Chances are you’ll have fallen victim to holes in your clothes before. If you haven’t, then I congratulate you on having acquired the necessary wealth not to have to wear the same clothes over and again until they threaten to fall apart.

For the majority of us mere mortals, however, eventually coming across holes in our favorite t-shirts or dresses is a fairly common thing.

That’s not to say it isn’t annoying, just that you grow used to it after a while. I have, in any case. In fact, on countless mornings have I gone to put on a t-shirt before work, only to notice a number of small holes that leave me with a very real predicament to contemplate: do I wear the t-shirt and hope no one notices? Or do I just throw it away and accept defeat?

As it happens I most always side with the second option, and it’s for that reason that I decided to dig a little deeper into these mysterious holes, what causes them, and what can be done to avoid them.

So, let’s start with the cause. Unsurprisingly, the list of things that can leave holes in your clothing is long and varying. Moths, for example, are a well-documented culprit, but not every hole is a result of fabric being moth-eaten.

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No, the explanation may be as simple as your item of clothing suffering from plain old wear and tear, or perhaps it has snagged on something, including a zipper, bra, belt, seatbelt, or rough surface.

If the holes are found close to the midriff, it could be your belt buckle that’s the issue. Going beltless is an obvious solution to this problem, though that’s not always viable. You could also try adjusting the position of the belt, or even smoothing rough or potentially sharp edges with sandpaper.

Something else you might not have considered is the act of washing your clothes, at least in so far as how much you’re trying to wash at any given time. Apparently, overloading the washing machine can result in holes in your clothes, and you should always take care to turn items with beads, buttons, or other decorations inside out.

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You should also avoid overusing chlorine bleach (if you use it at all), as this can result in holes in clothing.

Lastly – and yes, this is going to sound painfully obvious – be mindful of rough surfaces including brick and stone, as well as items that might be protruding from said surfaces, such as nails.