CRI Announces New Maintenance Publications

Contact: CRI Communications Department, 706.428.2103

Dalton, GA - May 20, 2004 - The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) announces the release of two new maintenance publications.

The "Carpet Maintenance Guidelines for Commercial Applications" is written to assist facilities managers, maintenance supervisors and anyone who buys, sells, specifies, or is responsible for the maintenance of a commercial carpet installation.

The second publication -- "Take a Deep Breath and Thank Your Custodian; Tips and Tools for Improving IAQ in Schools" -- was a collaborative effort between CRI and the National Education Association's (NEA) Education Support Professionals (ESP) and the Health Information Network (HIN). This booklet was designed to help school custodians with the implementation of an indoor air quality action plan for their schools, and is filled with important tips to help maintain a proper indoor environment.

"We're extremely excited about both of these publications because we know a well maintained carpet can not only extend the life of the product, but can have serious ramifications on a healthy indoor environment in these settings. Too often, we hear the negative assumptions about carpet and indoor air quality, but clearly the gathered data demonstrates that a clean and dry carpet will foster a healthier indoor environment," said Werner Braun, president of the Carpet and Rug Institute.

The "Carpet Maintenance Guidelines for Commercial Applications" was written knowing full well that a commercial carpet installation is a significant investment, both in monetary terms and overall facility image. The need to implement a maintenance program from the beginning is very important. The goal of this publication is to assist in preserving the original appearance of the carpet.

Approximately 10,000 copies of the CRI/NEA tips booklet are being distributed to members of NEA, the nation's largest professional employee organization, representing 2.7 million education employees in public schools and institutions of higher education. NEA's 358,000 ESP members account for more than 40 percent of today's K-12 public education workforce. They include bus drivers, custodians, security specialists, nurses and health aides, secretaries, paraprofessionals, and more.

"Maintaining a healthy school environment is a necessary and essential educational investment. Studies over the past years have shown a clear link between the environmental quality of schools and educational performance.... For school environments to be healthy there must be a serious, if not passionate desire, accompanied with positive action, to keep the environment healthy and restore priority schools to a constant healthy state," according to Dr. Michael Berry, research professor at the University of North Carolina and former EPA director for indoor air research.

Dr. Berry was instrumental in both publications and wrote the forward for the NEA publication which was distributed at the NEA ESP meeting in March and will be distributed to NEA personnel at their annual meeting in July. Digital versions of both booklets can be downloaded from the CRI website. In addition, the "Commercial Maintenance" manual can be ordered through CRI's Publications Department at 800-882-8846, x2114.