MoreIn February the IICRC “S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning” was mentioned. The good news is the 2011 Edition is about to go to press with the title “Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Cleaning of Textile Floor Coverings.”
In February we launched a new series titled Rug Cleaning 101. In that article the IICRC “S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning” was mentioned. The good news is the 2011 Edition is about to go to press with the title “Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Cleaning of Textile Floor Coverings.”
I was privileged to chair the rug cleaning portion and want to thank the members of the committee who worked long and hard to complete the new Standard and Reference Chapter on area rugs. Especially a big hats-off to my former neighbor Doug Bradford who was chairman of the S100 process, which took almost 5 years.
We have come a long was from the First Edition in 1991, the “IICUC Standard S001 – Standard Reference Guide For Professional On-Location Cleaning of Installed Textile Floor Covering Materials.”
The Fifth Edition of the S100 reflects the change in floor covering trends over the past 20 years, with cleaning not just focused on installed textiles. The documents with all supporting appendices will be over 300 pages – a real accomplishment for the industry.
The other big news is the document has been approved by ANSI (American National Standard Institute). This means the S100 has recognition as the standard of care for soft floor coverings. Those of you doing restoration work are familiar with ANSI, as both the “S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration” and “S520 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation” have been approved under this process.
The S100 does not attempt to teach comprehensive cleaning procedures; rather, it provides the foundation for basic principles of proper cleaning practices. It is not intended to replace training, seminars, books, or workshops.
So what does it mean to the cleaning industry to have an ANSI-approved standard of care for rugs? Certainly the professional should always use common sense and good judgment, but now there is a minimum level of care for these textiles that your customer and peers can use to measure your practices.
One of the principles established in the Fourth Edition was that rugs should be cleaned in a plant environment, not on-location. It is not possible to properly clean the customer’s rug in-home (dusting, fringe correction, urine decontamination, etc.) or correct potential problems that might appear after the rug is dry (dye bleed, quality control results, etc.).
When the homeowner wants you to clean her rug on-location, tell her, “Our industry standard recommends cleaning take place in a plant or shop environment.” If you do not yet have a shop in which to clean your rugs work with an established rug plant that can provide a wholesale price-point.
Once the new S100 comes off the press, I highly recommend you get a copy to have as a reference and guide; you will want to review all the topics it covers, from chemistry to commercial carpet cleaning.
In February we launched a new series titled Rug Cleaning 101. In that article the IICRC “S100 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Carpet Cleaning” was mentioned. The good news is the 2011 Edition is about to go to press with the title “Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Cleaning of Textile Floor Coverings.”
I was privileged to chair the rug cleaning portion and want to thank the members of the committee who worked long and hard to complete the new Standard and Reference Chapter on area rugs. Especially a big hats-off to my former neighbor Doug Bradford who was chairman of the S100 process, which took almost 5 years.
We have come a long was from the First Edition in 1991, the “IICUC Standard S001 – Standard Reference Guide For Professional On-Location Cleaning of Installed Textile Floor Covering Materials.”
The Fifth Edition of the S100 reflects the change in floor covering trends over the past 20 years, with cleaning not just focused on installed textiles. The documents with all supporting appendices will be over 300 pages – a real accomplishment for the industry.
The other big news is the document has been approved by ANSI (American National Standard Institute). This means the S100 has recognition as the standard of care for soft floor coverings. Those of you doing restoration work are familiar with ANSI, as both the “S500 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Water Damage Restoration” and “S520 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Mold Remediation” have been approved under this process.
The S100 does not attempt to teach comprehensive cleaning procedures; rather, it provides the foundation for basic principles of proper cleaning practices. It is not intended to replace training, seminars, books, or workshops.
One of the principles established in the Fourth Edition was that rugs should be cleaned in a plant environment, not on-location. It is not possible to properly clean the customer’s rug in-home (dusting, fringe correction, urine decontamination, etc.) or correct potential problems that might appear after the rug is dry (dye bleed, quality control results, etc.).
When the homeowner wants you to clean her rug on-location, tell her, “Our industry standard recommends cleaning take place in a plant or shop environment.” If you do not yet have a shop in which to clean your rugs work with an established rug plant that can provide a wholesale price-point.
Once the new S100 comes off the press, I highly recommend you get a copy to have as a reference and guide; you will want to review all the topics it covers, from chemistry to commercial carpet cleaning.
