As someone who coaches little league baseball, the one axiom that I am most assured of is that the easiest job in America is that of a critic. Those of us here at CRI are no strangers to the critic, but we attack our jobs with a vigor based on a saying one of our good friends, Dr. Howard Elder at J&J/Invision, thrust upon us several years ago as we undertook yet another new project that would undoubtedly evolve and mature as we understood it the further along we traveled: “Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress.” The same applies to the SOA program.When we first launched our Seal of Approval Program [SOA] five years ago, rest assured we knew it wasn’t perfect and we knew it wasn’t the end product. Virtually every program that has its origins within CRI’s walls has evolved and improved as we understand more and more about its ramifications. In fact, it’s something we are very proud. As new technologies develop and our industry adapts, we find ourselves continually raising the bar in our standards for the good of all involved.
From the onset, our Seal of Approval Program had its share of detractors, some of them raising valid concerns that we were able to address and make our program that much stronger. Our goal with the program has never been to exclude anything other than products which don’t work.
Recently, the program and some of CRI’s recommendations have come under scrutiny, particularly our advice on pre-vacuuming prior to deep-cleaning extraction. I recently sat down with Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braun and talked about our various programs and their progress and asked him to address some of the critics.
JB: A recent blogpost suggested that CRI should listen to people who are in the cleaning business. What is your response?
WB: CRI’s position is that we represent our members, we advocate on behalf of the customers of our products, and we build consensus among diverse parties in our industry. We always aim for an open dialogue among stakeholders. We have members of the cleaning industry who serve on our various committees and are well represented in that dialogue. Our position is, and always will be, to be inclusive of any stakeholder in our signature programs and history will show you that we have listened and adapted when it proved to be in the best interest of the whole.
JB: Is pre-vacuuming really necessary or does CRI indeed contradict itself when it says carpet holds soil until planned removal better than other surfaces yet supports pre-vacuuming with all methods of cleaning?
WB: To begin with, CRI recommends consumers vacuum once a week in most areas and twice a week in the areas of the home receiving the most foot traffic. Vacuuming is great way to clean for appearance and some SOA-certified vacs can remove as much as 70 percent of the soil and dust in the carpet. We also recommend a deep-cleaning extraction of the carpet once every 12-18 months to refresh the filter-like qualities. It is true that carpet traps and contains soil and dust particles until they can be removed thus keeping them out of the breathing zone where they might have an effect on those with asthma and allergies. We also support the contention that those in the carpet cleaning profession pre-vacuum prior to deep-extraction. Vacuuming removes loose particles but not sticky particles or particles that are deeply embedded. That’s one reason you need periodic deep extraction cleaning. If you can remove 60-70 percent with a gold-level certified SOA vacuum it makes sense to do so and then follow-up with the SOA deep-cleaning extraction to remove the remaining soil build-up.
Is it necessary? I’ll give you and example of a national franchise that brought their system in to be certified. They did not use pre-vacuuming in their protocol and were unable to meet the passing standard. Once they included the vacuuming as part of the process, they passed with flying colors and have since improved their process to achieve the gold standard. That’s what it’s all about: giving the customer the ultimate satisfaction in their cleaning experience and that can best be achieved by using SOA products and services.
[Ed. Note: see Carpet Cleaning - why pre-vacuuming is important.]
JB: In the blogpost, though, it mentions that this pre-vacuuming only serves to agitate and stir up dry soil and dispense dust particles into the air. In fact, it blames the increased HEPA filter sales on the hyperbole of vacuuming. The post also states that all portable vacuums dispense dirty air back into the room atmosphere.
WB: Certainly there are good vacuums and there are bad vacuums. The beauty of the CRI SOA vacuum program is that it tests on three distinct platforms. Does the machine remove the soil? Does the machine contain that dust? And does it have any adverse effect on the fibers of the carpet.
One thing that most people don’t realize in the emissions testing of the machine is that we test for all emissions. We test to make sure the dust removed isn’t seeping out of the container and back into the room, but we also measure the particles that can come from under the housing and from the brush or agitator. In addition, we measure the particles that come off from the parts of the machine itself such as the belts. The vacuum must not release more than 100 micrograms of dust particles per cubic meter of air to pass certification. In order to meet the gold standard, that level drops to 25 micrograms of dust particles per cubic meter of air.
JB: Why did CRI get involved in testing of cleaning products in the first place?
WB: There are a lot of highly-skilled trained cleaning technicians in the industry as well as some really good equipment and cleaning products. Unfortunately there also a lot of products that simply do not work. All of the surveys we have conducted at CRI show that the cleaning and maintenance is the number one issue when it comes to de-selecting carpet. Consumers simply feel they can not clean it or have had problems in the past maintaining it and they choose to replace with another floor covering.
By certifying products and showing consumers the products that really work, we hope to be able to ward off this misconception that it is more difficult to clean and maintain. Again, we simply want the customer to have a satisfactory experience with their carpet so when they do have to replace after its useful design life is complete, they will do so with another piece of carpet.
When we first started beta testing products to design our testing protocol, we found almost 60 percent of the cleaning solutions did not clean any better than water. We also found that there were a lot of extractors that did a great job reclaiming the water they put down on the carpet and others that didn’t do such a good job. By being able to identify the best products and equipment, we give the consumer the information they need to have that satisfactory experience.
JB: What would you say to someone who has a difference of opinion in regards to your statements or those messages CRI delivers in the marketplace?
WB: We’re always open to discussion. We don’t live in a vapor here at CRI. If there is contention over a statement or a testing protocol involving CRI, we are happy to address it through our various committees.
Feel free to contact me here at the office at 706.428-2100 or via my direct email wbraun [at] carpet-rug.org. Do we mind criticism? Absolutely not. I believe it was Mark Twain who once said “The public is the only critic whose opinion is worth anything.” We are always on the lookout for ways to improve and better what we do here at CRI.
JB: Thank you, Werner.
James
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