Carpet is being used less in new homes and older ones, too. Carpet is not used much in kitchens, bathrooms and entry ways. Sometimes we only see it in bedrooms. But even with limited usage, there's almost as much carpet in the homes we serve today because they are so much larger than when we started in this business.

But, carpet is used in areas that don't soil as rapidly, so we don't get the repeat business we used to get in the good old days. To deal with this challenge we've gone back to our roots in the cleaning business... the maintenance of stone, tile and wood floors. Oriental carpets and area rugs have become a good profit center in recent years. Furniture cleaning and Teflon sales have also helped augment revenues.

Special classes four times a year at Bane-Clene Institute teach the techniques and recommended products for hard floor care. Doing this work for customers is appreciated and can be very profitable, too.