Cleaning has historically been viewed as a
commodity—a menial task that anyone can do.
Long before sophisticated textiles and complex
built indoor environments were created,
cleaning may have been a simple, easy task,
but that is no longer the case. Complex flooring
systems, sensitive fabrics, and new age
soiling conditions have created a need for advance
education in the cleaning industry. Unfortunately,
many cleaners (and consumers)
have not understood this concept. We still see
the ads for $6.95 per room for carpet cleaning
and sofa cleaning for $45.00. The cleaner puts
the ads out, never intending on cleaning for
those prices, and the consuming public gets the
idea that cleaning should be cheap.
These so called “cleaning” companies also
happen to be the ones that don’t educate themselves
or their employees. The result is that
carpets and fabrics are being ruined every day
by uneducated, uninformed, and sometimes
downright unscrupulous carpet cleaners.
They are facing soiling conditions that they
have never seen or heard of due to a lack of
education. Or worse, they create a situation on
a carpet or fabric that they have no idea how to
fix. Some examples would be that they leave
sticky residues in the carpet that cause the carpet
or fabric to resoil rapidly or discolor.
Top notch education is readily available in our
industry. There is no excuse for cleaners not to
educate themselves (and provide useful education
to their clients). Part of the problem is since
they have fallen into the trap of viewing cleaning
as a commodity themselves, they can’t afford
to educate themselves. Education is expensive,
but the result of not getting the knowledge
necessary is much more costly.

Our company invests a great deal in education.
Not only do we spend thousands of dollars per
year on education, we are heavily involved in
our industry making us well connected with our
industry leaders. We also own a online cleaning community where thousands of cleaners gather on our “virtual” doorstep to discuss the very latest happenings in our field.
This way, if a unique situation arises in the
field, we have fellow veteran cleaners that we can connect with,
therefore bringing the cutting edge of cleaning
technology to you.
Our industry provides courses in carpet cleaning,
repair, fabric cleaning, marble and tile
cleaning, area rug cleaning, customer service,
marketing, management, and other related
courses.
Many of the organizations offer certification
programs that involve testing and ethics requirements. There are also Trade Journals and Online resources that can keep Carpet, Stone and Fabric cleaners abreast of the latest technologies, trends and “Trade Secrets”.