In May, Joe Carvalho celebrated 35 years in the carpet and upholstery cleaning and fiber protection business as the local Duraclean franchise in Fall River and surrounding towns.

Carvalho started his business using a hand cleaning method before graduating to a mechanized system with the same patented foam cleaning that has served the Duraclean System since its inception in 1930.

Other changes over the years include safer cleaning solutions and more intense education requirements to meet the demands of an ever-changing marketplace. New fibers and fabrics sometimes call for new techniques and new environmental legislation may require a slight variation in the overall operation.

Different equipment, new cleaning solutions and the on-going education has kept him young, Carvalho said, noting that this 35-year anniversary of serving the Fall River area is simply a marker and not the finish line.