Materials · 29 on file
Materials: what each surface can take
The same stain needs a different method on silk, carpet, marble or leather. Each material file rates every common cleaner and lists every stain on file for it.
Materials differ in four ways that matter for stains: how much water they tolerate, how hot that water can be, whether they can be rubbed or soaked, and which chemicals damage them. Protein fibres (wool, silk) react to enzymes and alkalis. Anything you cannot rinse (carpet, upholstery, a mattress) keeps whatever you put on it. Porous stone drinks spills and needs a poultice to give them back. Start with the material file whenever you are about to use a product on something new.
Each file below opens with the material's house rules, its patch test and every common cleaner rated safe, test first, avoid or never, with the reason for each. Then come all the stains on file for it, hardest first, so you can see at a glance which spills to treat as emergencies. Clothes and home textiles mostly tolerate water and can be washed; carpet, rugs and upholstery cannot be rinsed; leather and suede need dry methods first; hard surfaces split into acid-sensitive stone and grout, solvent-sensitive quartz, wood finishes and paint.