Columbus OH.  Thursday, May 20, 2010 – The International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) has joined the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) and CRI has joined IEHA to deepen their existing collaboration and benefit both sets of members and their constituents in raising the bar on effective carpet care.

  “When organizations join forces, synergies occur yielding results that often can’t be obtained in any other way,” said Beth Risinger, CEO and Executive Director of IEHA.  “The International Executive Housekeepers Association (IEHA) has joined the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) and CRI has joined IEHA based on the well-founded belief that together our organizations can significantly improve knowledge and professionalism in the care of carpeted surfaces, enhancing results and indoor environments for our members and the public, while also lowering costs.”

  "The International Executive Housekeepers Association provides the carpet industry with invaluable information about the issues housekeeping professionals face in dealing with carpet care and maintenance in their facilities,” added Werner Braun, President of the Carpet and Rug Institute. “By joining IEHA, the Carpet and Rug Institute strengthens an already collaborative relationship, with the likely result that there will be increased opportunities for joint problem solving in the future."

  The mutual membership and partnership arrangement includes plans to publish targeted articles in the official publications of both organizations, and to share and integrate knowledge in respective educational and training initiatives, such as by incorporating CRI CEU materials into IEHA’s CEH and REH curricula.  

  “This step will further enhance the cooperative agreement between our organizations relative to the CRI Seal of Approval (SOA) Testing Program to encourage use of certified carpet cleaning products and equipment, and to utilize and grow the numbers of SOA Certified Service Providers,” said Braun.

  The CRI Seal of Approval Testing Program tests and certifies effective cleaning solutions and equipment, ultimately assisting in protecting a facility’s carpet investment.  Use of Seal of Approval certified products is also tied to a number of carpet manufacturers’ warranties.

  “We believe the use of SOA products will increase the useful life of carpet, enhance the indoor environment both aesthetically and environmentally, and help reduce our member facilities’ environmental footprint,” Risinger added. “We also believe in and will promote the opportunity to certify many of IEHA’s 3,500 members as SOA Service Providers; it’s a marketplace differentiator and another professional designation to validate the expertise of our members.”