You might have had your carpets cleaned, or just seen the van driving around town, but those will be things of the past as Ed Kingsbury Carpet Cleaning is hanging up the vacuums.
Ed's son Mike sells real estate at Remax now, but has been involved with the business since he was 16 and feels it's time to "close the doors." His Dad died nine years ago after being diagnosed at age 56 with cancer then retired in 2004, selling the business to Mike, who has run it since then.
"We couldn't find a suitable buyer," he told BayToday, " So I thought, well it's time to close. Time to look after yourself instead of everybody else. You know when it's time."
Ed Kingsbury started the business because he was tired of having a boss telling him what to do.
"He started working, nights, evenings and weekends going door-to-door selling Electrolux to start of his carpet cleaning business."
It took a few years, and Ed started using portable cleaners, but by 1980 bought a more efficient truck-mounted cleaner.
"He was one of the originals in North Bay!"
ED cleaned the local radio station, C F C H 600 in those days, a familiar figure as Bob Wood and Peter Handley worked on their shows and sportscasts.
"My father cleaned your desks, put garbage out, and cleaned carpets, all at night time just so he could promote his business."
Mike says his Dad was a hard taskmaster as he learned the business.
"I can remember him doing things a certain way and getting after me saying 'Hey this is the way it should be done. this is the way I want it done, so do it like you would for yourself or your Mom and that way you'll never have a problem' It was all uphill from there," he laughs as he recalls the old days.
"The clients today are more demanding. Back then there was a loyalty between customers and the company and they'll call every year when the families cared about cleanliness. Now you might get a call every seven years. A lot of things these days are disposable."
To offset that declining business Ed got into duct cleaning and repairing water damage and ceramic tile restoration.
"We had to diversify because a lot of people have torn out their carpets and put in ceramic tile or hardwood floors. People don't realize what a challenging job it is and what you need to do to stay afloat. Radio has changed, newspapers have changed, you have to adapt.
"It's like saying farewell. I'm done with this."
