CRI Seal of Approval Program Taking Off

Dalton, GA, February 13, 2006--Ten new extractors have earned the Carpet & Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval certification, having passed stringent tests measuring three performance criteria: amount of soil removed from the carpet, amount of residual water left in the carpet and impact of the machine on the fibers and appearance. Certified extractors are rated gold, silver or bronze based on the amount of soil they remove. Extractors that exceed average soil removal standards receive a bronze rating. Those achieving higher soil removal receive a silver rating, and those receiving the highest level of measurable soil removal are awarded a gold level SOA. The ten new SOA members are: Gold Level: Aero Tech UCS-600XT Truck Mount Bronze Level: Aramark 1260 Self-Contained Aramark 1610 Self-Contained Clarke BEXT 300 HV Portable Nobles Power Eagle 1016 Self-Contained Nobles Power Eagle 1020 Self-Contained Nobles Strive (Restorative Extraction Mode) Self-Contained Tennant Model 1240 Self-Contained Tennant Model 1260 Self-Contained Tennant Model 1610 (Restorative Extraction Mode) Self-Contained See online listing of SOA certified extractors Twelve More Cleaning Solutions Celebrate Seal of Approval Certification Just as the extractor portion of the SOA family continues to grow, so also does the cleaning solutions element of the testing program. A grand total of 50 solutions have been certified, including the following recent additions: Spot Removers: ForceField SoilBlaster by Shield Industries Chem-Dry Spot Remover by Chem-Dry Perky Spotter by Groom Industries Urine Odor & Stain Remover - Soft Surface Formulation by Bio-Pro Research Pre-sprays: Chem-Clean by Chem-Dry Carpet Complete by EnvirOx Carpet Pre-Spray & Extraction by Hillyard Heavy Duty PreSpray by JohnsonDiversey Natural II by Chem-Dry Supercharger by Chem-Dry Traffic Lane Carbonate Pre-Spray by Chem-Dry In-Tank: ES87 Carpet and Extraction Cleaner by Charlotte Products Spot removal, pre-spray and in-tank products are tested for the following: cleaning efficacy, resoiling, pH, optical brighteners, and colorfastness to light. The SOA is only awarded to those cleaning products with high performance in the testing categories. Water serves as the control standard in all categories, the rationale being that all products should clean better than water. The Carpet and Rug Institute development of CRI’s Seal of Approval (SOA) testing program which addresses the issue of carpet cleaning effectiveness by testing and certifying only those products that meet high performance standards. Seal of Approval began in 2004 with the launch of the testing program for cleaning solutions (spot removers, pre-sprays and in-tank products). Less than a year later the deep cleaning extractor testing program, which utilizes an x-ray fluorescence (XRF) protocol certified by the Space Foundation, was "launched" at the John F. Kennedy Space Center. Since then CRI has been busy following up with manufacturers certified in the program, testing and adding new products, attending key events and meetings, and planning for 2006.