INGLESIDE – People tend to value clean carpets while making clean upholstery an afterthought. Tammy Marchetta wants to change that perception.

"Nobody thinks about how everybody sits on the couch, and that's how everybody gets the flu," said Marchetta, the owner of the month-old business Tammy's Green Upholstery Cleaning.

A former advertising and marketing professional, Marchetta decided to bring green upholstery cleaning to Chicagoland – she's heard of no other similar businesses around – after reading about the process' increasing popularity on the coasts.