Floor Radio and XL North discuss the company’s full range of cleaning and maintenance products marketed under the GRAB brand including wet and dry encapsulation systems, hot and cold water extraction concentrates, spot, oil and grease removers, pre-sprays and traffic-land cleaners as well as products for all varieties of hard surface products.
Check out our new product line
Here are two handy pics of our new products (and a few coming soon):
From CRI: Carpet Cleaning Facts For Architects, Designers, Builders
A terrific, useful article from the wonderful CRI blog:
In an article titled, “A consumer guide to vacuum cleaners”, Washington Post Local Living writer Jura Koncius offers consumer advice on the best ways to choose and operate a vacuum cleaner and mentions the Carpet and Rug Institute’s Seal of Approvalvacuum testing program. Jura contacted CRI for the article, and also spoke with SOA participating manufacturer Electrolux. Here are excerpts:
“Vacuum cleaners are the front line of the war against dust. Today’s revved-up, dressed-up machines have ways to suck focaccia crumbs out of a keyboard and Afghan hound hair from a sisal rug.
The first widely known upright vac (a “suction sweeper”) was invented in 1907 by a guy who had asthma. His design was marketed with great success by the Hoover company. Today, dozens of brands tout dizzying lists of features.
Vacuuming Operating Tips
Dump the dust. In bagless models, empty dirt cups after every use. Change vacuum bags when they are three-quarters full. Never empty and reuse them.
Check the belt. Many uprights need belts replaced every one or two years to maintain optimum power. For details, visit the Vacuum Dealers Trade Association Web site, www.vdta.com.
Keep it clean. Jay Morris of Brothers Sew & Vacsuggests wiping out the cavity where the bag sits with a damp paper cloth.
Turn it off. Turn the vacuum switch off before you plug or unplug the machine.
Shop Smart for Vacuums
1. In addition to cleaning power, consider a vacuum’s weight and noise level. Test it in person, even if you end up ordering online.
2. Consider a model with a HEPA (high-efficiency particulate air)filter, especially if any family member has allergies or asthma.
3. If you have a large home, make sure the hose and cord lengths are adequate. Allison Duy, a spokeswoman for Electrolux, says, “There is nothing worse than having to keep unplugging.”
Neato! Matter-Matter Entanglement at a Distance: Quantum Mechanical Entanglement of Two Remote Quantum Systems
In today’s Neato! news, Science Daily reports that:
Because of its strange consequences the quantum mechanical phenomenon of entanglement has been called “spooky action at a distance” by Albert Einstein. For several years physicists have been developing concepts how to use this phenomenon for practical applications such as absolutely safe data transmission. For this purpose, the entanglement which is generated in a local process has to be distributed among remote quantum systems.
A team of scientists led by Prof. Gerhard Rempe, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Quantum Optics and head of the Quantum Dynamics Division, has now demonstrated that two remote atomic quantum systems can be prepared in a shared “entangled” state (Physical Review Letters, Advance Online Publication, May 26, 2011): one system is a single atom trapped in an optical resonator, the other one a Bose-Einstein condensate consisting of hundreds of thousands of ultracold atoms. With the hybrid system thus generated, the researchers have realized a fundamental building block of a quantum network.
Flooring Forensics
A great article from Donato Pompo in The Floor Covering Institute’s blog about tile and stone floor failures:
• A high degree of attention to detail.
Failures are usually due to several compounding deficiencies; meticulous investigation and paying attention to details are the only way to find all of the clues.• A thorough understanding of flooring industry standards.
Standards are often ambiguous and left to some subjective interpretation. It is important to be able to logically apply or compare the industry standards to the evidence and findings of any given case. During depositions and trials opposing councel will relentlessly attempt to discredit the experts and their findings. For this reason, it is important to be thorough, correct and consistent in referencing the standards to the various aspects of the technical report.• A practical understanding of the ceramic and stone installation process.
It is crucial to understand what may have occurred during installation that may have led to a failure. This requires understanding the processes and challenges of installation. I know that from having learned the business from the bottom up. My hands-on installation experience has proven invaluable in both the investigation process and in teaching our field journeymen.• An understanding of the physics of nature and the physical properties of the materials being used. A common sense understanding of science should enable the inspector to develop scenarios, such as… if this condition happened, using this product and this circumstance was in play then the logical outcome should have been this. Understanding the science of the materials in play also helps when communicating with testing laboratories and engineers. At our company, this is where my science background comes in handy. It’s my job to work with the laboratories by communicating with them in scientific terms which helps to determine reasonable testing protocols and in interpreting test results.
• Experience of having performed many investigations. Experience and insight that comes with having investigated many different failures, products and conditions is invaluable.
CRI Seal of Approval Milestone: 1000th Service Provider
Here’s a great article on a CRI milestone:
Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI)’s Seal of Approval Milestone by Werner Braun
In his column titled Seal of Approval Reaches a Milestone in the February 25, 2011 edition of the Dalton, Georgia, Daily Citizen,Carpet and Rug Institute President Werner Braunshares a proud moment at CRI – the signing ofSummit Maintenance Solutions of Tri-Cities Washington as the Seal of Approval program’s 1000th Service Provider.
The CRI Seal of Approval program identifies effective carpet cleaning solutions and equipment that clean carpet right the first time and protect a facility’s carpet investment. Carpet cleaning professionals who use Seal of Approval solutions in conjunction with Seal of Approval equipment are eligible to be recognized as Seal of Approval Service Providers.
