Washing Machine Making Holes And Tearing Clothes

Damage to laundry inside a washing machine can commonly be caused by

Getting trapped in the gap between the revolving drum and the door seal if the gap is too large or the door seal is becoming worn (Avoid overloading)

If the machine is a washer dryer, overloading can cause laundry to catch on the dryer vent at the top of the door seal

An item can gete stuck inside the tub underneath the drum, and laundry can snag on it when it gets pushed through the holes in the drum during spin. (underwires from a bra can get trapped on the heating element)

Worn or collapsed drum bearings or a broken drum shaft can cause the drum to scrape on the heater and the laundry would snag on the heater or heater bracket (The washing machine would be pretty noisy on spin)

A coin or similar can have damaged the drum and put a small sharp hole in it. (Examine the drum closely for any tears or holes with sharp edges)

Bleach: if the holes are just in one part of a garment it can be caused by bleach

Occasional tears can be caused by zips, bra underwires and other metal objects on garments

Normal wear and tear, particularly if the damage is on cuffs, collars, waistbands and seams

[edit] Since writing this reply I've written a Blog article on holes in washing, which has attracted hundreds of comments. Although the cause of damage, tears and holes in laundry are many and varied there are a lot of people suffering with small holes in cottons, especially t shirts. Read the comprehensive article here - Holes in washing (laundry)