What’s In a Label?

More and more distributors have been breathing easier since the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) started certifying vacuum cleaners to improve the indoor air quality of facilities, and to help distributors choose which vacuums they want to sell to their customers.

The Dalton, Ga.-based institute was created in 1991 at a time when there was negative publicity surrounding the health effects of carpet, says Carroll Turner, technology services manager for CRI. He says CRI was created to promote carpet satisfaction by providing consumers with assurance of clean carpets. The program expanded to vacuum cleaners in January 2000, in an attempt to improve not only indoor air quality, but also to help distributors decide which vacuums are right for their customers.

Indoor air quality has become a growing concern for consumers in the past decade. It’s especially important to distributors that sell products to schools; they need to make sure that vacuums are not releasing harmful dust back into the air — a big concern for end users in that market.

To combat harmful indoor air quality (IAQ) CRI created a voluntary Indoor Air Quality Vacuum Cleaner Testing Program. The program seeks to attach a label to both commercial and consumer vacuums to let customers know what vacuums work best, but at the same time maintain the best indoor air quality.

Not all manufacturers have volunteered to have their vacuums tested by CRI, but many distributors have found that they can often use the CRI label to help sell vacuums. They can advertise the CRI label and help end users understand the benefits tested vacuums have over those that are not tested.

Not only can CRI labels act as a selling tool, but they can also help distributors decide what vacuums they want to stock. Turner says there are too many options for vacuum cleaners and the industry needed some kind of standard to help distributors and end users easily differentiate among vacuum cleaner models.

“Our intention was to give consumers information to help them make decisions about vacuums,” Turner says. “Consumers want to be more informed.”

The Criteria
In order for vacuum cleaners to receive a CRI label, they must be efficient in three tasks: soil removal; dust containment (without releasing dust back into the air); and carpet appearance retention.

In the soil-removal test, the carpet sample is weighed and then attached to the side of a cylinder, Turner says. This spreads soil over the carpet much like a salt and pepper shaker and dispenses 1/10 of a gram of soil per square inch of carpet.

Next, the sample is placed on a table with the vacuum locked into position on top. The table, underneath the vacuum cleaner, moves the carpet sample back and forth at a rate of 1.8 feet per second. The vacuum makes just four passes, at which point 36 percent of the soil must be removed. “This is pretty effective considering the type of soil that we use,” Turner says.

The second test — emissions testing — is conducted in a state-of-the-art environmental chamber with no outside air flow. The carpet sample is once again positioned on a moving table; with a stationary vacuum. Researchers use 5 grams of ISO fine road dust as a soil base. Each vacuum is operated for 10 minutes. A special sampling device measures particulate emissions at approximately 5 feet above the floor — a cleaning worker’s breathing zone.

The emphasis in this test is not the average emissions release. Instead, the test marks how much particulate is released in the air as soon as the vacuuming starts. With dust containment, a vacuum can release no more than 100 micrograms into the atmosphere (including particles from the bag); however, Turner says CRI is looking at lowering the dust containment, because it believes vacuums should be releasing less than 100 micrograms.

For carpet retention, the CRI relies on a black and white photographic scale. Each vacuum makes 200 passes across the carpet sample. The testers then compare color and texture changes to determine a pass or fail rating.

Once a vacuum passes CRI’s three requirements, the vacuum is certified and the manufacturer receives a label to place on his/her vacuum, allowing manufacturers and distributors to use the label for advertising purposes.

Tough Tests
Some criticism to CRI vacuum testing stems from the fact that the methods don’t follow the vacuum testing procedures set by the American Society of Testing. Turner says that although the CRI test does not follow these procedures, CRI feels it’s procedures are better.

“We feel CRI tests are more meaningful tests as far as controlled carpets are concerned,” Turner says.

CRI tests are performed at an independent state laboratory in Dalton, Georgia’s Professional Testing Labs. Peer reviewers are used to test the vacuums. To keep the testing results unbiased, the vacuums are given an identification number. CRI also does not release test results to just anyone — manufacturers can see results for their products only, not their competitors.

Vacuums are not rated against one another during the test, only in comparison to test standards. The vacuum receives a pass/fail rating. In order to pass, the machine must meet the minimum requirements of all three CRI criteria: soil removal, dust containment and carpet retention.

Manufacturers Want to Know
Turner says manufacturers were skeptical about CRI labeling in the beginning. But he says skepticism has waned because CRI has worked with manufacturers and it has been very open in trying to answer their questions about the program and its benefits.

