The inaugural Experience Conference & Exhibition was held from April 17-20 at the Hilton in Clearwater Beach, FL. The three-day event was packed with news, hands-on demonstrations and important info. Let's begin:

Pop Quiz: What’s 4,000x dirtier than a toilet seat, contains 200,000 bacteria per square inch and is home to hundreds of thousands of different species?

If you’re looking to get serious with rug washing, what do you really need to have on hand and what do you really need to know?

You’ve likely already noticed that the ICS February 50^thanniversary issue is now live and posted here on the website.

Welcome to ICS Cleaning Specialist’s Carpet Cleaning Chemical Market Study, the 11th edition that we’ve published, which aims to gauge the preferences and opinions of professionals regarding the cleaning chemicals and suppliers they prefer.

It’s been another busy, eventful year in the carpet cleaning and restoration industry, so we thought it would be fitting to take a look back at some of the biggest headlines in the industry as well as some of the most popular stories that have appeared in ICS Cleaning Specialist.

During my daily news search for anything carpet cleaning related this morning, I came across a headline from the San Gabriel Valley Tribune: “Man sentenced for attack on rival carpet cleaner.” How could I not click on it?

Industry trade shows are great events. They’re informative, educational and they open our eyes to new products, policies and techniques, not to mention the networking opportunities. That’s why a lot of folks were disappointed when it was announced that Connections would dissolve after a 10-year run, effectively ending Connections events.

The 2012 Connections Convention and Trade Show, held from September 4-7 at the LVH Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, has come and passed. ICS was there in full-force and we captured much of this industry event in photos, videos and podcasts.