Be it from a crimson stain left by a fallen wine glass or a smelly puddle left behind while housebreaking Fido, there is no soiled carpet that Dowagiac’s Erick Dohm cannot handle.

After 15 years working for other firms, the certified carpet cleaner has launched a new solo venture, Erick’s Carpet Cleaning LLC. Dohm cleans and deodorizes carpets, upholstery and area rugs for residential and commercial clients in the greater Dowagiac area and beyond.

Though he was born in Wisconsin, Dohm has called Dowagiac home for practically his entire life, he said. A 1997 graduate of Michigan Lutheran High School, a private school located in St. Joseph, the Dowagiac man began working at a Niles carpet cleaning firm as a summer job while attending classes at Martin Luther College, in New Ulm, Minnesota.

Shortly after graduating, Dohm decided to apply for a job with a Dowagiac carpet cleaning business called Alpha Clean. Working alongside owner Lee Ferrier, Dohm quickly picked up all the tricks of the trade, providing service to clients from as far as South Haven and Kalamazoo, he said.

Though the business changed ownership several times, Dohm continued to serve as Alpha Clean’s senior technician — until an ambition to become his own boss eventually took root.

“Last fall, I decided to scrounge up some extra funding and try to strike out on my own,” Dohm said.

Purchasing a new, low-moisture steam cleaner for residential jobs and a heavy-duty rotary cleaner for business work, Dohm has kept busy since launching out on his own as he retained many of his clients from his days with Alpha Clean, he said. While his work occasionally takes him far outside the area, a majority of his work takes place inside homes in Dowagiac, Sister Lakes, Diamond Lake and Niles.

The sole employee on the payroll, Dohm handles the two to three daily jobs on his own, lugging around his equipment, tools and accessories in a silver Ford van.

“Hard work doesn’t bother me,” he said. “I was born and raised on a dairy farm.”

While the amount of time each job takes varies with the size of job, the process of cleaning carpets is generally the same, Dohm said. He typically begins each job by vacuuming up loose debris before applying an agent to the carpet that deodorizes and breaks down dirt in the fabric. He then uses his machine to clean the debris that has risen to surface, he said.

“With the equipment and process I use, it typically only takes between 4 to 6 hours for the carpet to dry,” he said.

Perhaps it was fate that the entrepreneurial sprit overcame Dohm. He and his family — his wife, Teresa, and their daughters, Harmony and Lillianna — reside in the home of Dowagiac’s most famous businessman, Round Oak Stove Company Founder P.D. Beckwith. The couple even purchased and restored one of the company’s vintage stoves, which now serves as decoration inside their home.

Like many small businesses, Dohm said he faces stiff competition from larger, corporate cleaning companies. However, the businessman said his customers receive the personal care that only a fellow neighbor can provide.

“Lee would always say, “we pay more attention to the details,’” Dohm said. “We were more concerned with the quality of our work rather than the quality, and that is what I have tried to carry forward with my business.”

People may reach Dohm at (269) 357-7443 or by email at edccllc@yahoo.com.