I'd never thought that I would ever walk down this road. Carpet cleaning to me has always been soap on soap off.  Doesn't seem to difficult....  I have notice over the last few years he standards and the prerequisites have dropped.  Most companies can not find certified cleaners, and getting a cleaner certified takes time, so they op for the in house training. 

Two of the companies I do work for have done away with the IICRC, they don't bother with whimis and training now only takes a few hours.

As far as I'm concerned the quality of the cleaning Technician has dropped, without proper training Carpet care is going to hell in a hand bag.

My bigger competition out there is a guy with a bissell who's willing to do a room for 5 bucks...who gets his flyer printed up at staples for 1 cent a copy, and is willing to hand them out door to door...with Oxi clean as his best friend....

If people realized how dangerous to your health  carpet cleaning could be if not done properly we'd have regulations like a gas fitter or an electrician...

So all my months of arguing I have to say I was wrong Education is the key, and stronger regulations might be the answer

are you a weekend cleaner????lol

Horsefeathers, there are too many companies out there that ARE certified that are doing lousy halfassed work to make your arguement.

Many of the HIGH QUALITY cleaners have NO certification, it is up to the individual, the bloody piece of paper does not determine whether you have integrity, honesty or professionalism, only that you are certified.

We do NOT have certification, have taken classes but never bothered with taking the tests. We are NOT weekend cleaners, ,we have been cleaning for 31 years, do some of the best places in our area and are highly respected for our WORK not for a piece of paper.

Did you have a problem with a guy who was not certified? Just wait until you have the same problems with one that is, then you will see my point.

Yeah John, but you forget the reality.

You have stated repeatedly over the years that you used Argosheen and got violently ill  from it. If you had a Hazard Communication Plan in your office like you were supposed to by OSHA law, maybe a lot of that could have been avoided. You seem healthy (for the moment), how to you know there aren't latent effects from the Argosheen?

Anybody  or company in the U.S. with one employee or more is governed by OSHA, but 99% of the cleaners could care a less.

I watch you now, you are IMO very, very concerned with the chems you use now. How can this be conveyed to the others just getting in the business?

Maybe through following the laws of the land and be OSHA or WHMIS trained.

You always play this one man show card of yours, and you know I have always been a big supporter of yours, but to downplay the importance of rules, regulations, standards and education, I really don't think you mean it.

In this case I think it was a Post of a Rebel Without A Cause.

You have stated repeatedly over the years that you used Argosheen and got violently ill  from it.

NO I stated I got headaches and when I stopped using it the headaches went away. And for that matter read the Argosheen OSHA MDS, it is considered a safe product, like I have stated before I am to the best of my knowledge ALLERGIC to the perfume in arogsheen. No certification or anything else would have prevented me or warned me about using this product. YES NOW I am VERY cautious and discerning about chems, I HAVE TO BE, ,I produce them and I want ONLY safe products to be sold by us but that doesn't discount the fact that certification would have changed ANYTHING.

Considered safe by who?

I have been naive for twenty years about the chemicals I used.

No more buddy.

The reality is John that OSHA and WHMIS are laws that are meant to be obeyed. They are not frivilous laws either.

In Canada where the MSDS MUST BE much more specific than in the U.S.A almost every soap/detergent/surfactant we use has a stylized "T" WHMIS symbol. Which means that the chemical has long term toxic effects.

Don't start pretending I am a fear monger. I know I'm right and thats why I do what I do, try and make people more cautious about what we do and make people aware of the hazards out there.

You honestly believe that its the perfume in the Argo? or are you committed to saying this ?

That is what I believe, however it COULD be something else, but while some would LIKE to point to the very small amount of stoddard solvent in it, 100 s of thousands of people use it and 100 that I know of have NO ill effects at all. That is what makes me think I was allergic to it.

With all that being said though, what does certification have to do with this?

The original post in this thread was about WHMIS and certification.

WHMIS is our Hazard Communication program.  A Hazard Communication Program is something that every cleaner in North America is supposed to have if they have even one employee.

Look up the true meaning of ---latency, sensitizer.

Think you might have got sensitized to the Argo John?? Thats exactly what it means to develop an allergy to something.

Mr. Sir Steamer:  Is it really lack of training?  Or is their no interest in learning?  Sort of the old you can't teach an dog new tricks?  I have attended seminars where companies have spent good money to have their so called employees show up in body I am not sure where their mind was, but you tell me?  It's a job and nothing more than a god damm job.  You cannot force someone to learn.  The mind can only absorb what the behind can endure and most young people cannot not sit still long enough to learn anything.  One problem in today's society is if the person teaching a new employee knows squat , than what does the new employee learn and further job security if the new employee knows more than the teacher someone may be looking for a job.  This whole problem is much more complex than the person who just purchased a new extractor and knows nothing.  He may just know as much as the guy who has been in business for 10 years and only knows what he reads on the label.  I have to quit.  I just knocked my glass of HIDE over and now that they don't make it any longer I may have to go back to work as I will no longer have a disability???

It says on the bottle no rubbing... no blotting... don't touch the darn stain... don't even look at it too hard...just aim spray and walk away....

I've taken out 2 stains this week that where 20 and 25 years old... they had names even... one had a health card the other a sin #...

but they're all gone now...lol

I think I'm addicted .....How will I ever go back to soap and water.....

happy halloween.....

I'm a ghost dougie...I sit in a chair outside the door.... then I pull the sheet off to reveal my scarey masked faced  gggrggrrrrrrrr..

Just like I do everyday