The first three types of art are often merely decorative and rarely handled by people, resulting in a reservations by individuals about doing their own conservation work. Works of art in fiber, on the other hand, are extremely tactile. This feature, combined with textiles' utilitarian aspects, results in a certain ease and familiarity with the media. People are more likely to attempt stabilization, repair and cosmetic treatment of textiles themselves, often with disastrous results. The chemical and physical make up of a textile is extremely complex.
Age further complicates the chemical and physical problems involved.
Cleaning techniques which may give excellent visible results to every day clothing which is to be worn for a short period of time may be extremely detrimental to a textile collection item. This article will specifically address the subject of bleaching. It will examine criteria for determining when bleaching is safe and when bleaching is necessary, the ramifications of bleaching a textile, and the various types of bleaches. It is to be hoped that by the end of this article the reader will have a better idea about why conservators are reluctant to bleach, how bleaching affects their textiles, and why bleaching sometimes will not remove a stain. Staining is a problem often encountered in the textile conservation field.