Carpet Care: Not My Father's Wand

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When the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI) awarded U.S. Products the Seal of Approval for nine of its portable extractors — the first portables so honored, indicating that the extractors meet above-average soil-removal standards — you might have thought that was the end of the game.

“However, we had bigger plans for our extractors,” says Steve Williams, head of research and development at U.S. Products. “We went back to the drawing board to see how we could win the Gold, the highest rating possible from CRI.”

To do this, Williams says they searched for areas to improve. They reevaluated their extractors, looked to improve the multistage vacuum systems, and analyzed the pumps as well as the state-of-the-art inline heating system that keeps water/solution at 212 degrees Fahrenheit at the wand tip.

“And then we looked at the wand,” he says. “There have been few developments in wand technology in decades. In fact, for many family carpet cleaning businesses, the wands available today are the same as the ones used by their fathers 20 years ago.”

Through scientific testing, U.S. Products developed a new wand, the Evolution, which is half the weight of conventional wands with twice the performance. The secret to the improved performance, they discovered, is in the airflow. The airflow traveling through conventional wands is turbulent and chaotic, decreasing efficiency. But the airflow through the Evolution is orderly and streamlined. This doubles the flow rate, improving performance dramatically.

“But we had to put the Evolution to the test,” says Williams. “CRI retested our extractors, and every one of them won the Gold using the new wand. The Evolution is the most significant development in wand technology in a generation.”