CARPET’S CLEAN BILL OF HEALTH, from CRI
From the excellent folks at CRI, a terrific article on carpet and IAQ:
The Facts about Carpet and Indoor Air Quality for Healthcare Administrators and Facility Managers – 4th in a series
This series of articles is designed to share some of Carpet and Rug Institute’s (CRI) best online assets – a collection of downloadable fact sheets. Developed as easy-to-use, one-page position statements, the CRI Fact Sheets cover four main carpet-related topic areas:Indoor Air Quality, Asthma and Allergy, Cleaning Products, and Environmental Sustainability.
Each of these topics is addressed from the perspective of various market segments: carpet dealers and consumers; architects, designers and builders; school administrators and facility managers, and healthcare administrators and facility managers. There are also separate fact sheets explaining CRI’s Green Label Plus Indoor Air Quality and Seal of Approval carpet cleaning standards – 18 fact sheets in all.
The fact sheet on Indoor Air Quality for healthcare administrators and facility managers begins,
“In any healthcare setting, patient care comes first. That’s why maintaining indoor air quality is paramount. The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) has conducted scientific research and gathered independent data that show carpet is not only a viable choice for the healthcare industry, it’s the best choice.” It continues:
What You Should Know
• New carpet emits the lowest levels of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) of common flooring choices. Not only is it the lowest-emitting floor covering, it is also one of the lowest-emitting construction and renovation products overall – much lower than products such as paint.
• What low emissions in new carpet there are drop significantly after 24 hours – even sooner with fresh air ventilation.
• Carpet manufacturers were the first in the flooring industry to thoroughly study their products for indoor air quality effects.
• In 1992, CRI became the first organization to set limits on how many VOCs from carpet, adhesives and cushion may be released into the air. Since then, the Green Label Plus program has voluntarily raised IAQ standards four times by requiring even lower emission levels and increasing the number of compounds evaluated.
• CRI also worked with California’s Sustainable Building Task Force and Department of Health to certify carpet and adhesives. Green Label Plus meets, and even exceeds, the low-emitting product testing protocols used by the Collaborative for High Performance Schools (CHPS).
• The Green Guide for Health Care (GGHC), a best practices guide for healthy and sustainable building, design, construction and operations for healthcare facilities, specifies the use of CRI-approved carpet.
CRI wants to be known not just as the science-based source of information about carpet, but as the first stop for any and all questions about this useful floor covering.
See the complete list of Carpet and Rug Institute Downloadable Fact Sheets.
For previous posts in this CRI Fact Sheets series discussing Indoor Air Quality:
“Impossible” Feat: Certain Materials Can Exhibit Ferromagnetism and Superconductivity at Same Time
hmmm… in today’s Neato! news, Science Daily reports that nano-structured materials exhibit completely different properties than normal-sized materials:
Just in time for the 100th anniversary to commemorate the discovery of superconductivity by the Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes on April 8, 1911, scientists from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Dresden-Rossendorf and the TU Dresden published their research results in the journalPhysical Review B.
Headed by Dr. Thomas Herrmannsdörfer, the team from the HZDR’s High Magnetic Field Laboratory (HLD) examined a material consisting of the elements bismuth and nickel (Bi3Ni) with a diameter of only a few nanometers — which is unique since it has not been achieved elsewhere so far. This was made possible through a new chemical synthesis procedure at low temperatures which had been developed at the TU Dresden under the leadership of Prof. Michael Ruck. The nano scale size and the special form of the intermetallic compound — namely, tiny fibers — caused the physical properties of the material, which is non-magnetic under normal conditions, to change so dramatically. This is a particularly impressive example of the excellent opportunities modern nanotechnology can provide today, emphasizes Dr. Thomas Herrmannsdörfer. “It’s really surprising to which extend the properties of a substance can vary if one manages to reduce their size to the nanometer scale.”
2011 NORA Manufacturing Sector Conference
Check out the followiung announcement from NIOSH:
The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) is a partnership program to stimulate innovative research and improve workplace practices. Unveiled in 1996, NORA has become a research framework for guiding Occupational Safety and Health research for the nation. The NORA Manufacturing Sector Council collaborates with manufacturing stakeholders such as, employers, employees, government agencies, insurers, manufacturers, mass and social media, professional associations, regulators, researchers, trade associations, treatment providers, workers groups, etc., to identify the most critical occupational safety and health issues in manufacturing. Through partnerships the Council has developed goals, objectives and an implementation plan to address these issues. While the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is serving as the steward to move this effort forward, it is a national partnership. The NORA Manufacturing Sector Council and the University of Cincinnati, Department of Environmental Health and Education and Research Center in partnership are sponsoring this conference as a national call for action to identify and develop partnerships to improve occupational safety and health in manufacturing http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/nora/councils/manuf/pubprod.html
The goals of the conference are to:
- Identify the greatest opportunities to reduce injuries, illnesses, hazardous exposures and fatalities in the manufacturing sector.
- Share information about innovative research and successful partnerships.
- Explore potential research collaborations and partnerships to improve occupational safety and health.
Please Join Us and Become a Prevention Partner for Occupational Safety and Health in Manufacturing!
You can follow NIOSH Manufacturing on Twitter here.
UL Environment buys AQS, GreenGuard Certification
From Floor Covering News:
UL Environment, a business unit of UL (Underwriters Laboratories), has reached agreement with Air Quality Sciences (AQS) to acquire AQS and its certifying body, the GreenGuard Environmental Institute. AQS and GreenGuard are among the market leaders in North America for product emissions testing and third-party indoor air quality certification.
AQS helps manufacturers identify the chemicals being emitted from their products using state-of-the-art equipment and testing laboratories. GreenGuard certification helps manufacturers communicate their sustainability message to the marketplace by providing assurance that their products have been independently evaluated for low chemical emissions.
