Nearly every week there is an incident like this one that hurts everyone in the industry from carpet cleaners to manufacturers . A newspaper in Rochester, Minnesota, reported that the mother of three children was alerted to the danger of carbon monoxide by a detection device and called the fire department. On arrival firefighters measured 40 parts per million of carbon monoxide in the air inside her home.
Investigation revealed a carpet cleaner had been there earlier that day operating a gasoline powered cleaning machine in an attached garage. The garage door was open but the door to the house was left ajar (probably for the hose run) which allowed exhaust fumes to enter. This is not an indictment of any cleaning equipment nor is it the fault of any manufacturer. It is directly attributable to an incompetent operator.
Instead of testing cleaning equipment and chemicals, CRI and other industry associations, schools and trade publications should launch a safety campaign warning inept operators of this danger. Industry standards should prevent such a conceivable disaster from occurring. Potential carpet customers reading these stories conclude that carpet cleaning is dangerous and that's bad for carpet makers, retailers, installers and cleaners.
* To my "Industry Guru" critic... Note this is not a picture of a burning truck.
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