Allen Rathey: Hi! My name is Allen Rathey. I am the President of The Healthy House Institute. And today I, along with my colleagues Dr. Liz Goldsmith of Florida State University, and Heidi Wilcox, a scientist with the University of Massachusetts, will be talking about removing carpet spots using green cleaning methods. I will start off with describing the principles of green cleaning and the principles of carpet spot removal. Next up, Liz will be talking about prevention, as well as spot removal tips. She will also go into how to create a carpet spotting kit, so you can get to that stain right away. She will provide resources for difficult spots and let you know when to call a professional.

Homemade green cleaners will be covered by Heidi. When and why they work, what to do when they don't, and a spattering of chemistry and science to help us understand. And then Liz will give us some hands-on using a proven spot removal process with green cleaners.

Next, Heidi will share retail green cleaners with us. And finally, I will show you some simple spot removal techniques using green cleaning machines. And here are some tools that we will be using; both pantry based products, some store bought green cleaners, a vacuum for dry soil removal, a carpet extractor, and some microfiber cloths and cotton cloths for blotting spots, a spoon for scraping up solids, and tamping the cleaning solution down into the carpet. Let's talk about safety. Most of these products are very benign, there aren't any major health or safety issues associated with them. But using the spirit of a sound mind and taking reasonable precautions is okay. I have had 25 years of experience in the professional cleaning field, specializing in improving indoor environments. Dr. Liz Goldsmith has written several books on green cleaning and cleaning, and is a Professor at Florida State University. Heidi Wilcox is a scientist at the University of Massachusetts' Toxics Use Reduction Institute, specializing in the performance testing of green products.

Now let's get started doing some green cleaning.