TRAINING
Is this the industry’s
weakest link?
By Lisa Wagner and Jim Pemberton
T he free market is alive and well today in
our industry.
Each new year brings us innovations in
equipment, tools and chemistry to make our
jobs easier, safer and, hopefully, more effective
and more profitable.
If the innovations don’t create more value,
cleaners don’t buy them. There is built-in ac-
countability. The new and great products sell,
and the ones that don’t cut it… don’t sell.
Yet, while the advancement in cleaning tech-
nology in the past decade has been significant,
our advancement in cleaning training has not.
A test taken today for certification is not
much different from that of a decade ago —
often with many of the same answers, work-
ing to not offend any particular cleaning school
of thought, or other invested interest.
The standards written as the foundation of
34 CM/Cleanfax® SEPTEMBER 2010
these tests have become enormous projects of
interested, and often conflicted, groups that
collectively take years to produce a revision
that ends up being outdated by the time it is
released, based on the new technologies and
research of the day.
The training format of classroom instruction
with a structure of having to memorize an-
swers to 150 or more questions also has not
changed much. It mirrors the same school sys-
tem model that is currently failing our children.
Traditional schooling is no longer a prereq-
uisite for success.
Going to college to earn “big money” is now
the exception, not the rule, as other ways of
learning have replaced the rigid, programmed
bureaucracy of our test-centered educational
system.
CLEANFAX.COM
Teaching skills
The central problem to the format require-
ments of current training models is that, with
so many required questions to teach to, the in-
structor must spend the time allotted on teach-
ing the attendees what to memorize to pass the
test, rather than on how to think and how to ac-
tually clean.
When you ask today’s instructors the most
difficult part of developing and teaching
courses, at the top of the list has to be how they
squeeze real, practical learning in the midst of
all of the laundry-list of miscellaneous, and
often impractical, minutia they are required to
cover in their course.

Lisa Wagner is a second-generation rug care expert,
NIRC Certified Rug Specialist and an owner of K. Blatch-
ford's San Diego Rug Cleaning Company. She was rec-
ognized as the 2006 Cleanfax magazine Person of the
Year for her industry contributions. For a copy of her lat-
est free report "Top 10 Rug Disasters - and How To Avoid
Them" send an e-mail to rugwarrior@gmail.com with "rug
disasters" in the subject line.
COVER STORY
An industry trainer and consultant, Jim Pemberton is presi-
dent of Pemberton's Interlink Supplies in McKeesport, PA. Jim
is the Cleanfax magazine 2007 Person of the Year. He has more
than 30 years of experience in the cleaning and restoration in-
dustry. You are invited to visit his website at www.ecleanadvi-
sor.com, or e-mail him at Jimpem2@comcast.net.

While, with some basic courses, this might
not cause much harm, with more specialized
crafts — in failing to teach attendees
how to problem-solve on-site —
new technicians can walk into a
job with a false confidence that
can cost them dearly.
Because students are given
their test scores, but no in-
formation on what they
missed and, more
importantly, why,
there are al-
ways gaps
in their
knowl-
edge.
The question is, do we want to see who
can memorize the most trivia and circum-
vent the tricky answers, or do we want
students to leave a class knowing and under-
standing the subject thoroughly so they can
be better cleaners?
We both receive pleas on a regular basis
from technicians who took a tip lightly cov-
ered in a rug or upholstery course and felt
they could apply it in any situation.
In particular, with such high-liability tasks,
such as testing for or preventing dye migra-
tion, and performing color correction, some
instructors present their own products as
“be-all-end-all” solutions without qualifying
that pre-existing conditions can create ex-
pensive nightmares for their students if they
actually apply “tips” in the wrong way.
An important skill, such as color correc-
tion, squeezed in at the end of a multi-day
class, when
students are tired from sitting and being
“PowerPointed” to death, fails everyone —
the cleaners and the consumers they serve.
Service providers
versus textile pros
The current training in the fields of uphol-
stery and rugs within the Institute of Inspec-
tion, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
(IICRC) is basic level instruction. It is what
you need to know in order to keep yourself
out of trouble in most general situations in
the home.
Though basic training and typical chemi-
cals can serve the on-site upholstery and area
rug cleaning technician just fine, for hyper-
sensitive and/or heavily soiled natural fiber
and investment-grade textiles there needs to
be an in-plant focus, which the certification
courses do not prepare students for, or even
address at any length.
What the classes are churning out are “ser-
vice providers” to perform a basic
level cleaning service to
consumers.

CLEANFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CM/Cleanfax® 35

 COVER STORY

What they are failing to do is develop the On-site versus in-plant is to imply through their standards, and their
mindset and skills to craft real professionals in The biggest textile disservice the educa- courses, that on-site cleaning is interchange-
the fields of fine fabric and specialty rug care. tional bureaucracies have done to consumers able with in-plant cleaning.
Because few of the contributors of much of
IN-PLANT TEXTILE TRICKS AND TIPS this material have actually operated success-
ful in-plant upholstery or rug facilities, they
FOR FINE FABRICS genuinely do not have the depth of knowl-
Testing and inspection: Always test for the fiber family (natural/synthetic/blend) and edge to convey this effectively into a course.
for colorfastness. Identifying sensitive textures, such as chenille or velvet made from Questions created by committee fall to the
natural fibers, is important, as cleaning and grooming processes should restore the lowest common denominator to create the
fabric to the most “next to new” condition as possible. least amount of friction. The goal is to placate,
Pay attention to preconditioning products and techniques: What you use to loosen not to educate.
soil is more important than what you extract it with. With in-plant situations, you have What has resulted is competent on-site ed-
greater flexibility as to the types of products used, as you can assure more thorough ucation for fabrics and rugs, with “safe” skills
rinsing and drying in an in-plant setting.
taught to simply help keep cleaners out of
Choose tools for texture retention issues: Minimizing texture distortion during
cleaning makes texture restoration less time consuming later. The right tools and tech- trouble.
niques are critical here. What has not resulted are courses to train
Extract cleaning agent residues thoroughly: Few cleaners are aware of how much specialists in either field on how to be excellent
residue they leave in fabrics. Cleaning agent residues may contribute to color bleed- “textile professionals.” The problem, however,
ing, browning and a stiff hand on soft textures. Such residues also may contribute to is that the IICRC does not explain this to clean-
skin and respiratory irritation, and often prevent the bonding of fabric protectors. ers or consumers; the organization just implies
Dry quickly: Fast drying of natural fiber fabrics is your best protection against color
that anyone certified in the Rug Cleaning Tech-
bleeding and cellulosic browning. The ability to control the drying process is another
reason to consider in plant cleaning of natural fiber fabric upholstery. nician (RCT) or Upholstery and Fabric Clean-
— Jim Pemberton ing Technician (UFT) are well-trained in their
craft... even when they may, in fact, not be.

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36 CM/Cleanfax® SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX.COM


Because of this severe limitation in train-
ing in these specialty niches, there has been a
gap in the development of high-end rug and
upholstery cleaning plants, which has re-
sulted now in a keen opportunity.
On-site cleaning requires quick, safe, non-
invasive surface cleaning methods. With
equipment and tools that you don’t need to
think about and ready-to-use chemicals, you
literally can go through the motions without
much thought.
Better technicians are created when they experi-
ence a “real-life” cleaning challenge.
You can simply provide a service and be
that simple service provider. Do you only
want to do a “good enough” job?
For those who want to hone their craft, use
their minds and hands, and be known as a
textile professional, they need to look at set-
ting up an in-plant operation.
The advantage of in-plant cleaning is
three-fold:
1. Better cleaning, because you can “wet
wash” or “solvent clean” and be more inva-
sive in a controlled cleaning environment
2. More “miracle-making”, because you
can use products that you normally would
be wary of in the home, and can spend more
time on perfecting your results
3. More money, because when you be-
come a specialist in rugs and fabrics, you can
command top dollar in your town.
COVER STORY
Change is hard, but we They need to be educated by instructors
have no choice who are actually connected to real cleaning
operations, seeing real problems — and so-
With the economic pressures on the man-
lutions — in real time.
ufacturers of textiles, more corners are being
Manuals and standards, some up to a
cut, and more dangers are waiting to be un-
decade old, do not cut it today. The know-
covered by unsuspecting, uneducated clean-
how needs to be updated year-round, not
ers in the home.
stuck for years in committees.
Cleaners have to know what they can han-
The rules need to be loosened so that more
dle, and what they cannot.
relevant courses can make it to market, the
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CLEANFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CM/Cleanfax® 37
 COVER STORY
emphasis taken off of hundreds of questions to
UPHOLSTERY CLEANING AND RUGS teach to, and more on practical case studies and
hands-on teaching.
Rugs have always been lumped in as a last-minute stuffer to the IICRC S100 In the fields of rug cleaning and fine fabric
standard specific to carpet cleaning. cleaning, there needs to be an important shift to
There is an assumption that because they are “fuzzy” they are just like installed
in-plant cleaning training. We need to stop
carpeting, and those being trained in installed carpet care can also easily add rugs.
That’s simply not true. training to the lowest common, on-site denom-
Before the IICRC rug course existed, I used to tell anyone who wanted to get into rug inator.
care that if they wanted to be certified in anything, to choose UFT over CCT because it We are releasing cleaners with mediocre
was more closely aligned to rugs. training in these fields. We need to shift to re-
Here are some important common threads between caring for fine fabric and warding consumers with rug and fine fabric
oriental rugs: specialists.
• Fiber and dye testing are a daily routine to staying out of trouble If cleaners want to find the most financial and
• Natural fibers are common, and you have to know the best solutions,
personal rewards through their professional de-
tools and methods to care for them
• You must be an expert at pre-inspection, especially for common dangers velopment, then they need to look beyond the
like stenciling, dry rot, blended fibers and old repairs current training formats and learn how to be-
• For thorough cleaning, you have an in-plant operation for your come specialists in these fields.
specialized services Consumers need more textile specialists, not
• Homes with valuable rugs also have valuable upholstered furnishings service providers.
• You must be knowledgeable on handling semi-antique and antique items
• Restoration contents cleaning services require an in-plant operation
Rug care belongs in the upholstery cleaning standard more than carpet cleaning.
Questions people ask
The tools, solutions, techniques and the mindset for specialty textile care make both The following is a select number of questions
fields a perfect collaboration. posed by Cleanfax magazine readers.
1. How well do you feel the current certi-
— Lisa Wagner fication programs prepare textile cleaners

