Care for equipment

For proper maintenance and troubleshooting, all gauges on your cleaning equipment must work. Water, vacuum and amperage gauges can pinpoint minor problems, especially when discussing the problem on the phone with one of our service representatives. Replace gauges that do not work. Working gauges can save a lot of time.

Inspect the heating element of your electric heater on your unit periodically. When corrosion and/or lime deposits appear, clean them off using fine steel wool. Heating efficiency decreases if these deposits are allowed to remain on the heating element.

Recovery tanks develop a strong odor and should be cleaned periodically. A quart of ammonia in the recovery tank with water added to about half its capacity will cure the problem. Drive the truck around for a mile or so allowing the mixture to work. You'll also be advertising while doing this maintenance chore. Dump before the sediment adheres to the tank sides.

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It's gettin' ugly

Certainly CRI should have a voice in the cleaning industry, but that's where it should end. Instead they, who know nothing about cleaning carpets, want to tell professionals how to do their job, certify them, and even specify the equipment and chemicals that they use. The worst part is they even want to charge carpet cleaners and their suppliers for the privilege of working.

In the '30s, extortion like this was called the "protection racket." I haven't seen any strong arm tactics .... yet! But rumors about people and companies that oppose CRI are starting to surface. For example: A CRI maintenance committee member told a carpet retailer that a company unfriendly to their program was insolvent. This is outright defamation because it's not true.

It is also rumored that CRI is threatening to ban anyone from their program who doesn't have nice things to say about them. What ever happened to the part of our Constitution that protects free speech? Not only is CRI flirting with restraint of trade and warranty collusion, they're risking liable or slander charges. It's going to get worse....stay tuned!

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Scams you may not have heard about

Nearly every small business owner and their employees are exposed to opportunists who take advantage of tough times. I'm not talking about the frequent bogus offers of million dollar commissions for moving money from Nigeria or the get-rich-quick gurus in the cleaning industry. I'm talking about proposals from people that sound authentic, logical and profitable.

Here are some I hadn't heard about, courtesy of the CIBBB:

Plans that appear to be health insurance coverage and sound affordable may actually be a medical discount plan. Medical discount plans can be a way for some people to save money on their health care costs, but discount plans aren’t health insurance.

Scam artists infiltrate groups sharing a common religion, ethnicity, profession or interest by joining or pretending to be members to gain the trust of others in the group. Their plan might be to get investment in a stock or fund, buy a franchise or endorse a piece of equipment or even suggest a real estate investment.

Stimulus scams advertise free government money to be given in return for a fee or financial information. Loan modification scams claim they can save your home from foreclosure if you pay them a fee or pay your mortgage directly to them.

Be wary of new acquaintances who want to do business with you or ask you to do business with them. Like the Mayor of River City, Iowa, said so often in The Music Man, "Get their credentials." If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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Can't help but feel proud

Dave Hansson, from Florida, called Dan Willis, manager of Bane-Clene's Indianapolis service company, to ask if he knew of anyone who had a modestly priced used van for sale. His old truck has 190,000 miles on it and he'd like to replace it.

When Dan asked if he'd like to replace his equipment, too, he declined. Dave said this was the third van he wore out with the same Bane-Clene machine and it still works very well.

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The bathtub test*

CRI's expensive and ineffectual testing of cleaning equipment demonstrates the ultimate in making something that is simple seem complicated. Consumer Reports® did a very simple test that was very effective and is a matter of record. Testing and cleaning carpet is not rocket science as CRI has proclaimed and we don't need help from NASA engineers to get the job done right.

Following is a story that makes my point, and it makes about as much sense as the SOA:

During a visit to a mental health facility, a congressman running for re-election asked the director how he determined if a patient should be institutionalized. The director answered, "We give them a simple test. We fill a bathtub, and offer the patient a teaspoon, a water glass and a bucket and ask them to empty the bathtub."

"Oh, I understand," said the politician. "A normal person would use the bucket because it's so much bigger." "No," said the director, "A normal person would pull the plug. Would you like a bed near a window?"

* The "bathtub test" is not a true story...at least I don't think it is!

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Inmate powered electricity

The Sheriff from Maricopa County, Arizona is at it again. Joe Arpaio has a program at his Tent City Jail called “Pedal Vision.” He's installed stationary bikes hooked up as generators and connected to television sets that operate once the cycle generates 12 volts of electricity. An hour's worth of pedaling equals an hour of TV viewing. Arpaio said that inmates will only be able to watch television if they pedal.

