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8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
1/84 CM/Cleanfax SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX.COM
By Lisa Wagner and Jim Pemberton
TRAININGTRAININGIs this the industrys
weakestlink?
The free market is alive and well today inour industry.Each new year brings us innovations in
equipment, tools and chemistry to make our
jobs easier, safer and, hopefully, more effective
and more profitable.
If the innovations dont create more value,
cleaners dont buy them. There is built-in ac-
countability. The new and great products sell,
and the ones that dont cut it dont sell.
Yet, while the advancementin cleaningtech-
nology in the past decade has been significant,
our advancement in cleaning training has not.
A test taken today for certification is not
much different from that of a decade ago
often with many of the same answers, work-
ingto notoffend anyparticular cleaning schoolof thought, or other invested interest.
The standards written as the foundation of
these tests have become enormous projects of
interested, and often conflicted, groups that
collectively take years to produce a revision
that ends up being outdated by the time it is
released, based on the new technologies and
research of the day.
The training format of classroominstruction
with a structure of having to memorize an-
swers to 150 or more questions also has not
changed much. It mirrors the same school sys-
temmodel thatis currently failingour children.
Traditional schooling is no longer a prereq-
uisite for success.
Going to college to earn big money is now
the exception, not the rule, as other ways of
learning have replaced therigid, programmed
bureaucracy of our test-centered educationalsystem.
Teaching skillsThe central problem to the format require-
ments of current training models is that, with
so many required questions to teach to, the in-
structor must spend thetime allotted on teach-
ing the attendees what to memorize to pass the
test, ratherthan on how tothinkandhowto ac-
tually clean.
When you ask todays instructors the most
difficult part of developing and teaching
courses,at the top ofthelist has tobe how they
squeeze real, practical learning in the midst of
all of the laundry-list of miscellaneous, and
often impractical, minutia they are required to
cover in their course.
8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
2/8
While,with some basic courses, this might
notcause much harm, with more specialized
crafts in failing to teach attendees
how to problem-solve on-site
new technicians can walk into a
job with a false confidence that
can cost them dearly.
Because studentsaregiven
their test scores, but no in-
formation on what they
missed and, more
importantly, why,
there are al-
ways gaps
in their
knowl-
edge.
The question is, do we want to see who
can memorize the most trivia and circum-
vent the tricky answers, or do we want
students to leave a class knowing and under-
standing the subject thoroughly so they can
be better cleaners?
We both receive pleas on a regular basis
from technicians who took a tip lightly cov-
ered in a rug or upholstery course and felt
they could apply it in any situation.
In particular, withsuchhigh-liability tasks,
such as testing for or preventing dye migra-
tion, and performing color correction, some
instructors present their own products as
be-all-end-all solutions without qualifying
that pre-existing conditions can create ex-
pensive nightmares for their students if they
actually apply tips in the wrong way.
An important skill, such as color correc-
tion, squeezed in at the end of a multi-day
class, when
students are tired from sitting and being
PowerPointed to death, fails everyone
the cleaners and the consumers they serve.
Service providersversus textile pros
Thecurrent training in the fieldsof uphol-
stery and rugs within the Institute of Inspec-
tion, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
(IICRC) is basic level instruction. It is what
you need to know in order to keep yourself
out of trouble in most general situations in
the home.
Though basic training and typical chemi-
cals canserve theon-site upholstery andarea
rug cleaning technician just fine, for hyper-
sensitive and/or heavily soiled natural fiber
and investment-grade textiles there needs to
be an in-plant focus, which the certification
courses do not prepare students for, or even
address at any length.
What theclasses are churning outare ser-
vice providers to perform a basic
level cleaning service to
c o n s u m e r s .
CLEANFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CM/Cleanfax 35
COVER STORY
LisaWagner is a second-generationrug careexpert,
NIRCCertified RugSpecialist andan owner ofK.Blatch-ford'sSan DiegoRug CleaningCompany.Shewas rec-
ognized as the2006CleanfaxmagazinePersonof the
Yearfor herindustrycontributions. Fora copy ofherlat-
estfreereport "Top10RugDisasters - andHowTo Avoid
Them" sendan e-mail to [email protected] "rugdisasters" in thesubject line.
An industry trainer andconsultant, JimPemberton is presi-
dentof Pemberton's Interlink Supplies inMcKeesport, PA. Jimis theCleanfax magazine2007Personof theYear. Hehasmore
than30 yearsofexperience in thecleaning andrestorationin-
dustry.You are invited to visit hiswebsiteatwww.ecleanadvi-
sor.com, or e-mail himat [email protected].
