A guest hands you a cream jumper and says only "this is delicate." There is no care label — it has been cut out. Before you put a single drop of water on it, you need to know what the fibre is, because the fibre, not the garment, decides everything that follows.
Why fibre identification comes first
Every decision in advanced laundry — wash temperature, agitation, chemistry, drying, pressing heat — is dictated by fibre content. A senior steward(ess) reads a garment the way an engineer reads a gauge: fibre first, then construction, then finish.
Fibres fall into three families.
The three fibre families
| Family | Examples | Chemistry | Key behaviours |
|---|---|---|---|
| Natural — protein | Wool, merino, cashmere, vicuña, silk, alpaca | Animal protein (keratin, fibroin) | Damaged by alkali, chlorine bleach and protease enzymes; felts and shrinks with heat, moisture and agitation |
| Natural — cellulosic | Cotton, linen, hemp, ramie | Plant cellulose | Strong wet, tolerates heat and alkali; creases badly; attacked by cellulase enzymes and acids |
| Regenerated (man-made from natural polymer) | Viscose/rayon, modal, lyocell (TENCEL), cupro, acetate, bamboo viscose | Reconstituted cellulose (acetate is chemically modified) | Very weak when wet; shrinks and water-marks; acetate dissolves in acetone and melts at low heat |
| Synthetic | Polyester, nylon/polyamide, acrylic, elastane/spandex, polypropylene | Petrochemical polymers | Thermoplastic — heat sets creases permanently; oleophilic (grabs oil and sunscreen); pills; low absorbency |
Behaviour that catches crew out
- Protein fibres are alkali-sensitive. Standard laundry powder sits around pH 9-10.5. That is fine for cotton, hostile to wool and silk. Use a neutral or mildly acidic (pH 5.5-7) wool/silk detergent.
- Enzymes attack protein. Protease enzymes digest protein soils — and silk and wool are protein. Never use a biological detergent or enzyme pre-spotter on them.
- Chlorine bleach yellows and weakens protein fibres and destroys elastane. It has almost no place in a yacht laundry beyond hard-surface sanitising.
- Viscose loses up to 50 percent of its strength when wet. Never wring it, never lift it by the shoulders wet.
- Synthetics are thermoplastic. Too hot an iron and you do not scorch it — you melt and glaze it, and that is irreversible.
- Elastane degrades with heat, chlorine and sunscreen oils; that is why guest swimwear dies fast.
Reading a garment without a label
- Hand and drape: silk is cool, slippery, quiet; viscose drapes heavily and creases like paper; polyester springs back.
- Burn test (a snipped thread from an inside seam, only where safe and permitted): protein smells of burning hair and forms a crushable bead; cellulose smells of burning paper and leaves soft ash; synthetics melt to a hard bead and smell chemical.
- If you cannot identify it with confidence, treat it as the most fragile plausible fibre and hand-wash cool, or hold it for dry cleaning.
Onboard Notes
- Photograph the care label of every guest garment on intake. Labels get cut out by guests, and your photo is your only evidence later.
- Designer garments are frequently blends (silk/elastane, cashmere/silk). Always default to the most delicate component in the blend.
- xplor is not an accredited training provider: nothing here awards or counts toward any GUEST unit, certificate or Certificate of Competency.