Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
While, with some basic courses, this might The question is, do we want to see who students are tired from sitting and being
not cause much harm, with more specialized can memorize the most trivia and circum- “PowerPointed” to death, fails everyone —
crafts — in failing to teach attendees vent the tricky answers, or do we want the cleaners and the consumers they serve.
how to problem-solve on-site — students to leave a class knowing and under-
new technicians can walk into a standing the subject thoroughly so they can Service providers
job with a false confidence that be better cleaners? versus textile pros
can cost them dearly. We both receive pleas on a regular basis The current training in the fields of uphol-
Because students are given from technicians who took a tip lightly cov- stery and rugs within the Institute of Inspec-
their test scores, but no in- ered in a rug or upholstery course and felt tion, Cleaning and Restoration Certification
formation on what they they could apply it in any situation. (IICRC) is basic level instruction. It is what
missed and, more In particular, with such high-liability tasks, you need to know in order to keep yourself
importantly, why, such as testing for or preventing dye migra- out of trouble in most general situations in
there are al- tion, and performing color correction, some the home.
ways gaps instructors present their own products as Though basic training and typical chemi-
in their “be-all-end-all” solutions without qualifying cals can serve the on-site upholstery and area
knowl- that pre-existing conditions can create ex- rug cleaning technician just fine, for hyper-
edge. pensive nightmares for their students if they sensitive and/or heavily soiled natural fiber
actually apply “tips” in the wrong way. and investment-grade textiles there needs to
An important skill, such as color correc- be an in-plant focus, which the certification
tion, squeezed in at the end of a multi-day courses do not prepare students for, or even
class, when address at any length.
What the classes are churning out are “ser-
vice providers” to perform a basic
level cleaning service to
consumers.
What they are failing to do is develop the On-site versus in-plant is to imply through their standards, and their
mindset and skills to craft real professionals in The biggest textile disservice the educa- courses, that on-site cleaning is interchange-
the fields of fine fabric and specialty rug care. tional bureaucracies have done to consumers able with in-plant cleaning.
Because few of the contributors of much of
IN-PLANT TEXTILE TRICKS AND TIPS this material have actually operated success-
ful in-plant upholstery or rug facilities, they
FOR FINE FABRICS genuinely do not have the depth of knowl-
Testing and inspection: Always test for the fiber family (natural/synthetic/blend) and edge to convey this effectively into a course.
for colorfastness. Identifying sensitive textures, such as chenille or velvet made from Questions created by committee fall to the
natural fibers, is important, as cleaning and grooming processes should restore the lowest common denominator to create the
fabric to the most “next to new” condition as possible. least amount of friction. The goal is to placate,
Pay attention to preconditioning products and techniques: What you use to loosen not to educate.
soil is more important than what you extract it with. With in-plant situations, you have What has resulted is competent on-site ed-
greater flexibility as to the types of products used, as you can assure more thorough ucation for fabrics and rugs, with “safe” skills
rinsing and drying in an in-plant setting.
taught to simply help keep cleaners out of
Choose tools for texture retention issues: Minimizing texture distortion during
cleaning makes texture restoration less time consuming later. The right tools and tech- trouble.
niques are critical here. What has not resulted are courses to train
Extract cleaning agent residues thoroughly: Few cleaners are aware of how much specialists in either field on how to be excellent
residue they leave in fabrics. Cleaning agent residues may contribute to color bleed- “textile professionals.” The problem, however,
ing, browning and a stiff hand on soft textures. Such residues also may contribute to is that the IICRC does not explain this to clean-
skin and respiratory irritation, and often prevent the bonding of fabric protectors. ers or consumers; the organization just implies
Dry quickly: Fast drying of natural fiber fabrics is your best protection against color
that anyone certified in the Rug Cleaning Tech-
bleeding and cellulosic browning. The ability to control the drying process is another
reason to consider in plant cleaning of natural fiber fabric upholstery. nician (RCT) or Upholstery and Fabric Clean-
— Jim Pemberton ing Technician (UFT) are well-trained in their
craft... even when they may, in fact, not be.
Only
Get the complete Next 30 Days, (normally $369) now on sale for
only $299. All 30 chapters, the complete program on audio CDs,
an all the examples in PDF format, plus all the example text in MS $
299.00
Word. And, because it’s a Jon-Don product, there’s NO RISK to you! If
\RX¶UH QRW VDWLV¿HG VLPSO\ UHWXUQ LW ZLWKLQ GD\V IRU D IXOO UHIXQG *XDU-
DQWHHG 1R KHDGDFKH 1R KDVVOH Promo Code: MKP-CF910N30D
Expires 9-30-2010
Circle 202
!"#$%&'()*'#$+*,,(-,
Circle 201
Circle 209
Circle 204
connect with
www.facebook.com/Cleanfax
www.Twitter.com/Cleanfax
www.cleanfax.com
www.Cleanfax.com www.C-Fax.com