A guest hands you a bundle: a linen shirt, a cashmere jumper, a silk scarf, a swim shorts pair and a pair of jeans. Two of those items will be ruined by a normal 40-degree wash. The care labels are in Italian, and one has been cut out. Fibre knowledge is what saves you.
The fibre families
| Fibre | Behaviour | Key risks |
|---|---|---|
| Cotton | Natural cellulose; strong wet or dry; absorbent | Shrinks if hot-washed/over-dried; creases; can be bleached (whites only) |
| Linen (flax) | Cellulose; very strong; breathable; creases hard | Weakens with hard creasing and over-drying; iron damp |
| Wool / cashmere | Protein fibre with scales | Felts and shrinks irreversibly with heat, agitation and alkali; destroyed by chlorine bleach; moths |
| Silk | Protein filament; lustrous; weak when wet | Chlorine bleach yellows and dissolves it; alkaline detergent and enzymes damage it; water and heat mark it; sunlight degrades it |
| Polyester / nylon | Synthetic; strong; fast-drying; hydrophobic | Melts/glazes under a hot iron; holds oil-based stains and body odour; pills |
| Elastane / spandex (in blends) | Stretch | Destroyed by heat, chlorine and high-alkaline products; hot drying kills the stretch |
| Viscose / rayon / modal | Regenerated cellulose | Very weak when wet; shrinks; water-spots; often dry-clean only |
| Blends | Mixed | Always treat to the most delicate fibre in the mix |
Protein fibres (wool, silk) and cellulose fibres (cotton, linen) behave in opposite ways. Protein fibres hate alkali, heat, agitation and chlorine. Cellulose fibres tolerate them far better.
Reading the care label
Five international care symbols, in this order:
- Washtub — washing. A number is the maximum wash temperature (°C). One bar under the tub = reduced/permanent-press action; two bars = delicate/gentle. A hand in the tub = hand-wash only. A crossed-out tub = do not wash.
- Triangle — bleaching. Plain triangle = any bleach allowed. Two diagonal lines inside = oxygen bleach only, no chlorine. Crossed out = no bleach.
- Square with a circle — tumble drying. One dot = low heat, two dots = normal. Crossed out = do not tumble dry. A plain square with a line indicates line/flat drying.
- Iron — ironing. One dot ≈ cool (synthetics, ~110°C, no steam), two dots ≈ medium (wool, silk, polyester, ~150°C), three dots ≈ hot (cotton, linen, ~200°C). Crossed out = do not iron.
- Circle — professional cleaning. Letters (P, F) indicate solvent type for the dry-cleaner; a crossed-out circle = do not dry-clean.
When the label is missing or unreadable
- Treat the item as the most delicate plausible fibre: cool water, gentle detergent, no bleach, hand-wash or delicates bag, dry flat.
- Check construction: linings, beading, sequins, leather trim, pleats, structured shoulders — any of these push an item towards specialist cleaning.
- Ask before you wash. A ruined guest garment is a serious incident; a delayed one is an inconvenience.
Onboard Notes
- Burning a thread to identify a fibre is a shoreside test — do not do it with guest clothing.
- Salt water and chlorine (pool) degrade elastane fast: swimwear gets a fresh-water rinse, never a hot wash.
- Suncream contains oils and titanium/zinc that mark whites yellow and can be set by heat. Deal with it before it goes near a dryer.
- Log every guest item in and out. Photograph existing damage or stains at intake.