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38 CM/Cleanfax ® SEPTEMBER 2010 CLEANFAX.COM


for success in today’s market?
Jim Pemberton: When I wrote the article
“Where are the upholstery cleaning special-
ists?” I then concluded that technician train-
ing in basic skills like upholstery cleaning falls
short of the type of upholstery specialist
cleaning classes that were taught in the 1970’s
and late 1980’s. There is surely nothing wrong
with teaching upholstery cleaning technicians
the basics to keep them out of trouble and
help them to produce consistent work that
pleases most customers.
However, you cannot approach upholstery
cleaning like you do carpet cleaning. The ba-
sics will help with most synthetic fibers and a
few natural fiber fabrics and blends, but it
leaves a broad swath of restorative cleaning
needs not addressed.
Traditional schooling is no longer
a prerequisite for
success.
In the three years since I wrote that article,
I continue to see groups outside of the clean-
ing industry, such as furniture stores, furni-
ture repair specialists and dry cleaners
entering into the fine fabric specialty cleaning
field — not because they want to do it, but be-
cause they are forced to by clients who
demand the service and cannot find
specialty cleaners in their market area to serve
their needs.
Lisa Wagner: The best student does not nec-
essarily mean the best cleaner. When I got a
top score on my CCT course with the IICRC,
I left the class knowing all of the facts about
carpet, but did not know how to turn on a
truckmount, much less use one. I was obvi-
ously not the best cleaner in the group — I just
knew how to take a test.
With the RCT course with the IICRC, so
much time was spent on identifying certain
types of rugs, and many obscure materials
that, in my entire lifetime, I have never seen
come through our rug plant doors.
Yet, with committee members more aca-
demic in the field than practical, that is the
type of course to expect — more time spent
on memorizing interesting textile facts than
COVER STORY
on hands-on cleaning. It is a good course for
some basics, but when referring consumers to
RCT certified cleaners, you cannot guarantee
that the cleaner actually knows how to clean
rugs properly.
When I got top score on my CRS course
with ASCR (now RIA), I learned a great deal
about rug identification and memorizing weft
counts and side finishes, but again, I did not
learn any specifics on how to advance my
cleaning techniques. It actually doesn’t affect
“how” you clean a rug to know what coun-
try it comes from.
I had an unfair advantage over the others
because I’ve been around rugs all of my life
and I’m an excellent writer so the term paper
was a breeze. But because I can do well on a
college-type test, and can write, does not
mean I was the best rug cleaner in that class.
It’s an interesting course that I enjoyed, but if
the goal is to train large numbers of rug spe-
cialists, with under 100 CRS’s following
through to the term paper, they are failing at
that task.
2.What is your opinion on the influence
of carpet manufacturers and fiber produc-
ers on the cleaning industry?”
Jim Pemberton: I don’t deny that we’ve had
some good things happen with the “more
open” relationships with carpet manufactur-
ers and fiber producers. It has allowed some
better mechanisms for a few cleaners to mar-
ket their services and develop stronger retailer
relationships.
But overall, we’ve labored under too many
restrictions for too few benefits in return.
If we believe that the people who make car-
pet really care about our industry, we are mis-
taken. We are not partners in their minds, but
seen as a necessary evil at worst, and a very
junior partner that should be treated with a
benign paternalism at best.
I don’t want to feel this way, but you only
need read the recent “CRI rebuttal” to the
study done by Debbie Lema regarding Seal of
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CLEANFAX.COM SEPTEMBER 2010 CM/Cleanfax® 39
 COVER STORY
Most training opportunities are strictly in classroom settings. However, there is a need to craft real
professionals in the fields of fine fabric and specialty rug care through practical, hands-on training.