“There has never been a program like this,” Turner says. “At first manufacturers were unsure, but now they know more about it. Most manufacturers today are trying to meet air quality standards.”

CRI has also received positive comments about its testing program from manufacturers, which shows that it’s being more widely accepted. Manufacturers are being given a chance to learn more about their own products, Turner says. To meet CRI criteria some found they needed to change or adjust their vacuums. He says it has been positive for some companies that don’t pass on the first attempt.

“They learned things they did not know about their own products,” Turner says. “Sometimes it takes a third eye to make sure the product is producing the quality it is advertising.”

To participate, manufacturers must request that their products undergo the CRI Vacuum Cleaner Indoor Air Quality Testing Program. The manufacturer then signs a voluntary participation agreement and agrees to have various unit types tested. For testing purposes, a designated vacuum cleaner unit type is obtained at random from a distributor or retailer. CRI reserves the right to obtain a unit type for testing from the manufacturer. Then the vacuum is taken to an independent laboratory where the tests are carried out. Turner feels more and more manufacturers are opening up to CRI testing. Now it is time for distributors to start seeing the CRI label as good for business.

“The label is an additional selling feature to end users,” says Bob Nasierowski, president of Courtesy Sanitary Supply, Sterling Heights, Mich. “End users are more comfortable with the label.”

Sales Opportunities
With indoor air quality issues growing in schools, CRI provides a selling tool for distributors. Hospitals are also concerned with dust particles in the air. Because CRI vacuums are guaranteed to produce fewer dust particles, they are safer to use around children and those with illnesses.

Most buildings today are looking for standards when it comes to vacuums, Turner says. “Schools today have indoor air quality problems, and if we can help them decide which vacuums to purchase, we have done something positive,” he says.

Many Markets
Distributors that don’t sell vacuums to hospitals or schools may have a harder time explaining the importance of indoor air quality to end users. However, it would be important for distributors to remind end users that not only does indoor air quality affect those employees working during the day, but also the dust released back into the atmosphere after vacuuming affects their own cleaning staff.
Government buildings are looking for standards for their vacuums as well, Turner says. CRI labels provide those standards. Distributors that sell vacuums need to inform end users of the importance of good indoor air quality. CRI-labeled vacuums release 100 milligrams of dust particles into the air — an amount that is not considered harmful. Some vacuums, however, may release much more dust at harmful levels. To be sure, vacuums need to be tested.

Certification may take place on the manufacturer level, but Nasierowski says, as a distributor he is interested in having CRI labels attached to more vacuums. “We hope all manufacturers will step up to the plate and submit vacuums for testing,” he says.

Turner says CRI has certified more than 100 vacuums on the market. The number is still growing as manufacturers learn more about CRI labeling. “Some companies are doing more with [the label] than others,” he says. “Some manufacturers joined because their competitors joined, but once manufacturers receive the labels they are authorized to use the label for advertising purposes.”

So are distributors. With the vast array of vacuum choices, end users may need some guidance on what vacuums to buy, and CRI labels can provide that guidance. Nasierowski claims most end users, especially those that work in hospitals or schools, are concerned with indoor air quality. “Some are concerned with health and some aren’t, but most are concerned about the certification of the vacuums they buy,” he says.

Nasierowski thinks more education needs to be given to end users to see the importance of indoor air quality. He says trade magazines are the best way for end users to learn more about the importance of CRI-labeled vacuum cleaners. While distributors should be concerned about selling CRI-labeled vacuums, Nasierowski says it is not profitable to only sell vacuums with CRI labels.

“We are in the supply business,” Nasierowski says. “We would prefer everyone used certified vacuums but we cannot enforce that.”

CRI took on vacuums as part of a larger air quality issue with carpets. Turner says when CRI began its vacuum labeling it was a questionable endeavor, because vacuums are not directly a part of the carpet industry. He says, however, manufacturers have picked up the ball and are seeing the importance of the CRI label on their products.

“It’s expensive to certify vacuums and it is up to the manufacturer to decide whether they want to bear the cost,” Nasierowski says. “But certification does not change the cost of the vacuums for end users.”

It’s an issue of standards and quality, Turner says. The entire cleaning industry is beginning to see the importance of indoor air quality standards, and CRI is a tool for providing those standards to people.

“We tell end users we have vacuums that are certified to help raise their awareness,” Nasierowski says. “We hope that everyone is starting to see indoor air quality as an important issue.”