It is turnaround day. In one cabin there is lipstick on a linen cushion, in the saloon a chocolate handprint on a bouclé armchair, and someone has left chewing gum pressed into the wool stair carpet. You have four hours. Each of these is a different chemistry, and the wrong sequence on any one of them will make it permanent.
The stains you will actually meet
| Stain | Family | Approach | Never |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sunscreen | Oil + chemical filters | Absorbent powder to lift the oil, then a code-appropriate degreaser; treat the same day | Water first; heat; leaving it "until after the charter" |
| Self-tan (DHA) | Developing dye | Act within minutes; blot; escalate fast — once developed it is a dye | Waiting; scrubbing |
| Salt water | Mineral | Blot; where the code allows, lift with a barely damp cloth and dry evenly | Letting it dry into a ring on an S-coded fabric |
| Red wine | Tannin | Blot cold immediately; absorbent powder; mildly acidic product on suitable fibres | Soap, alkali or hot water first; salt heaps on wool |
| Coffee / tea | Tannin (+ milk protein) | Blot cold; treat tannin first, then any protein residue | Hot water |
| Chocolate | Combination | Chill and lift the solid; oil stage; then the pigment | Heat — it melts and spreads |
| Blood | Protein | Cold water only, blotting; enzyme products only where the code allows | Warm or hot water — it sets permanently |
| Ink / ballpoint | Solvent dye | Blot only; escalate. On alcantara or leather, stop and call a specialist | Rubbing; hairspray; household alcohol |
| Make-up / foundation | Oil + pigment | Lift solid; oil stage; then pigment | Rubbing pigment across the weave |
| Chewing gum | Adhesive | Chill it hard (ice in a bag), then lift the brittle solid with a blunt edge | Pulling at it warm; solvent on a delicate pile |
| Candle wax | Solid fat | Chill and pick off the bulk. Residue is a specialist job on fine fabric | Hot iron and brown paper on bespoke wool, silk or velvet |
| Pen on alcantara | Dye on microfibre | Blot; stop; call the specialist | Any solvent, any household remedy |
Two rules that override the table
- The code beats the stain. If the fabric is S or X, the water-based option in any of these approaches is off the table, whatever the stain is.
- The fibre beats the product. No alkaline cleaner and no bleach on wool or silk, ever — even for a stain the label says it removes.
Onboard Notes
An unsuccessful treatment is not a neutral outcome: it can fix the stain, distort the pile, halo the area or bleed the dye — and it makes the professional's job harder and more expensive. The honest sentence "I blotted it, I did not treat it, and here is a photo" is worth far more to the chief stew than a heroic attempt. Report every stain you find, including the ones you did not cause.