Why is CRI’s Seal of Approval (SOA) important?

I am asked this by my students, customers and clients that I inspect carpets for all the time. It really is quite simple and easy to relate to when you think about it.

There are a couple of old wive’s tales that say “once you clean a carpet it will get dirty that much faster” and the other is “don’t clean a carpet until you have to”.

The reason these tales have wrung true for so many years is that carpets actually do have a tendency to get dirty quickly after cleaning. Why? Well the proof may lie in the Seal of Approval Program. The CRI tested 25 carpet cleaning products before the program was implemented. Of those 25 products, 21 cleaned worse than water alone!!!

The main criteria for a carpet cleaning product to pass the SOA is:

•Overall cleaning effectiveness — This ensures that the product removes soil and spots better than plain water.
•Rate of resoiling — This ensures that the product does not attract dirt to the cleaned areas faster than the rest of the carpet.
•pH — A more neutral pH ensures that carpet dyes and fibers are not adversely affected.
•Surface texture change— The product must leave the carpet pile minimally changed after repeated cleanings.
•Optical brighteners — None is allowed, as they can leave some patches of carpet lighter than the rest.
•Colorfastness — Products must not be so aggressive that they cause a color change in the carpet.The rate of resoiling is often made worse by the carpet cleaner’s over use of cleaning chemistry. For some reason cleaners don’t like using measuring cups.
This just expedites the problem.