The CRI Seal of Approval program has grown significantly in recent weeks, adding eight solutions, 14 new vacuums and nine new systems to the program, bringing the current total of approved products and systems to 789.

In Solutions, the Bramton Company of Dallas, Texas, earned approval for their Simple Solution Extreme Stain and Odor Remover.

Bridgepoint Systems of Salt Lake City, Utah won approval for its seventh SOA product, Encap CFS DS pre-spray.

Newcomers to SOA, Miami, Florida's Dade Paper makes its entrance with three approvals; Victoria Bay Carpet Shampoo, Victoria Bay Carpet Extractor and Victoria Bay Carpet Oxygen Spotter.

Midlab, Inc, of Sweetwater, Tennessee also makes its SOA debut, adding three products to the Seal of Approval Green category of pre-sprays, in-tanks and spot removers that remove soil effectively and have been additionally certified to be environmentally responsible: Nattura 3-in-1 Extractor, Nattura Carpet Shampoo, and Nattura Magic Oxygen Spotter.

Each of these products has passed a series of stringent tests performed by an independent laboratory to qualify as CRI-approved cleaning solutions. The tests for spot removers, pre-sprays and in-tank solutions include protocols for efficacy (removing soils and stains), resoiling (whether the product attracts soil at an accelerated rate), pH (excessively acid or alkaline products can affect dyes and fibers), optical brighteners (can adversely affect color, appearance and performance) and colorfastness to light (residues on pile yarn can accelerate color change). There are currently 330 solutions in the SOA program.

New Vacuums Swell SOA Ranks
Four SOA newcomers joined the program and four veteran companies added to their existing list of SOA-approved vacuums with the following commercial and residential models:

At the Gold Level: Clean Max, a division of the Tacony Corporation of Fenton, Missouri, adds two commercial uprights: CleanMax ZM-400 and CleanMax ZM-600.

New to the SOA program, Sandia Plastics, of Huntington Beach, California, has earned Silver Level approval for its Raven BackPack 10 Qt - Whisper commercial backpack, and Bronze-level certification for its Sandia Force-14 household and commercial upright.  

Another newcomer, ProSTAR Industries of Bryan, Texas has received Silver-Level certification for its Pro-Star EZ Vac commercial backpack.

SOA veteran The Hoover Company of Glenwillow, Ohio, brings its total to 18 approved machines on the SOA rolls, including two new Silver Level-certified models: the Hoover Ground Command CH85000 commercial backpack and Hoover EH51000 commercial upright. The Hoover C1703-900 commercial upright was certified at the Bronze Level.
Maintex, of City of Industry, California joins the Seal of Approval program. Its Maintex Model MX20-2001 commercial backpack earned Silver Level approval.

Philip Rosenau Co., Inc, of Warminster, Pennsylvania, passed the stringent Silver-Level testing to earn approval for its Duralast DL-10 commercial backpack. This is the company's first SOA approval.

Oreck Commercial of Plymouth, Massachusetts received Silver-Level certification for its Oreck XL Pro commercial backpack.

Adding its 26th machine to the Seal of Approval vacuum category is ProTeam, of Boise, Idaho. Its ProTeam ProForce 1200XP commercial upright earned certification at the Silver Level.

Karcher, from Englewood, Colorado, has added two commercial uprights to SOA. Earning certification at the Bronze Level: the CV300 and CV380 models.  

To earn the CRI Seal of Approval/Green Label certification, vacuums must pass the following independent laboratory tests:
•    Soil removal - CRI uses NASA-enhanced x-ray fluorescence (XRF) technology to measure the precise amount of soil removed from carpet.
•    Dust containment - The vacuum must release no more than 100 micrograms of dust particles per cubic meter of air, keeping dirt and dust locked in the vacuum - not escaping back into the air where it can be breathed.
•    Carpet texture retention - The vacuum must not affect the texture of the carpet more than a one-step change based on one year of normal vacuum use.
There are now a total of 278 certified vacuums in the program.  

New Systems Announced
The Karcher Company of Englewood, Colorado has kept Seal of Approval testing laboratories busy lately, with the addition of nine new carpet cleaning systems to SOA totals in the Systems category, as well as the vacuums mentioned earlier.

Joining SOA at the Platinum Level are: Karcher BRC 46/38 C, Karcher Puzzi 8/1, Karcher BRC 38/30 C, Karcher BRC 46/76 W, and Karcher Puzzi 100 systems. At the Silver Level: Karcher BRC 30/15, Karcher Puzzi 50-35 E (1.006-672.0), Karcher Puzzi 1.006-673.0, and Karcher Puzzi 1.006-674.0 systems have earned certification.

The SOA deep cleaning system testing is based on the combination of a particular machine and a cleaning solution, following a set procedure. The cleaning solution is tested under the protocol for the solutions testing and then a set procedure is designated and followed. The system is tested, like the extractors, for soil removal, water removal and texture retention. There are now a total of 88 systems earning certification in the category.