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I wouldn’t call it my favorite movie or comic book, but “Alien vs. Predator” is a thrilling series. There’s drama, there’s competition, there’s aliens and predators. But the one thing that I’ve never figured out: Who is the bad guy? Who should be brought down in the end? Which character should change for the better?
What do you think? Who should be the “killer,” and who should be the “hero?”
Luckily for the carpet world, we don’t have to choose. The newest, interactive web tool from the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approval Program (SOA) will help us identify the “carpet killers” and “carpet heroes,” and how to make all your carpet troubles disappear.
Let’s open up the pages of “Confessions of a Carpet Killer.”
It sounds like the title of the next New York Times bestseller, don’t you agree?
The sad part is this title doesn’t need a book to become famous because it’s already a household name in businesses, homes and schools when the plush, new carpet is ruined because proper cleaning techniques were not being applied. Take a look at these stories.
Chapter one is about an overdue notice on carpet maintenance. At the public library in Jamestown, N.Y., 800 square yards of carpet were installed with a life expectancy of 10 years, but the combination of high traffic and the effects of ice melt and poor maintenance left the carpet heavily soiled after just a year. Unfortunately, the old carpet was shelved. The total money lost: $50,000.
Chapter two could be your home. Condominiums in Boca Raton, Fla., put down 1,800 square yards of custom-patterned carpet. The life expectancy was six to eight years. In less than 12 months it had gone ugly and soiled because the wrong products were being used to maintain the carpet. In the end, it was pulled up and replaced. The total money lost: $77,400.
$77,400 lost because of bad, carpet-cleaning soap? That would turn me into an alien in a heartbeat, but it doesn’t have to end this terribly. Instead, you can turn into a “carpet hero” at www.carpet-rug.org (click on the SOA green and blue logo).
CRI’s SOA program is the carpet industry’s only test that scientifically measures cleaning efficacy for vacuums, extractors, cleaning systems and cleaning products. The results help consumers make more informed decisions, and manufacturers improve their product so carpets are cleaner, healthier and last longer.
In the pages of “The Diary of a Carpet Hero,” a New York office space invested in 3,000 square yards of cut and loop woven carpet that had an expected life span of seven years plus. After just one year, it was looking spoiled and spotted, but with the decision to use a new CRI-approved cleaning program, significant costs in new flooring, labor and company downtime were saved. The total money saved: $337,000.
The entries in this diary also show how important it is to make any color carpet more “green.” Using CRI SOA products has a positive environmental impact. Properly maintaining your carpet means keeping it out of landfills and reducing the resources needed to manufacture, sip and install carpet. This can result in thousands of gallons of oil and tens of millions of British Thermal Units (BTUs) being conserved — because we here in the carpet industry believe in saving more than money.
So the moment of truth has arrived — are you an alien or a predator? A “carpet killer” or a “carpet hero?” I can’t help you much on deciding whether an alien or predator is better, but I can guarantee that being a carpet hero is possible with our SOA products. Research all of your carpet concerns at www.carpet-rug.org and never feel like a “carpet killer” again.
Werner Braun is president of the Dalton-based Carpet and Rug Institute.