8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
3/8
What they are failing to do is develop the
mindset andskills to craft real professionals in
the fields of fine fabric and specialty rug care.
On-site versus in-plantThe biggest textile disservice the educa-
tional bureaucracies have done to consumers
is to imply through their standards, and their
courses, that on-site cleaning is interchange-
able with in-plant cleaning.
Because few of the contributors of much of
this material have actually operated success-
ful in-plant upholstery or rug facilities, theygenuinely do not have the depth of knowl-
edge to convey this effectively into a course.
Questions created by committee fall to the
lowest common denominator to create the
least amount of friction. The goal is to placate,
not to educate.
What has resulted is competent on-site ed-
ucation for fabrics and rugs, with safe skills
taught to simply help keep cleaners out of
trouble.
What has not resulted are courses to trainspecialists in either field on how to be excellent
textile professionals. The problem, however,
is that the IICRC does notexplainthisto clean-
ers or consumers; the organization just implies
that anyone certified in theRugCleaning Tech-
nician (RCT) or Upholstery and Fabric Clean-
ing Technician (UFT) are well-trained in their
craft... even when they may, in fact, not be.
6 CM/Cleanfax SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX.COM
COVER STORY
IN-PLANT TEXTILE TRICKS AND TIPS
FOR FINE FABRICS
Testing and inspection:Always test for the fiber family (natural/synthetic/blend) andfor colorfastness. Identifying sensitive textures, such as chenille or velvet made fromnatural fibers, is important, as cleaning and grooming processes should restore thefabric to the most next to new condition as possible.
Pay attention to preconditioning products and techniques:What you use to loosensoil is more important than what you extract it with. With in-plant situations, you havegreater flexibility as to the types of products used, as you can assure more thoroughrinsing and drying in an in-plant setting.
Choose tools for texture retention issues:Minimizing texture distortion duringcleaning makes texture restoration less time consuming later. The right tools and tech-
niques are critical here.Extract cleaning agent residues thoroughly: Few cleaners are aware of how muchresidue they leave in fabrics. Cleaning agent residues may contribute to color bleed-ing, browning and a stiff hand on soft textures. Such residues also may contribute toskin and respiratory irritation, and often prevent the bonding of fabric protectors.
Dry quickly:Fast drying of natural fiber fabrics is your best protection against colorbleeding and cellulosic browning. The ability to control the drying process is anotherreason to consider in plant cleaning of natural fiber fabric upholstery.
Jim Pemberton
Circle 202
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8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
4/8
Because of this severe limitation in train-
ing in these specialty niches, there has been a
gap in the development of high-end rug and
upholstery cleaning plants, which has re-
sulted now in a keen opportunity.
On-site cleaning requires quick, safe, non-invasive surface cleaning methods. With
equipment and tools that you dont need to
think about and ready-to-use chemicals, you
literally can go through the motions without
much thought.
You can simply provide a service and be
that simple service provider. Do you only
want to do a good enough job?
For those who wantto honetheir craft, use
their minds and hands, and be known as atextile professional, they need to look at set-
ting up an in-plant operation.
The advantage of in-plant cleaning is
three-fold:
1. Better cleaning, because you can wet
wash or solvent clean and be more inva-
sive in a controlled cleaning environment
2. More miracle-making, because you
can use products that you normally would
be wary of in the home, and can spend more
time on perfecting your results
3. More money, because when you be-
come a specialist in rugs and fabrics, you can
command top dollar in your town.
Change is hard, but wehave no choice
With the economic pressures on the man-
ufacturers of textiles, more corners are being
cut, and more dangers are waiting to be un-
covered by unsuspecting, uneducatedclean-ers in the home.
Cleaners have to know what they canhan-
dle, and what they cannot.
They need to be educated by instructors
who are actually connected to real cleaning
operations, seeing real problems and so-
lutions in real time.
Manuals and standards, some up to a
decade old, do not cut it today. The know-how needs to be updated year-round, not
stuck for years in committees.
The rules need to beloosened sothatmore
relevant courses can make it to market, the
COVER STORY
CLEANFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CM/Cleanfax 37
Better technicians are created whentheyexperi-encea real-life cleaningchallenge.
Circle 207
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Against Dirty Carpets & Upholstery Adjustable 500 PSI & Instant heat of 212F - Power & Versatility Dual 3-stage vacuums - Unmatched Water Recovery Upright ergonomic design for easy loading, unloading & transport Top GOLD certification from CRI - Proven Performance
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The Ultimate Warrior
8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
5/8
emphasis taken off of hundreds of questions to
teach to, andmore on practical case studies and
hands-on teaching.
