Hi Guys,
Sorry for the wait for a reply. I logged on at five to five on Friday as I was leaving the office and didn’t have time to answer all the posts. There are several points I’d like to address starting with the most important;
1)"WoolSafe is an organisation which exists to make money and to do so endorses products from companies prepared to pay them large annual fees...."Every product that is sent for testing goes through the same standards of testing under laboratory conditions following several Industry accepted European and British Standards. 20% of new products sent in for testing FAIL. It used to be higher but the industry is more aware of what is safe for wool now (in part, because of the work carried out by the woolsafe Orgnisation over the last 20 years). We Test for: resoiling, alkalinity(buffering), colourfastness, cleaning efficiency, optical brighteners etc. and more, Unfortunately Our Technical Director Dr. Zsednai isn't here today but if you'd like more information about standards (ISO, BS, WS) I can answer those tomorrow.
2)Why does WoolSafe approve products like 1001?
Because they pass all the same tests as the other products. N.B. Not all of the products in a range like 1001 are approved by us, only the ones that pass the testing so be careful to check if it carries the mark. The DIY market is a fact of life, unskilled consumers fix their own cars, decorate their houses and clean their own carpet. If they will insist on DIY at least we can point them in the direction of approved products instead of washing up liquid and bleach etc. What we can't control is how these products are applied, consumers will often flood the stain and scrub like mad. This is why you have high foaming residue and pile distortion. In our spotting guide we tell consumers how to do spot removal but they don't always do as advised.
As an Organisation we invariably recommend that carpet owners have their carpets professionally cleaned.
The Chemical testing side of the Organisation began twenty years ago and the Carpet cleaner network was set up 10 years later after discussions with carpet suppliers (mills and retailers) and their desire to use a skilled network of cleaners that use safe products.
3)WoolSafe is "Bunch of masons from Yorkshire".... "Steve searches the web looking for people who haven't paid their protection money".
This idea that we are some multi-million pound underground organisation with loads of lawyers who chase poor down-trodden cleaners would be laughable if it weren't for the fact that some people may actually believe it!
Yes, we do protect the mark against misuse to protect our members from being associated with operators who haven't taken the course or the exam and perhaps don't share their ethics, professionalism and skills. When we do find an infringement a letter is sent that basically says; You may not be aware that you are misusing the mark but....please remove it.
By the way, I'm the only Yorkshireman in the organisation, We have dutch, Hungarian, Irish, American, Australian and Greek. We employ people for their experience and knowledge not their masonic connections
Doug, I 'll let Dr Zsednai answer the Alkalinity/Ph debate.
Cheers, Steve
