Little holes in T-Shirt?

[beekeyknee]

There are little holes all around the bottom seam of one of my T-shirts. No holes anywhere else. What's causing this? Am I using too much bleach? I know what causes holes to develop under the arms of cheap Fruit of the Loom shirts. They're just cheap and I tuck them in my pants and when I stretch they pull and rip. This is not the case with this T-shirt. It's fine everywhere else and hasn't been worn that much. I don't tuck it in either. Any ideas?

 

[tomturbomatic]

Looks like bleach damage. Bleach does not have to be chlorine to damage fabrics, even OXY-type products can do this.

 

[vintagekitchen]

powder detergent?

I use powder, and realized some of my clothes were getting similar damage from my habit of putting the clothes in the washer, then tossing in a scoop of detergent on top, before starting the washer.

 

[danemodsandy]

Today's T-Shirts....

....Are so flimsy-fine it's ridiculous. I have some Hanes tagless ones that feel like lingerie, not a guy's undergarment.

Also, do you have a cat? A snuggling cat can perforate a T-shirt without your knowing it - claws, y'know.

 

[beekeyknee]

Tom - I think I'm guilty of over bleaching.

Kevin - I'm guilty of pouring powders on top of clothes.

Sandy - I don't have cats, but you're right, T-shirts aren't what they used to be. This was a silk screened gift so I didn't have a choice on quality. Maybe I should go to Penney's or some place with higher quality than Fruit of the Loom. I'm getting tired of mending T-shirts all the time. The shirt in the picture was of better quality so I must be making laundry errors.

 

[combo52]

Holes In Tee Shirts

Hi Brain, I warned you that MTs are hard on clothing, LOL. If you want to know if the damage is caused by LCB shine a black light on the damaged area and if it is LCB damage you will see a different color around the holes.

When I worked for MT we always kept a black light around because clothing damage problems were fairly common with MT washers for several reasons that were caused by LCB.

1 MT always stressed using LCB because of MTs short maximum wash time, this was their way of dealing with all the cleaning complaints when people switched to a MT washer.

2 Because a MT stopped agitating when you lifted the lid during wash and people would just poor the LCB directly in and end up getting some of it directly on the clothing on top of the load.

3 The agitation of MTs Power-Fin agitator is very hard on clothing, so LCB damage shows up quickly in the form of holes in clothing.

 

[washer111]

Shirts of Today

Unless you pay a pretty penny for some of the "Surf Brand" Collared T-shirts and the like, you end up with collared shirts that are so thin you can see right through the bastards, shirts whose seams twist and are ruined in short order, and holes that appear quickly.

With such shirts, one fears washing in anything more than warm water, in case the shirts are wrecked even further...

 

[danemodsandy]

Switch to BIZ:

I've had phenomenal luck with BIZ, which contains oxy ingredients plus enzymes.

I have very white whites, plus stuff lasts about three times longer than it did when I used LCB.

And I have Maytags!

* ducks and runs *

 

[beekeyknee]

John,

I would pour the bleach down the dispenser as fast as it would take it and shut the lid quickly, but I wasn't measuring so I was most likely over bleaching. Anyway, now I have the machines with the timed bleach dispenser and I measure so hopefully I won't be having anymore of those problems. Just got the machines done and I'll be posting a few pics after the holidays.

B.

 

[ovrphil]

Someone else with my same problem and mystery

We had small holes showing in our clothes, when we started using a GE FL washer (2005). It especially was noticeable on a few of my thin cotton t-shirts. Sandy, no doubt about it, the t-shirts are thinner, though I have found better ones, shopping at TJ-Max.

These holes in my t-shirts have only happened once with our Maytag, but I am suspicious that it was the detergent type (powder Sears product) or maybe the color-safe bleach used. Maybe we aren't encountering what JohnL(Combo52) is referring to, because we use the gentle cycle more than the regular wash cycle. I have lost one or two t-shirts to these mystery holes which occur almost always in the same place - center of shirt, near the bottom front, belly button area.

Now, I avoid adding any detergents after the water level is reached with clothes added; assuring all is dissolved first before adding the clothes. But again, I don't blame it on the agitator, since overall, the Maytags have been so much better on our clothes than our FL GE. But, with the Maytags, I use the gentle cycle most of the time, and use regular for 100% cotton sheets and more rugged "threads".

..still pisses me off, that I've lost more shirts to mystery holes with the new FL GE 2005 unit than anything at all. But why are these holes produced in the same place? I contend it is weaker materials and knitting construction.

 

[Ultramatic]

 

 

Over bleaching. Happened to me using a GE FF and a Kenmore BD. No issues with the Maytag. I measure now and don't add the bleach until the tub is full of water and only down the detergent dispenser.

 

As for a better T-shirt, I always buy JC Penny Strafford Heavy weight T-shirts. Great quality.

 

[frigilux]

Are the holes always along a heavy seam, as shown in the photo? Two heavy cotton chef's aprons experience wear along the same areas--little holes that grow over successive launderings. I use bleach on white loads, but I don't think that's the culprit or holes would develop in other areas of the item.

The same area is the first to show weakness on my flour sack dish towels, as well---but only after a few years' worth of laundering (again, in bleach).

My guess is the heavy seam pulls against the lighter fabric above it during laundering stressing the fabric and eventually causing holes.

Haven't seen this phenomenon with T-shirts, though.

 

[iej]

It's very light fabric and the anti-pilling enzyme cellulase that tends to cause that in my experience.

A lot of detergents here don't use it and pilling doesn't seem to be any issue with them.

You could also be washing very delicate fabric on too harsh a cycle.
Use the delicates cycle and a more fabric-friendly detergent.

 

[NYCWriter]

This is gross but ...

Silverfish. They eat ONLY cotton and similar vegetable based natural fabrics such as rayon, they especially eat clothing that hasn’t been recently washed. They eat mostly around the bottom of the shirt because of oils and dirt from your belly button sticking to the fabric.

Carpet beetles.

Microscopic mites.

I know most people think they are scrupulously clean and refuse to admit it may be bugs, instead deluding themselves that the clothes are getting "snagged" in the wash.

99% of the time, however -- it's bugs.

And not necessarily in their closet or drawers, either. Guess where they go for first. THE HAMPER!! They like dirty clothes more than clean clothes. And if you let your dirty clothes sit in the hamper for weeks at a time in between washings ... well ...

So what's the best way to keep the bugs away?

-- Red Cedar blocks or chips -- LOTS of them -- in all of your drawers, closets, AND the hamper.

-- Speaking of the hamper, we may love the appearance of those basket-style hampers, but you are serving your dirty clothes up to bugs as a tasty meal on a silver platter by using these things. You are much better off using a plastic container that seals - and doing the laundry at least once a week.

-- Vacuum everything often. And then vacuum some more. Empty your sweeper bag frequently, even if it's not full (the eggs will hatch and the bugs will grow inside those bags and either cause cross-contamination later when you sweep, or worse, eat holes through the bag and find their way out).

-- USE HOT WATER in the wash. For everything. STEAMING hot. One of the reasons more and more people are spotting holes in their clothes is that this new generation of "high efficiency" washers is simply not doing its job!