In the fields of rug cleaning and fine fabric
cleaning,there needs to be an importantshift to
in-plant cleaning training. We need to stop
training to the lowestcommon, on-site denom-
inator.
We are releasing cleaners with mediocre
training in these fields. We need to shift to re-
warding consumers with rug and fine fabric
specialists.
If cleaners want to find themostfinancial and
personalrewards throughtheir professional de-
velopment, then they need to look beyond the
current training formats and learn how to be-
come specialists in these fields.
Consumers need more textile specialists, notservice providers.
Questions people askThefollowing is a selectnumberof questions
posed by Cleanfax magazine readers.
1. How well do you feel the current certi-
fication programs prepare textile cleaners
8 CM/Cleanfax SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX.COM
COVER STORY
Circle 201
UPHOLSTERY CLEANING AND RUGS
Rugs have always been lumped in as a last-minute stuffer to the IICRC S100standard specific to carpet cleaning.
There is an assumption that because they are fuzzy they are just like installed
carpeting, and those being trained in installed carpet care can also easily add rugs.Thats simply not true.Before the IICRC rug course existed, I used to tell anyone who wanted to get into rug
care that if they wanted to be certified in anything, to choose UFT over CCT because itwas more closely aligned to rugs.
Here are some important common threads between caring for fine fabric andoriental rugs:
Fiber and dye testing are a dailyroutine to staying out of trouble Natural fibers are common, and you have to know the best solutions,
tools and methods to care for them You must be an expert at pre-inspection, especially for common dangers
like stenciling, dry rot, blended fibers and old repairs For thorough cleaning, you have an in-plant operation for your
specialized services Homes with valuable rugs also have valuable upholstered furnishings You must be knowledgeable on handling semi-antique and antique items Restoration contents cleaning services require an in-plant operation
Rug care belongs in the upholstery cleaning standard more than carpet cleaning.The tools, solutions, techniques and the mindset for specialty textile care make bothfields a perfect collaboration.
Lisa Wagner
8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
6/8
for success in todays market?
Jim Pemberton: When I wrote the article
Where are the upholstery cleaning special-
ists? I then concluded that technician train-
ingin basic skillslike upholstery cleaningfalls
short of the type of upholstery specialist
cleaning classes that were taughtin the1970s
andlate 1980s. Thereis surelynothing wrong
withteachingupholstery cleaningtechnicians
the basics to keep them out of trouble and
help them to produce consistent work that
pleases most customers.
However, you cannot approach upholstery
cleaning like you do carpet cleaning. The ba-
sics will help with most synthetic fibers and a
few natural fiber fabrics and blends, but it
leaves a broad swath of restorative cleaning
needs not addressed.
In the three years since I wrote that article,
I continue to see groups outside of the clean-
ing industry, such as furniture stores, furni-
ture repair specialists and dry cleaners
entering into thefine fabricspecialty cleaning
field not because theywantto doit, but be-
cause they are forced to by clients who
demand the service and cannot find
specialtycleanersin their marketarea to serve
their needs.
Lisa Wagner: The best student does not nec-
essarily mean the best cleaner. When I got a
top score on my CCT course with the IICRC,
I left the class knowing all of the facts about
carpet, but did not know how to turn on a
truckmount, much less use one. I was obvi-
ously not the bestcleaner in the group I just
knew how to take a test.
With the RCT course with the IICRC, so
much time was spent on identifying certain
types of rugs, and many obscure materials
that, in my entire lifetime, I have never seen
come through our rug plant doors.
Yet, with committee members more aca-
demic in the field than practical, that is thetype of course to expect more time spent
on memorizing interesting textile facts than
on hands-on cleaning. It is a good course for
some basics, butwhen referring consumersto
RCT certified cleaners, you cannot guarantee
that the cleaner actually knows how to clean
rugs properly.
When I got top score on my CRS course
with ASCR (now RIA), I learned a great dealabout rug identification andmemorizing weft
counts and side finishes, but again, I did not
learn any specifics on how to advance my
cleaning techniques. It actually doesnt affect
how you clean a rug to know what coun-
try it comes from.
I had an unfair advantage over the others
because Ive been around rugs all of my life
and Im an excellent writer so the term paper
was a breeze. But because I can do well on a
college-type test, and can write, does not
mean I was the best rug cleaner in that class.
Its an interesting course that I enjoyed, but if
the goal is to train large numbers of rug spe-
cialists, with under 100 CRSs following
through to the term paper, they are failing at
that task.
2.What is your opinion on the influence
of carpet manufacturers and fiber produc-
ers on the cleaning industry?
