Claire Hobbs Claire Hobbs

Breaking Down CHAT

This article is going to go into a little more detail on what CHAT means. A brief reminder from the last article, CHAT stands for Chemical, Heat, Agitation, and Time. These are the four components needed in order to clean carpet.

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Claire Hobbs Claire Hobbs

Cleaning Without Harsh Chemicals

If you take Mark’s Carpet Cleaning Technician class, he talks about spot removal and when he gets a spot out, will sometimes say “that’s good chemistry”, and it is. However, for me, I see some of the products he uses as harsh chemicals and wonder “is there a non-harsh alternative?

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Mark Violand Mark Violand

Spot, Stain, Wicking, Discoloration 

I find that most people call spots “stains” because that is what everyone else calls them, so they do too. I also find that most people think “spot” and “stain” removal is difficult and mysterious. There is a difference between a spot, stain, wicking, and discoloration. It just takes a good understanding what each one might be to get it off your carpet successfully.

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Jessica Bruno Jessica Bruno

Where Do You Get Your Information?

As a salesperson working with contractors, part of my job is to help get them the best information on the products their customers picked out. This includes installation instructions, product specifications, and my background on knowing if the product chosen will work for the customer and installer…

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Mark Violand Mark Violand

PILE REVERSAL/SHADING

Pile reversal and shading are a common phenomenon that can occur to any carpet with a cut pile element, however…

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Jessica Bruno Jessica Bruno

Floor prep – is it really that important?

I get asked weekly, if not daily – how good does the floor underneath have to be?

Who’s responsibility is it? That depends…

What can happen if a floor isn’t prepped properly?

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Mark Violand Mark Violand

Optical Brightener

Optical brightener while useful with laundry, is often associated with permanent yellowing of carpet. Cleaning agents with optical brightener in them may affect the dyes causing a gradual loss of color over an extended period of time.

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Mark Violand Mark Violand

Luxury Vinyl THROWBACK

Are all LVP gaps installation related?

The stability of some luxury vinyl products have changed, but…read on as to the reason for the gaps.

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  • Mark Violand

    Mark Violand has been in the carpet cleaning and restoration industry for over 45 years. He is an Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification (IICRC) Certified Carpet Inspector and approved Instructor. He teaches the Carpet Cleaning Technician, Commercial Carpet Cleaning and Maintenance, and Carpet Repair and Reinstallation Technician courses. Mark is also Chairman of the ANSI/IICRC S800 Standard and Reference Guide for Professional Inspection of Textile Floor Coverings.

      His reputation precedes him as Northeast Ohio’s “go-to” floorcovering inspector, working for carpet, resilient, wood, and laminate manufacturers, and floorcovering retailers, consumers, attorneys, and insurance companies.

  • Jessica Violand Bruno

    Jessica Violand Bruno is a Practicing Senior Carpet Inspector and holds IICRC Certifications in Carpet Repair and Reinstallation, Commercial Carpet Maintenance and Carpet Cleaning Technician as well. She also holds certifications from Inspector Training Services to inspect all hard surface floorcoverings.

    She is a sought after, Sales Associate at a local flooring retailer. She is also Chairman of the ANSI/IICRC S220 Standard for Professional Inspection of Hard Surface Floor Coverings.