I am on the committee for the IICRC S-100 Cleaning Standards which are the standards adopted by the carpet industry governing carpet care and maintenance. Our committee is charged with re-writing, revising and updating the information in the chapter covering carpet selection and cleaning. This is a document all in the industry should be familiar with.
Covered in the section we are working on is fiber, which is broken down into the different fibers, natural and synthetic, used in the manufacture and construction of carpets and rugs. Also is the relevance of each fiber to the professional carpet cleaner and what he has to know about them in order to most effectively clean a carpet. The performance of fiber types in different use environments, the affect of soils on the carpet fiber and what has to be done to clean them is paramount in this standard. This standard affects everyone selling carpet because carpet warranties are now tied to carpet cleaning and care and this document is the basis for cleaning and care as it applies to warranty coverage.
Just so you know the efforts being taken to educate, train and certify professional carpet cleaners, I’ll share this section of our chapter with you. It basically states that professional carpet cleaners should be aware that the carpets style, color, pattern, texture, fiber, environment, use and abuse influences how the carpet can best be cleaned as well as the anticipated results. It may be possible to get all the soil out but it is not possible to resurrect a carpet that has undergone adverse textural change and abuse. Cleaning gets a carpet clean, it does not make it like new. All styles of carpet will require a different approach to cleaning. Professional carpet cleaners therefore should be familiar with the various carpet constructions and characteristics.
Another point being made is the effects of light on carpet. The four types of light commonly used are warm white, cool white, natural light and incandescent. Each will make the same carpet look a different color. We actually have a light box we use in our carpet seminar that shows this – it is one of the most amazing demonstrations we give in the program. The carpet sample is shown to everyone before it is placed in the light box. When the lights are turned on they reveal what appear to be four different colored carpets. The various type of lighting can affect the way a carpet looks after cleaning. It will also affect the way carpet you sell will look in your store, outside or in the customers’ home. For this reason it is best to show the samples in the customers home to avoid any complaints that they got the wrong color carpet. After it’s installed is not the time you want to find out light changes the color of the carpet. This issue is even more critical when selling commercial carpet. It should always be specified what type of lighting the space has so everyone will know what light to match the color shade to.
Yet another area covered is vacuuming the carpet. Many of you will be happy to know that vacuuming the so called “California Shag” – the thick shag carpet with the long fat cable yarn and long thin frieze yarn, is being specifically addressed. This style carpet has generated untold claims caused by vacuum cleaners that are so aggressive they blossom the cable yarns tips. This information should help end the arguments over this issue.
This document won’t be completed and published for awhile but you should know that it’s coming and how it affects you. I urge all of you to get a copy of it when it is finally published.
Author: Lewis G. Migliore
LGM and Associates – The Floorcovering Experts