Approval (SOA) testing to see just how little
understanding and regard that industry
has for ours.
And you only need to look at where your
customer base really comes from to know
how little you really need them.
Lisa Wagner: I understand the desire for the
40 CM/Cleanfax ® SEPTEMBER 2010
wool producers to get involved in the clean-
ing sectors.
After all, they are seeking more revenue
sources, so requiring manufacturers to bend
over backwards to create "approved" products
does that. Getting cleaners to pay to also be
considered “approved,” also helps feed those
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CLEANFAX.COM
revenue needs.
The interesting thing about this, though, is
that there is not a single in-plant rug cleaning
peer that I know who chooses, or uses, Wool-
Safe products. If they do, it is by accident and
not by plan.
The approval guidelines are not based on
cleaning results, but on arbitrary rules which
do not apply to manufacturers of wool rugs,
but on the cleaners of them.
When you are cleaning rugs in the home,
and leaving residue as a result, then issues like
alkalinity, agitation and heat are important to
be aware of. Using hot water extraction, or a
highly alkaline solution, could cause the wool
to bleed or yellow.
Cleaning in a professional rug plant, with
the amount of water and agitation that can be
used, creates a completely different cleaning
environment where the WoolSafe guidelines
are simply irrelevant.
The guidelines are made to prevent dumb
accidents when you are choosing to surface-
clean wool rugs in the home. Washing rugs in
the plant is a completely different beast.
Being knowledgeable about wool through
 COVER STORY
hands-on experience and being a “wool smart” cleaner far outperforms
someone with a WoolSafe designation from an on-line course where they
never handled a single rug.
3. What is the solution, from your perspective?
Jim Pemberton: One-size-fits-all training does not work. In the field
of fine fabric care, there is a need to first get technicians to understand the
basics of the task, including training that is heavy in testing, inspection
and choosing safe and easy-to-use methods that keep the cleaner out
of trouble.
However, for a cleaning company to be put to the forefront in their
market area, they will need to be able to restore to “next to new” condi-
tion the most delicate textiles, including the removal of severe stains and
odors. This training requires more than can be taught at basic skill levels. Today’s cleaning education improves when a more hands-on approach to training
is implemented.
Such training need not be limited to the classroom experience; both
basic skills and advanced techniques can be taught, at least partially, in an For managers and owners, more specific courses should be designed to
online learning environment. That being said, there will always be a place teach hands-on cleaning strategies for problem tufted and custom rugs, as
for “hands-on” supervision of advanced skill development. well as washing woven rugs. You cannot teach in-plant methods thor-
Lisa Wagner: Real-world rug education is based on need. Some techni- oughly online or in a temporary wash pit in a classroom; it needs to hap-
cians want to learn enough to stay out of trouble and know when to say pen in an actual rug cleaning facility if the attendee wants to learn how to
“no” to certain jobs. set up a professional rug cleaning operation. Best business practices and
A basic level rug course should focus on the practical aspects of fibers, operations should be covered, and this can easily be enhanced through
dyes, construction and pre-existing conditions, rather than on where the online channels.
rugs are woven or produced. The point is that there needs to be a division between those who are
Surface-cleaning synthetic rugs and identifying natural fiber rugs to going to surface-clean synthetic rugs in the home, and those who want to
refer to rug washing facilities should be covered. Having them memorize become true textile specialists operating a rug plant.
lots of rug identification facts they will never use, should not. CF

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