Jim Pemberton: I dont deny that weve had
some good things happen with the more
open relationships with carpet manufactur-
ers and fiber producers. It has allowed some
better mechanisms for a few cleaners to mar-
kettheir services anddevelopstronger retailer
relationships.
Butoverall, weve labored under toomany
restrictions for too few benefits in return.
If we believethat thepeople who make car-
petreally care about ourindustry, we are mis-
taken. We are not partners in their minds, but
seen as a necessary evil at worst, and a very
junior partner that should be treated with a
benign paternalism at best.
I dont want to feel this way, but you onlyneed read the recent CRI rebuttal to the
study done by DebbieLema regarding Seal of
CLEANFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CM/Cleanfax 39
COVER STORY
Circle 209
Traditional schooling is no longer
a prerequisite forsuccess.
8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
7/8
Approval (SOA) testing to see just how little
understanding and regard that industry
has for ours.
And you only need to look at where your
customer base really comes from to know
how little you really need them.
Lisa Wagner: I understand the desire for the
wool producers to get involved in the clean-
ing sectors.
After all, they are seeking more revenue
sources, so requiring manufacturers to bend
overbackwards to create "approved"products
does that. Getting cleaners to pay to also be
considered approved, also helps feed those
revenue needs.
The interesting thing about this, though, is
that there is not a single in-plant rug cleaning
peer that I know who chooses, or uses, Wool-
Safe products. If they do, it is by accident and
not by plan.
The approval guidelines are not based oncleaning results, but on arbitrary rules which
do not apply to manufacturers of wool rugs,
but on the cleaners of them.
When you are cleaning rugs in the home,
andleaving residue as a result, then issueslike
alkalinity, agitation and heat are important to
be aware of. Using hot water extraction, or a
highly alkaline solution, could cause thewool
to bleed or yellow.
Cleaning in a professional rug plant, with
the amount of water and agitationthat can beused, creates a completely different cleaning
environment where the WoolSafe guidelines
are simply irrelevant.
The guidelines are made to prevent dumb
accidents when you are choosing to surface-
clean wool rugs in the home. Washing rugs in
the plant is a completely different beast.
Being knowledgeable about wool through
0 CM/Cleanfax SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX.COM
Most training opportunities arestrictlyin classroom settings. However, there is a need to craft real
professionals in the fields of finefabric and specialty rug carethroughpractical, hands-ontraining.
COVER STORY
Circle 204
8/9/2019 Cleanfax - Sept 2010 Cover
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hands-on experience and being a wool smart cleaner far outperforms
someone with a WoolSafe designation from an on-line course where they
never handled a single rug.
3. What is the solution, from your perspective?
Jim Pemberton: One-size-fits-all training does not work. In the field
of fine fabriccare, there is a need to first get technicians to understand the
basics of the task, including training that is heavy in testing, inspectionand choosing safe and easy-to-use methods that keep the cleaner out
of trouble.
However, for a cleaning company to be put to the forefront in their
market area, they will need to be able to restore to next to new condi-
tion the most delicate textiles, including the removal of severe stains and
odors. This training requires more than can be taught at basic skill levels.
Such training need not be limited to the classroom experience; both
basic skills andadvanced techniques canbe taught, at least partially, in an
onlinelearning environment.That being said, there will alwaysbe a place
for hands-on supervision of advanced skill development.
Lisa Wagner: Real-world rug education is based on need. Some techni-cians want to learn enough to stay out of trouble and know when to say
no to certain jobs.
A basic level rugcourse should focus on the practical aspects of fibers,
dyes, construction and pre-existing conditions, rather than on where the
rugs are woven or produced.
Surface-cleaning synthetic rugs and identifying natural fiber rugs to
refer to rugwashing facilities should be covered. Havingthem memorize
lots of rug identification facts they will never use, should not.
Formanagers andowners, more specific courses shouldbe designed to
teach hands-on cleaningstrategies forproblem tuftedand customrugs, as
well as washing woven rugs. You cannot teach in-plant methods thor-
oughly onlineor in a temporary wash pit in a classroom; it needs to hap-penin an actual rug cleaning facility if the attendee wants to learnhow to
set up a professional rug cleaning operation. Best business practices and
operations should be covered, and this can easily be enhanced through
online channels.
The point is that there needs to be a division between those who are
goingto surface-clean syntheticrugsin the home, and those who want to
become true textile specialists operating a rug plant.
CF
COVER STORY
2 CM/Cleanfax SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX COM
Todays cleaningeducation improveswhen a morehands-onapproachto trainingis implemented.
Circle 232
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