Canadian Flooring, Cleaning and Restoration Association

Looking forward to courses, conference, new standards Spring training

The CFCRA is a shareholder of the Institute of Inspection Cleaning Restoration Certification (IICRC). This drives the purpose of holding the association together. We can

be privy to the latest information being gathered in the industry and we are creating some leadingedge industry standards.

This year, two new classes are being hosted by the CFCRA. First, on April 14 and 15 at Mr. Chemical in Vaughan, Ont., we will be holding the first ever IICRC Resilient Floor Maintenance Technician (RFMT) class. This class has been stalled so many times. It is the first IICRC class put together by a group of flooring manufacturers and distributors.

The RFMT class will be considered an intermediate level class that will explore the characteristics of over 20 flooring types. The class will help determine the flooring type so that a technician will be able to determine the correct equipment and cleaning solutions to employ for regular maintenance and for deep cleaning methods.

The presentation, the manual and the syllabus are all a product of the flooring manufacturers. They feel that for some reason floor cleaning technicians clean all floors the same way and are significantly reducing the life cycle of the floors. The instructors are Stan Hulin and Don Styka from Tarkett. Remember: CFCRA members can attend, two for the price of one. Lee Senter, CFCRA President

On May 4 and 5 we have the British invasion happening. Paul Pearce will be lead tutor for a specialty fiber-cleaning class presented by the WoolSafe organization. This class will cover the cleaning of viscose, wool, silk, tencel, bamboo fibers and blends thereof. It is always strange how these fibers are pushed by the designers with little or no thought paid on how to maintain these very expensive rugs and broadloom. Paul is an internationally renowned expert on cleaning fine fibers and I personally cannot wait to sit down and learn from him for a day. There will also be a one-day, Woolsafe class with the WoolSafe resident expert on cleaning chemistries, Dr. Agnes Zsednai, being one of the lead instructors. I worked with Agnes for a few months on the subject of cleaning chemistries and she will give you the straight goods.

The CFCRA is pleased to help promote the Canadian Sustainability Conference this April. I will be one of over 20 speakers at the conference. I would encourage everyone to attend and hear from some of the best in the business.

Lastly, there is a lot happening in the world of flooring standards. The IICRC S220 Standard for Hard Floor Inspection will be out for public review in March. When this standard is finished, we will be launching the S230 Standard for Substrate and Subfloor Inspection. If you are interested in participating in this standard’s development, feel free to reach out.

The Canadian Flooring Cleaning and Restoration Association (CFCRA) was preceded by the Flooring Institute of Ontario (FIO), a not-for-profit organization which proudly served the needs of flooring industry professionals in Ontario since 1962. www.cfcra.ca