird. It happens to my hubby's and one of my dd's shirts but not mine or my other dd's shirts. My hubby wears pretty heavy weight polo shirts. My dds wear the same kinds of shirts (some heavy weight cottons and other thinner tees) but only one of them gets the holes. I wear heavy weight cotton tees and I don't get them. All clothes are washed together, we all wear jeans and seatbelts, and our cats are declawed. I do have another problem though. I am forever getting bleached out spots on my tees. I rarely use bleach and when I do I am extremely careful to not spill or drip any on my clothes so I am beginning to wonder if something else is bleaching them out. It is not overall but just in certain spots. They don't look like drops but more like if I leaned against a cabinet that had bleach on it (only I didn't :confused:). Anyone else have this problem? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula in MS Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 This never happened to me until I got a front load washer. Now, everyone of my cheap t-shirts has holes in that same spot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ReneeK Posted April 12, 2011 Share Posted April 12, 2011 I don't have a front loader washer. I get them and they drive me crazy. Must just be the quality of the shirts? :glare: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elegantlion Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Interesting. I've never had anything like that happen. I have a front load machine for 10 years and many of my shirts are from Old Navy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Tara~ Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Add me to the list of sufferers. :confused: I can buy the Old Navy/cheap/lower quality clothing, rubbing against jeans button, seat belt, and zipper snag in the dryer ideas. All seem feasible. It's happened to my better quality clothing too though. I don't fully believe simply rubbing against my jeans button through daily wear would cause it, but, what else do I have to offer? Seat belt, well, sure, we all wear one, no one in the family seems to be immune to the mysterious belly holes, though, now upon thinking on that one...the car seat kids may not have 'as' many shirts afflicted by this strange phenomenon. So I guess that could leave the zipper snag in the dryer as the most likely..but then...how does it just 'happen' to happen mostly in the belly area? We do have some shoulder holes here and there, but it all starts in the belly. I don't think I've ever had a hole appear anywhere but the belly first..and most frequently. Weird stuff. I hate clothes. :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Denisemomof4 Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 DD gets them too, and I am forever yelling at her about them! I have narrowed it down to two things: 1. She is being abducted by aliens while wearing the shirts, and they do not undress her before they probe her. 2. They are cat-claw holes. Dd is adamant they are cat-claw holes, but I have my doubts... :tongue_smilie: So the questions are: Do y'all have cats or other animals with small claws? Probably even small rodents or even birds would make these holes. Or are any of you "missing" certain amounts of time?:D we have plenty of animals, but these holes are NOT caused by them. I have them on the back of shirts, etc. They are definitely not caused by our animals. ETA: Ours can't be from seat belts either because of their location. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kamom Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Interesting. I've never had anything like that happen. I have a front load machine for 10 years and many of my shirts are from Old Navy. Front loader here too. Never had anything like it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nd293 Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 (edited) this has been driving me CRAZY for years! The holes aren't confined to one place. We get them on the back, shoulders, etc. Same here! I also wondered about something snacking on the T-shirts, perhaps while they are on the line, as I am a little lax about bringing them in promptly, and they sometimes wait outside for a couple of days. Another mystery around here - we went through a time when everything we wore that was brown or khaki developed at least one faded patch on it. The only thing I came up with there was that perhaps the stain remover reacted badly with brown / khaki dyes. Since I got lazy about removing stains (I ran out of stain removing soap 6 months ago...), I haven't noticed this happening. ETA: I have an LG frontloader. Edited April 13, 2011 by nd293 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pippen Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 The holes in the front of shirts are made by the socks that get lost in the laundry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
historically accurate Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 It happens to me all the time. I mostly wear cotton t-shirts. It always starts in the navel area; I've wondered if it's getting caught in my laptop/zipper/seatbelt. But it doesn't happen to anyone else!! Last year, I had to buy all new t-shirts for the summer. I'm just so happy that it's not only me (not that I'm happy y'all are suffering with it too). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jewellsmommy Posted April 13, 2011 Share Posted April 13, 2011 Holey person here too :tongue_smilie:! I have always blamed the agitator in the washing machine! Do I owe it an apology? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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