The Goal of CRI

Now that we've discussed the testing program for CRI carpet extractor certification and its benefits, let's wrap up this blog post series by taking a look at the goal of CRI.

Established in 1991, CRI is a national carpet and rug industry trade organization headquartered in Dalton, Georgia. CRI counts as its members over 90 percent of all carpet producers and raw materials suppliers in the United States. In 2000, CRI established a Green Label vacuum certification program in response to an industry need for a common standard in environmental certification. CRI views standardization and certification as an important part of its mission, and certifies carpets, cushions and adhesives in addition to vacuums and extractors.

When evaluating carpet extractors, consider products that bear the CRI Seal of Approval. The environmental and cleaning performance of CRI-tested and approved extractors can help you save time and labor costs, increase the life of flooring and improve a facility’s indoor air quality.

The Advantages of CRI Certified Extractors: Longer Lasting Carpet

We have discussed how CRI-certified carpet extractors can help to improve a facility's indoor air quality and lower cleaning costs. Today, we finish our blog post series by discussing how these extractors can help facilities achieve Longer Lasting Carpet.

The soil in carpet is not only unsightly and unhealthy, it is also destructive. Carpet soil includes sharp and abrasive microscopic particles, which when walked on, cut into carpet fibers and abrade them. This ultimately causes the carpet to continuously appear dirty. Over time, the wear caused by soil will require replacement of the carpet sooner than would otherwise be necessary. Having CRI’s certification means an extractor is both able to effectively remove dust particles, as well as not adversely affect the carpet’s overall appearance. Additionally, a certified machine will effectively remove the water from the carpet, thus greatly reducing mold and bacteria growth. All this translates to a longer life for your carpet.

To learn more about Advance's CRI-certified carpet extractor solutions, visit: www.advance-us.com.

The Advantages of CRI Certified Extractors: Lowered Costs

This week's blog post continues our series on the advantages of CRI-certified carpet extractors for your facility and cleaning procedures. While last week touched on the benefits of Indoor Air Quality (IAQ), this week we will discuss how these extractors result in Lowered Costs.

According to industry-sponsored studies, as much as 95 percent of total cleaning costs are in labor. CRI-certified extractors are more effective at removing soil, dust and other compounds, which translates to greater cleaning efficiency and less time spent extracting. In addition, other studies have shown that improved IAQ helps reduce employee absenteeism and liability issues, which in turn contributes to cost reduction.

Next week, our blog post series will finish with how CRI-certified extractors result in Longer Lasting Carpet.

The Advantages of CRI Certified Extractors: Improved Indoor Air Quality

Our last few posts have discussed the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) Carpet Extractor Certification in detail, analyzing machine performance certification in various areas. Our next round of posts will look at what CRI certification really means for your facility and cleaning procedures. There are many ways an extractor with the CRI Seal of Approval can positively affect your company’s cleaning program, including: Improved Indoor Air Quality, Lowered Costs and Longer Lasting Carpet.

Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a measure of the quality of the air in an indoor environment. Good IAQ depends on many factors, including effective building design, up-to-date maintenance and the selection and use of “green” cleaning products. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has determined that improving IAQ can reduce health problems, improve worker productivity and improve the efficiency of cooling and ventilation systems. Dust, residual cleaning products and poor ventilation are all enemies of good IAQ. Commonly thought of solely as a nuisance, dust frequently contains pollen, fungal spores, dust mites and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that can be harmful to health. A certified extractor will effectively improve IAQ by extracting the most soil during cleaning as possible. In addition, better removal of dust by extracting, reduces the amount of cleaning solutions needed.

Stay tuned for next week's segment discussing Lowered Costs!

CRI Testing Program – Carpet Appearance Retention

Thus far, we’ve discussed CRI carpet extractor certification for soil removal and water containment. This week we will look at carpet appearance retention.

Over time, accumulating dust can wear down carpet fibers and diminish the appearance of a carpet. This test is designed to assess the impact of a particular machine design on carpet appearance. A cut-pile carpet is subjected to one year of simulated use, including extracting and walking.

Researchers compare before-and-after photographs to determine the amount of wear incurred using a technique called Spectrographic analysis. The extractor receives a passing grade if the degree of wear is judged to be equal to or less than one year of standard use.

Results from all three tests—soil removal, water containment and carpet appearance retention—are peer reviewed by experts in the field of maintenance and indoor air quality to assure their validity. If an extractor model passes all three tests, it receives the CRI Seal of Approval.

CRI Testing Program – Water Containment

Last week’s blog post discussed machine certification for soil removal. This week, we will analyze the CRI testing program in terms of water containment.

Since moisture residue in carpet can cause any number of problems from mold to fostering bacteria growth, it is important that no excess water remain after the extractor finishes extracting an area. In this CRI test, a cut pile of carpet is weighed to determine its “dry” weight. The carpet sample is then given a set quantity of water. The extractor is allowed four passes over the sample to remove as much water as possible. After the extractor has finished, the carpet sample is weighed again to determine how much water remains. To receive certification, the machine can leave no more than eight ounces of water behind per square yard of carpet.

Stay tuned next week for the last component in the CRI testing program: carpet appearance retention.

CRI Testing Program - Soil Removal

Last week we discussed what CRI certification really means for carpet extractors. Over the next few weeks, we will analyze the three different areas that the CRI testing program certifies machine performance in. These include soil removal, water containment and carpet appearance retention.

The combination of foot traffic and dust settlement can lead to a large amount of soil buildup in carpet, requiring the need for soil removal. CRI’s soil removal test utilizes X-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology developed by NASA that analyzes the emission spectrum when an atom is excited. In the test, a patch of carpet receives a set amount of soil. The cleaning machine is then allowed to extract the carpet. After the machine is done cleaning, the XRF gun irradiates the carpet, and the soil left behind emits fluorescent X-ray radiation based on the energy characteristics of each element. Scientists then measure the intensities of the emitted energies to determine how much soil remains in the sample. If the extractor is able to remove 55-70 percent of the soil it receives bronze certification, 70-80 percent earns silver distinction and by removing 80 or more percent of the soil the extractor is rated with a gold certification for soil removal.

Check back next week for a discussion on the CRI testing program for water containment.

CRI Carpet Extractor Certification

When evaluating carpet extractors, cleaning professionals want equipment that gets the maximum soil out of the carpet and leaves the carpet as dry as possible. While manufacturers claim their products are efficient or effective, it can be difficult to validate these claims. However, that’s starting to change. The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI), in conjunction with NASA, has a testing program that rates extractors for their ability to remove soil and water as well as their ability to preserve carpet appearance. An extractor with the CRI Seal of Approval means the extractor meets the highest standards in the industry for efficient and effective cleaning, as well as appearance retention. CRI’s scientific testing procedure provides the hard data you need to evaluate and compare carpet extractors.

A CRI Seal of Approval on an extractor tells purchasers that the machine meets specific standards for operation and performance. Equipment manufacturers voluntarily submit their extractor models for the Carpet and Rug Institute’s independent testing. An independent board of scientists reviews the test results and recommends whether to certify the machine.

Stay tuned for next week when we discuss machine performance certification in different areas.