Chem-Dry (the name stands for CHEMISTRY-DRY) is an American

carpet cleaning Carpet cleaning is performed to remove stains, dirt, debris, and allergens from carpets. Common methods include hot water extraction, Dry cleaning, dry-cleaning, and vacuuming. Hot water extraction Hot water extraction, sometimes mistakenly ...

and upholstery cleaning franchise chain with main offices in

Logan, Utah Logan is a city in Cache County, Utah, United States. The 2020 United States Census, 2020 census recorded the population at 52,778. Logan is the county seat of Cache County and the principal city of the Logan metropolitan area, which includes Ca ...

, and

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

History

Founded in 1977, Chem-Dry was originally based in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. The company began franchising in 1978, and as of 2024, has over 1,683 locations worldwide. In the early 1970s, Robert Harris worked as a carpet cleaner to pay for

law school A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

. Unimpressed by the long drying times and harsh chemicals used in the industry-standard

steam cleaning Steam cleaning involves using steam for cleaning. Its uses include domestic applications in cleaning flooring and household dirt removal, and industrial uses in removing grease and dirt from engines. Use Steam cleaning is not suited for all ma ...

methods of the time, he began researching alternative cleaning formulas. During a flight, he spilled salad dressing on his

silk Silk is a natural fiber, natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be weaving, woven into textiles. The protein fiber of silk is composed mainly of fibroin and is most commonly produced by certain insect larvae to form cocoon (silk), c ...

tie, and a flight attendant cleaned it using

club soda Club soda is a form of carbonated water manufactured in North America, commonly used as a drink mixer. Sodium bicarbonate, potassium sulfate, potassium bicarbonate, potassium citrate, or sodium citrate is added to artificially replicate constitu ...

. Harris realized that the same carbonized solution could be applied to

carpets A carpet is a textile floor covering typically consisting of an upper layer of Pile (textile), pile attached to a backing. The pile was traditionally made from wool, but since the 20th century synthetic fiber, synthetic fibres such as polyprop ...

. In 2006, Chem-Dry was acquired by

The Home Depot The Home Depot, Inc., often referred to as Home Depot, is an American multinational corporation, multinational home improvement retail corporation that sells tools, construction products, appliances, and services, including fuel and transportat ...

. In 2011, The Home Depot sold Harris Research Inc. (HRI), the parent company of Chem-Dry, to Baird Capital Partners. The acquisition also included N-Hance, a cabinet and floor

refinishing In woodworking and the decorative arts, refinishing (also repolishing in the UK)refers to the act of repairing or reapplying the wood finishing on an object. paint, wood finish top coat, wax, lacquer or varnish are commonly used. The artisan o ...

franchise that had over 200 locations at the time. In March 2018, HRI acquired Delta Restoration Services (formerly Delta Disaster Services), expanding its portfolio to include property restoration. In 2019, BELFOR Franchise Group acquired HRI and added Chem-Dry and N-Hance to their franchise umbrella that includes 14 service-based brands. Chem-Dry was ranked No. 188 on

Entrepreneur magazine ''Entrepreneur'' is an American magazine and website that carries news stories about entrepreneurship, small business management, and business. First published in 1977. it is published by ''Entrepreneur Media Inc''., headquartered in Irvine, Cal ...

’s 2025 Franchise 500 list.

References

External links

Chem-Dry Website
Franchises Business services companies established in 1977 Cleaning companies of the United States Companies based in Utah 1977 establishments in California {{US-company-stub