The cleaning wand, that ubiquitous instrument wielded with casual precision by legions of professional technicians, is at once a tool of monumental importance yet so common it is often regarded as little more than an afterthought.

A little more than a month from now, the 2007 Connections Convention and Trade Show will fling wide its doors and welcome the collective mass of cleaners, restorers, distributors, manufacturers and others who have made their way to the Las Vegas Hilton.

For those who may not have heard, Robert “Bob” Wittkamp, well-known industry figure, ICS columnist and consummate cleaning professional, died June 13. He was 64 years old.

This month ICS is kicking the tires on a new multimedia approach aimed at delivering to you a much more comprehensive, in-depth editorial package. Ladies and gentlemen, start your search engines.

Those fortunate enough to attend the 2007 Connections Conference and Exhibition in Clearwater, Fla., saw sun, sand and one of the more interesting educational lineups in recent memory.

The Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval Program has been a source of controversy in the pages of ICS, on industry Bulletin Boards, at trade shows and everywhere in between.

Regular readers of ICS and visitors to the ICS Bulletin Board are by now quite familiar with the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval Program and the controversy surrounding it.

The ICS Disaster Restoration & Remediation Market Study is an examination of the mechanisms, both mechanical and organic, impacting the direction of the restoration and remediation marketplace.

The first vacuum cleaner was developed by an Englishman named Hubert Booth in 1901. It was a monstrous device requiring several men to operate it, and a horse and wagon to pull it through the street.

Welcome to ICS Cleaning Specialist magazine’s fifth commissioned market study designed to measure the opinions and preferences of floor care and restoration professionals as they pertain to the use of carpet-cleaning chemicals and equipment. The size and scope of the study dictates that only certain responses can be represented here; see the “ICS Market Study” box at the end of the feature for more information.