The Sheriff says he saw that many inmates were overweight. This gives them a reason to burn up 500 calories an hour. Sheriff Arpaio debuted the pilot program on April 1. How appropriate! Rumor has it that he's thinking of running for Governor. I'd vote for him.

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Mark Twain said this

"In the beginning the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."

Could there be a correlation to the effort by a few people in the cleaning industry who are standing up to the CRI and this quote by Mr. Twain?

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Carpet related complaints

A study by Debbie Lema of Racine Industries indicates that CRI's testing program is seriously flawed. We all know that tests can be made to arrive at any conclusion the test conductor wishes, just like the survey CRI used to justify the new SOA program. It claims that carpet cleaning is responsible for most carpet-related complaints. That simply is not true!

Installation is the most common complaint about carpet. Peaking seams and rippling caused by failure to use a power stretcher top the list. Shoddy sales practices, defective carpet, late deliveries, broken promises and product substitution run a close second in complaints about carpet. Retailers have taken deposits while in bankruptcy and never delivered the carpet. Carpet cleaning complaints are a distant third and insignificant by monetary or moral comparison.

I've monitored complaint sites on the internet since 1995. Carpet-related complaints that I have reviewed and cataloged during the past year were: Installation 314, Sales 253, Cleaning 131. Most cleaning related complaints were from consumers who clean their own carpets. They complained about poor results, watered down chemical products and cheap, poorly maintained rental equipment. Other cleaning-related complaints were about poorly or untrained in-house staff using walk-behind or riding equipment and cheap portable machines.

Professional cleaners' complaints were nearly all about bait and switch advertisers, failure to return phone calls and rude technicians. Consumer complaints about professional cleaning equipment, chemicals or methods are virtually non existent. It's time for CRI and Professional Testing Laboratories to stop extorting money from professional cleaners and their suppliers through their bogus and flawed SOA program.

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9/11

Tomorrow is the 9th anniversary of an attack on our country that was even more despicable than December 7, 1941. The cowards not only killed innocent civilians, they have deprived all of us of many of our freedoms that we had taken for granted. The toll on our economy has been devastating and can't even be estimated.

The memory of Pearl Harbor has faded as folks who remember it pass from the scene. Keep the memory of 9/11 fresh for as long as possible, because the low-life scum who masterminded that atrocity have recruited an ample reserve of radical idiots with the same objective.

God bless America!

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"Network of Excellence" stats

There were 643,735 accesses to this web site last month. People looked for information, ordered supplies, visited catalog and information pages, i.e.: MSDS, Spot removal guides, & Troubleshooting charts, the Cleaning Diges®t, Clene Times® and my BLOG.

Besides cleaners, carpet mills, carpet retailers, insurance adjusters, banks, realty firms and plumbers visited this site. But here's the really exciting news. Most visitors were consumers looking for someone to work for them. We know because when they can't find a local cleaner in our referral directory, they call our toll-free number. All phone inquiries so far this year were referred to certified Bane-Clene operators except in these Zip Codes:

01721, 02891, 04043, 06518, 06610, 06824, 06987, 08092, 11550, 13440, 13516, 14,785, 15417, 15421, 15444, 15468, 15621, 15650, 15701, 15752, 16601, 17110, 17340, 17349, 17536, 17844, 18512, 19904, 19938, 19971, 20794, 20814, 21076, 21605, 21620, 21629, 21660, 21666, 21663, 21738, 22021, 22090, 22701, 23061, 23081, 23185, 23188, 23212, 23230, 23266, 23322, 23429, 23451, 23455, 23468, 23805, 23840, 24265, 24273, 24282, 24290, 24502, 26426, 27106, 27213, 27376, 27511, 27514, 27526, 27612, 27711, 27940, 28560, 29680, 29926, 30240, 30252, 30263, 30518, 30655, 31023, 31794, 31909, 32024, 32309, 32311, 32431, 32667, 32828, 33009, 33069, 33067, 33157, 33131, 33324, 33435, 33456, 33549, 33584, 33606, 33615, 33711, 34209, 34446, 34606, 34609, 34681, 35550, 36201, 36564, 37363, 37405, 37411, 37620, 37853, 38053, 38079, 39701, 39705, 39746, 41377, 45115, 45140, 46552, 48188, 48504, 48505, 48611, 49036, 49280, 49437, 50325, 50344, 50401, 51650, 54457, 55830, 60081, 61115, 61122, 64089, 65049, 65065, 65203, 65541, 65613, 65711, 65803, 67351, 67756, 68516, 70575, 72113, 72301, 74012, 74851, 75023, 75048, 75070, 75201, 75712, 75801, 76092, 77379, 77414, 77651, 77845, 79924, 81212, 82414, 85085, 85253, 85255, 85258, 85354, 85704, 87112, 87532, 89012, 89028, 89141, 90115, 91791, 90803, 91941, 92211, 92234, 92243, 93003, 93010, 93277, 93465, 93907, 94018, 94530, 94590, 94954, 95042, 95054, 95112, 96078, 96080, 96737, 97007, 97071, 97333, 97414, 97606, 97701, 98004, 98074, 98110, 98133, 98271, 98335, 98338, 98406, 98409, 98515, 99850.

Another exciting thing is that total accesses to this web site last year were 6,908,988 compared to 3,735,610 in 2003, 106,328 in 2000, and only 823 in 1996, our first year on the internet. This dramatic growth indicates how fast internet marketing is growing.

Be part of this advertising bonanza by calling Don Terry at 800 428 9512 or e-mail him at our "Message Center." Don will make a home page for you or link your existing home page to this potential gold mine for a one-time fee of only $99.

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Great looking carpet

Fritz Rench, Chairman of Racine Industries, told me that Host struggled in the CRI testing program to achieve the Bronze rating. Someone from CRI should visit the Pasco County schools in Florida. I did and was impressed with the premises, the training program, their director, Eddie Flicker, and especially the very old C & A (Tandus) carpet. Eddie told me they use Host® products, training and equipment exclusively in their maintenance program.

I saw a kindergarten with carpet older than the children sitting on it, that looked great. A high school had fifteen year old C&A Power Bond® carpet that had been damaged by a leaking air conditioner. It probably didn't look much better the day it was installed. I met enthusiastic personnel who could actually answer questions about the products they were using.

CRI should be embarrassed to sanction tests that would classify HydraMaste®r, Steamway® and Host at the lowest Bronze level and a little rental machine at the highest Platinum rating. If Consumer Reports® and Lisa Wagner's expose' doesn't convince CRI to give up their testing program, they've really got their collective heads up their...er, in the sand.

Note of full disclosure: I have no financial ties with Racine Industries. We're just friendly competitors, but Fritz let the fox in the henhouse so you know he trusts me.

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The Sheriff from Hell visited Indy

Sheriff Joe Arpaio, of Maricopa County in Arizona, was re-elected last time with 83% of the vote. But, he's in trouble with the ACLU because he painted a special hotline phone number on prison buses to report suspected illegal aliens.

Immigrations and Customs Enforcement wasn't doing enough, so he had deputies trained specifically for enforcing immigration laws, started up his hotline, and bought 4 new buses just for hauling illegal aliens back to the border.

There were demonstrations in Indy because the Sheriff was in town. Did you ever wonder what part of "illegal" the ACLU doesn't recognize? They probably think it's a sick bird. Come to think of it, our national symbol may be ill from all that is going on.

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New real estate tax?

A lawyer friend sent a thought provoking e-mail to me the other day. I don't know if this is true and my congressman certainly wouldn't know either because he didn't read the new health care bill. All of you Baby Boomers nearing retirement age may want to check this out.

"Did you know that all real estate transactions will soon be subject to a 3.8% Sales Tax? The bulk of these new taxes don't kick in until 2013 (after the presidential election).

"If you sell your $400,000 home after 2012, there will be a $15,200 tax on the transaction. This bill is set to fleece the retiring generation who often downsize their homes. Is this Hope & Change great or what? We can vote the bums out in November and demand that they eliminate the bill or at the very least defund it. Then in 2012 repeal it.

"Oh, you weren't aware this was in the Obamacare bill? Guess what, you aren't alone. There are more than a few congressmen that aren't aware of it either. AND, there are a few other surprises lurking. As Pelosi said, hurry up and pass it so we can find out what is in it!"

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