Insect Damage

The holes in these woolen shawls illustrate what moths can do to a natural-fiber product.

Textiles are an excellent food source for microbes and insects. Sizing (a process which gives cloth more body), many materials used in the making of the cloth, and soiled spots or dirt on the garment all help attract insects. The most common pests are the clothes moth, silverfish, and carpet beetle. Some damage is easy to detect but some organisms literally eat their way from the inside out; this causes the development of weak areas which are not easily observed until the garment is handled.