‘Qualita’ cleaning in the heart of Umbria
Of the many awe-inspiring conference venues around the world hosting arts and cultural events, the beautiful Auditorium San Francesco al Prato in Perugia, Umbria in the centre of Italy, has to be one of the oldest and most lovely.
Rooted in the 13th century, founded in 1255 by Friars Minor as a convent, it served as a place of worship and hospitality for pilgrims until 1860 when, following the unification of Italy, the building was abandoned to gradual and inexorable degradation. Just over a century later began the renovation and transformation of the building into an auditorium and a major centre of culture and music.
Of course, holding as it does more than 600 people at any event can mean a lot of auditorium seats to clean.
Italian cleaning specialist, Roberto Pirri of Fiore, contract holder for the regular maintenance of the venue’s limestone flooring, was given the opportunity to take on the seating and turned to Prochem solutions.
Roberto said: “The seats hadn’t been cleaned for a year or so, and were visibly showing greasy fingerprints and
IWSA launches new industry awards
The Independent Washroom Services Association (IWSA) is launching its inaugural industry awards in partnership with the Loo of the Year Awards, recognising excellence, innovation and outstanding achievement of its members across the UK’s washroom sector.
The six new IWSA Awards will be presented for the first time during the next annual Loo of the Year Awards ceremony, which takes place on Wednesday 13 January 2027 at the National Motorcycle Museum in Birmingham. These awards will sit alongside the Loo of the Year Awards, which are open to any organisation which offers washrooms in public spaces, the hospitality sector, schools, workplaces, tourist destinations and more.
Becky Wall BEM, co-owner of the Loo of the Year Awards, said: “This collaboration marks an exciting new chapter for both organisations, bringing together two respected names within the washroom industry which share a commitment to raising standards, recognising best practice and celebrating those making a positive contribution to the sector. The new awards will be open to members of the IWSA.”
The Loo of the Year Awards has been a cornerstone of the FM and cleaning sector for more than three decades. They're not just about trophies: the team operate a quality grading system, where nominated washrooms are visited by an inspector and given a grading from bronze to diamond. The inspectors look at more than 100 criteria per washroom and will also provide feedback to any venue, company or organisation that wants to know how to improve their washrooms. The annual gala event celebrates the ‘best of the best’.
The IWSA awards allow members of that organisation to now be recognised too. Their awards are:
www.tomorrowscleaning.com
general soil. I’ve been using Prochem cleaning products for a couple of years now and find their formulations excellent.”
Roberto and his team set to work pre-treating the seats either with B144 Stain Pro or A277 Solvex, the first designed to deal with water-based spills such as tea, coffee, food and drink, and the second to tackle greasy finger marks.
The chairs were then rinse-extracted with B106 Extraclean (which Roberto admits is his ‘go to’ product), leaving the seats in ‘Ottimo’ condition for the arts lovers of Umbria.
www.prochem.co.uk
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Excellence in Client-Contractor Partnerships IWSA Leader of the Year IWSA Rising Star
IWSA Driver of the Year
Sustainability – Best Practice in Washrooms Technological Innovation in Washrooms
The awards as a whole are designed to showcase individuals and organisations which demonstrate exceptional commitment, professionalism and innovation, while highlighting the importance of high standards throughout the entire washroom services industry.
Paul Thrupp, Chair of the IWSA, commented: “We’re delighted to be launching the IWSA Awards in partnership with the Loo of the Year Awards. Both organisations are passionate about recognising excellence and encouraging continual improvement across our industry. These awards will shine a spotlight on the businesses and individuals who are setting the benchmark for others to follow and also our members, who are also taking this very seriously.”
The IWSA represents independent washroom service providers across the UK, promoting best practice, professionalism and collaboration throughout the industry. Through training, networking and industry leadership, the association works to raise standards.
The deadline for entries for the new IWSA awards is Wednesday 30 September 2026. The deadline for all other awards offered by the Loo of the Year Awards was Friday 31 July 2026.
www.iwsa.org.uk www.loo.co.uk
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