By Matthew Spieler
Keeping carpets clean not only prolongs their life, but done properly, it can help protect the indoor and outdoor environment. First, prolonging its useful life means the product will stay out of the landfill longer. Inside the home, proper maintenance can dispose of the common household allergens that become trapped in the fibers.
The problem is in today’s ever-changing world, carpet cleaning products, methods and equipment are improving all the time but, as Werner Braun, president of the
Carpet & Rug Institute (CRI), notes, not all cleaning products clean equally well. The message dealers should be giving to their customers is “it is easy to maintain carpet when the right cleaning products are used.”
As part of its mission to raising customers’ satisfaction with their carpet as well as protecting the environment, CRI created the Seal of Approval (SOA) program. Its purpose is to identify effective carpet cleaning solutions and equipment, including vacuums, Braun explained, which were certified under a different CRI program but have been merged “to combine the stringent standards of carpet cleaning effectiveness and indoor air quality into one initiative.”
For the retailer and consumer, this means products bearing the SOA logo not only clean well, but they are also friendly to both the indoor and outdoor environments. In the case of vacuums, for example, they help improve IAQ because they keep dirt and dust that is suctioned up within the machines.
Cleaning agents receive Green Chemical Certification under the SOA program after passing a stringent set of tests to certify the products do not damage the environment from a nationally accredited green product certifier such as Green Seal and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA)
Design for the Environment program.
Braun said stringent standards needed to be developed after tests CRI and an independent laboratory did with off-the-shelf spot removers and pre-spray solutions. “Of the products tested, only 16% cleaned a soiled carpet sample better than water. Some caused the cleaned carpet area to re-soil faster and—worse—some products damaged the carpet’s color and texture.”
Vacuums and IAQWhen it comes to vacuums, Braun noted they are the one simple step to improving the cleanliness of carpet and indoor air quality. But only if done using one certified by CRI. “Carpet fibers serve as a trap for allergens and other particles, reducing their continued circulation in the air. Removing them with a CRI-certified vacuum effectively sucks up the dust from the carpet, locks it in the machine and keeps it out of the air. At the same time, vacuums that effectively remove and contain soil will help carpets last longer and keep them looking great.”
Under the new vacuum program, manufacturers must meet higher performance standards and are rewarded with Gold, Silver or Bronze ratings. CRI employs an independent testing laboratory to measure soil removal, dust containment and carpet fiber protection.
CRI’s Seal of Approval program makes the selling and selection of cleaning solutions and vacuums easier. The Seal of Approval logo or label can be found on packaging, displays and on the machine itself.
There are currently more than 220 products, including over 40 vacuums certified in the program. A list of all Seal of Approval products can be found at CRI’s Web site, www.carpet-rug.org.
