Green Carpet Cleaning Solutions
By Lee Senter
There is a lot of talk about what a green carpet cleaning solution really is. In my opinion a green cleaning solution must not harm the environment nor any living species it comes in contact with.
As an industry instructor and business owner whose main theme is green I encounter people from all walks of life who want my opinion on this subject. The main concern of the people I talk to is " is the cleaning process going to harm my children or my pets?" The talk is rarely about the environment. Although most non-toxic solutions are safe for the environment, it is not a given.
The products I feel the most comfortable using are products that have been verified safe by independent third party groups such as: Design for the Environment (DfE), EcoLogo program, Green Seal and Envirodesic.
You must also consider that the carpet mills themselves are now insisting that you clean your carpets with a product approved by the Carpet and Rug Institute`s Seal of Approval Program (CRI SOA). The CRI SOA gives strong consideration to how green a product is.
There has been a bit of resistance by the chemical manufacturers to have their products tested by CRI SOA. When the program first started 21 of 25 products tested did not meet the CRI SOA's stringent performance requirements. In plain english this means that they performed worse than water alone for carpet cleaning. This is all the more reason to use products with the Seal of Approval.
I like using products produced from renewable resources. There are excellent food based carpet cleaning solutions available. These products are manufactured from 100% FDA approved food ingredients. They are readily biodegradeable. Readily biodegradeable means that the product is 99.7% bio-degraded in 28 days.
There are several products that are botanical and many refer to these products as bio-based. There are product lines that use nanotechnology. These are typically made from extracts from plants such as soy, corn, grain, potatoes and trees. There are many other plant based cleaners available. But you must be prudent in what you choose.
There are many people who talk about there process being green but they use products that are citrus based. The main ingredient is often d`limonene and although from a natural renewable resource is considered a terpene.This is from the same group of chemicals turpentine comes from. So be cautious of people`s claims.
To sum it up, if you want assurance that your carpet is being "cleaned green" and it won't damage the fibers make sure you see the CRI rel=nofollow [http://carpet-rug.org/commercial-customers/cleaning-and-maintenance/seal-of-approval-products/cleaning-solutions.cfm]Seal of Approval and some proof that an independent third party has approved it.
James (Lee) Senter has been a well known advocate of green carpet cleaning for over fifteen years. Lee has tested the effectiveness of green cleaning solutions for several manufacturers by using these solutions at his carpet cleaning company Fresh and Clean in Toronto, Ontario. Lee is a respected IICRC Carpet Cleaning Technican instructor and teaches for distributors across the country and for large franchise organizations. Visit his webiste at http://freshandclean.ca
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