History

As a young man working his way through law school in the early 1970's, Robert Harris was a carpet cleaner who was working for someone else. Unhappy with the performance of the cleaning products then available, he began looking for a better solution. His research stretched into years and years of studying the chemical properties of cleaning formulas and years of backbreaking experiments which required cleaning areas of dirty carpets with one formula and then another.

Eventually, he found his formula, a revolutionary carbonated solution that not only cleaned beautifully, but was also safe and non-toxic. With the birth of Chem-Dry came self-employment and success. The demand for his cleaning services mushroomed and soon friends and family clamored for his secret. From the first small group of franchises, the Chem-Dry network has grown to thousands of successful franchises around the world. As the Chem-Dry family increases, Robert Harris has seen his own success story repeated by many franchisees.

Now, after more than 30 years, Chem-Dry has become the #1 Carpet Cleaning Company in America! In 2006, Chem-Dry was purchased by The Home Depot, forming a partnership between the world's largest carpet retailer and the world's largest carpet cleaning company. With the outstanding leadership of our CEO, Craig Donaldson, and our Executive Team, Chem-Dry continues to lead the industry.