Quite a few carpet retailers and others have called or e-mailed me asking why I don't post on Floor Radio's blog site any longer. The reason is that not many can access it. Some people may have saved this site in their "favorites" and can still get in, but no one else can access the blog from anywhere on Floor Radio's web site.

Instead, there is a link on the home page of Floor Radio that will take you to my Blog on Bane- Clene's web site.  Since there are some powerful folks in Dalton who are offended by the truth and do not appreciate some of the things I say, this link may not last very long. So be it!

There is concern in the cleaning industry about buying peroxide because it can be used in making bombs. I have been told that cleaners should have no problem buying peroxide, but that the FBI or Homeland Security might contact them to verify its usage.

A representative of our supplier said that copies of all purchases were being sent to the FBI long before the latest terrorist incident. He said there are at present no limits on purchases nor was special permission needed. This may change in the future.

Among things I don't like with a passion is BIG government bureaucracy. In our cleaning industry, BIG seems to be in vogue, too. The IICRC and CRI are on a similar course as Washington politicians and have combined in an attempt to rule rank and file cleaning folks. People who are not in the business want to micro-manage our business and charge us for the privilege of letting them tell us what to do.

CRI is testing products and approving services. In the process they are attempting to legislate certain products and processes out of the marketplace. This is wrong! Some equipment and chemicals may be suspect, but no bureaucrat should ever be able to determine if a product is successful. This is still the job of the free market. Maybe an industry tea party is in order!

Among things I don't like with a passion is BIG government bureaucracy. In our cleaning industry, BIG seems to be in vogue, too. The IICRC and CRI are on a similar course as Washington politicians and have combined in an attempt to rule rank and file cleaning folks. People who are not in the business want to micro-manage our business and charge us for the privilege of letting them tell us what to do.

CRI is testing products and approving services. In the process they are attempting to legislate certain products and processes out of the marketplace. This is wrong! Some equipment and chemicals may be suspect, but no bureaucrat should ever be able to determine if a product is successful. This is still the job of the free market. Maybe an industry tea party is in order!

Noisy automobiles with loud sound systems permeate nearly every neighborhood in America. Airplanes, motorcycles, boats, hot rods and race cars send up a nerve-deadening din that must ripple across the twilight zone. Many communities have established sound ordinances but few, if any, ever enforce them.

Concern about noise in carpet cleaning equipment sent Bane-Clene® engineers to the decibel meter to test our equipment for noise pollution. A boom box, a traded-in gasoline-powered truck-mount and a little portable rental machine were used along with a Bane-Clene machine for decibel tests. Bane-Clene equipment fell well within OSHA standards. All of the others failed.

Several years ago, Kevin Stark and I traveled to Dublin, Georgia, at the request of Mohawk Carpet people. They told us they wanted to know more about the carpet cleaning business. We were excited to give them a presentation about our method of cleaning.  Little did we know that they had an ulterior motive and were going to franchise their own carpet cleaning business.

In a brain storming session about promoting the cleaning business we told them that we had carpeted a kennel to prove the effectiveness of our cleaning equipment and deodorizing products and that it had been very effective.  We also told them about an idea we had for carpeting the bed of a dump truck, filling it with dirt, dumping it and then cleaning the carpet.

To prove that bigger is always better, the Mohawk folks have gone the kennel idea one up by carpeting the Rhino habitat at the Birmingham Zoo. I can't wait to see what they'll do instead of carpeting the bed of a dump truck.

That old oil man, T. Boone Pickens, is predicting rising oil prices again and with some good reasons. “Look at the history,” Pickens said. "OPEC revenues increased five times over the last five years. Supply is stuck permanently at 85 million barrels a day, and demand will soon reach 90 million barrels a day. Ten years from now the price of oil could be $300.00 a barrel."

Of course Pickens has vested interests in natural gas, wind and solar power, so he's naturally pushing alternative energy. But he is right on target when he says that we import 70 % of our oil and we won't drill on our own land or build new refineries. If the Cap & Trade bill (another name for a new energy tax) is added to the equation, much higher fuel costs are ahead. Better plan accordingly.

Loyalty comes in differing degrees. "Deal" loyalty buys a customer with a special offer and normally lasts for the length of the promotion. But in "Relationship" loyalty, a customer elects to do business with you for reasons other than prizes, rewards, or discounts. It's easy to recognize which customers will promote your business.

"Relationship" loyalty is essential to the growth of your company. Repeat customers become unpaid advocates and will promote you to their relatives, friends, neighbors, and associates. Always try to do a little something extra for them and they will do something extra for you.

Many factors in the extraction carpet cleaning process affect residual matter. Some systems use syphon feed methods to bring their chemical and water together. These require exceptionally hot water to blend the chemical as it travels through the hose. Consequently they use a large amount of chemical which can clog the needle valve that controls the flow. Uneven residue will cause a carpet to look shaded as new soiling occurs.

Bane-Clene systems use the entire 120 gallon clean water supply tank as a reservoir so chemicals blend easily and fully with water temperatures under a safe 190°F. Fluctuation of the solution is eliminated by this large batch mixing mode and the motion of the truck from job to job keeps the solution in perfect suspension. Consistent cleaning and exceptional recovery will ensure satisfied customers that affect the bottom line in a positive way. Using less chemical helps, too!