Charter turnaround, four hours. The sky lounge alcantara headlining has a suncream smear, the silk wall covering in the VIP has a splash by the light switch, the saloon silk rug has a red wine ring, and the aft deck teak has sun oil trodden into it. Every one of these has a wrong answer that makes it worse.
Skins and technical textiles
| Material | Routine | Spills and marks |
|---|---|---|
| Aniline / semi-aniline leather | Dry dust; damp-wipe with distilled water; approved leather cleaner and conditioner per schedule | Blot only. Aniline absorbs — water can ring it. No solvents, no baby wipes, no saddle soap |
| Pigmented leather | Damp cloth, neutral cleaner | More forgiving, but avoid alcohol and heat |
| Alcantara / suedes | Vacuum with soft brush; light brush against the pile to restore nap | Blot, then approved foam cleaner; work the whole panel, not a spot, or you get a halo |
Leather that dries out cracks; leather that is over-conditioned goes tacky and grabs dirt. Follow the schedule, not the impulse.
Wall coverings
Silk and grasscloth are effectively unwashable. They are paper-backed, water-marks show as a permanent tide line, and the panels are colour-matched from a single dye lot.
- Dust with a soft brush vacuum attachment, top down, working with any grain.
- Never wet-wipe, never use a spray, never use a magic eraser.
- A mark that will not brush out is a snag list item for a specialist, not a cleaning task.
- Protect the covering during service: guests lean, hands go on walls, trolleys catch corners. Corner protectors and crew discipline prevent 90% of it.
Carpets and rugs
| Fibre | Notes |
|---|---|
| Wool | Resilient, absorbs quickly; blot fast; alkaline cleaners and bleach yellow and damage it |
| Silk | Extremely delicate; water rings, dyes bleed; specialist cleaning only |
| Sisal / natural fibre | Hates water — it stains, shrinks and browns; dry-powder methods only |
- Vacuum against and then with the pile; slow passes lift more than fast ones.
- Blot from the outside in so you do not spread the spill.
- Wine on wool: blot, cold water, blot, then the approved spotter. Never rub, never heat, never salt it.
Teak
- Exterior teak decks: wash across the grain with soft-bristle brushes and plenty of salt or sea water; scrubbing along the grain digs out the soft summer grain and raises the caulking. Never use a pressure washer, harsh caustic or wire brushes. Teak is a wear item measured in millimetres.
- Interior teak is a finished surface — treat it as timber under lacquer or oil, not as deck teak.
Onboard Notes
- Sun cream and self-tan are the number one interior destroyer. Towels on loungers, robes over headrests, and a spare set of hands on the passerelle.
- Get spotting kits and a written spill matrix into the pantries so a junior stew can act in the first sixty seconds without asking.
- If the material is unidentified, stop. Photograph, log and escalate. Nothing gets worse from waiting an hour; plenty gets worse from a guess.