A carpet cleaning professional is working with one of your most valuable assets. Should it be trusted with just anyone? Unfortunately, our industry is full of “rogues” that only care about how much money they can get from you, and nothing about the life of your carpeting. They do not care about the industry in which they work.
Have you ever noticed that in many states, air conditioning companies, plumbers, pest control companies are required to be licensed? Not so for carpet cleaners (they don’t even have to be bonded and insured). Luckily there are many fine people in the carpet cleaning industry that realize the standard must be raised. Those of us in that process help to police our own industry. In order to do this, associations and certification organizations were created.
One such organization is called the IICRC (Institute of Inspection, Cleaning, and Restoration Certification). This organization provides certification courses and exams for the carpet cleaning industry. By attending these courses, carpet cleaners are taught about fiber identification, carpet construction, cleaning chemistry, cleaning methods, and professionalism.
There are several levels of certification: Certified Technician (1 point), Journeyman Technician (5 points and one year of active status), and Master Cleaning Technician (10 points and 3 years of active status). So, the question remain- “Does it mean anything?” Yes, yes, yes! It means a lot! It means that the certified firm is on the cutting edge of technology and change in our industry. It means that a certified firm knows the right way to apply cleaning procedures and chemistry. It means that the certified firm is working together with other certified firms to raise the standard of carpet cleaning in general, therefore providing you with a higher quality product.
