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.