The IICRC — the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification — publishes industry standards for cleaning and restoration work, including the S100 standard for professional cleaning of textile floor coverings. Here's a plain-language look at what it covers and how we use it.
What IICRC S100 Covers
The S100 standard describes general principles and practices for professionally cleaning carpet and other textile floor coverings, including guidance on inspection, cleaning methods, and expected outcomes for professional-grade work. It's written as a reference for the cleaning and restoration industry broadly, not for any single company or cleaning method.
What It Doesn't Do
IICRC S100 doesn't mandate a single cleaning method for every situation, and it isn't a certification that a specific company holds — individual technicians can pursue IICRC training and certification programs, which is a separate thing from the standard itself. When we reference S100, we're describing guidance we take into account in our approach, not claiming a specific held credential for our business.
How This Relates to Method Choice
Consistent with CRI 204, the S100 standard describes a range of accepted professional cleaning methods rather than declaring one universally correct approach. This lines up with how we talk about our own service: low-moisture encapsulation is well suited to routine commercial maintenance, but it isn't a blanket substitute for deeper extraction cleaning in every situation. See our guide on encapsulation vs. hot-water extraction for that comparison in more detail.
Why We Reference Industry Standards at All
We think it's more useful to point to publicly available industry guidance like CRI 204 and IICRC S100 than to make vague claims about being "certified" without specifics. If you have questions about a specific technician's training or how a standard applies to your property, ask us directly when requesting a quote — we'd rather give you an accurate answer than an impressive-sounding one.
For the authoritative text of the standard, we recommend consulting the IICRC directly. Our standards page summarizes the general guidance we reference across our services.
How S100 Relates to Technician Practice
Beyond method selection, S100 touches on general professional practices like proper inspection before cleaning, appropriate handling of different carpet fiber types, and reasonable expectations for cleaning outcomes. We aim to reflect these general principles in how our technicians approach each job, even though the standard itself isn't a checklist we complete and submit for a specific job.
The Difference Between a Standard and a Certification
It's worth being clear about the distinction: a standard like S100 is a published reference document describing recommended practices. A certification is a credential an individual earns by completing specific training and, often, an exam. The two are related but not the same thing, and a provider referencing a standard isn't automatically claiming a personal certification.
Why We Think This Distinction Matters
We'd rather explain this distinction clearly than let a technical-sounding reference imply something we can't back up. If you want more detail about a specific technician's training background, feel free to ask directly when requesting a quote.