Fuller Brush, which traces its roots back to 1906, has a long legacy of products, but "we haven't kept up with all the things we should have been doing," he said.

The company's balance sheet is "pretty heavy," he said. And, as it moves forward, "nothing is sacred," Mr. Perkins said, including the door-to-door business on which the company was built.

Mr. Perkins said the company also has a successful commercial division and a custom-brush division that he called one of the best in the world.

The bankruptcy filing Tuesday followed a makeover the company unveiled last month, which included the introduction of new products and a new website. It had hailed 2012 as a "landmark year."

Parent company CPAC Inc., which acquired Fuller Brush in 1994, also sought Chapter 11 protection Tuesday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, listing assets and liabilities of between $10 million and $50 million each.

CPAC also owns two other Fuller brand cleaning-supply companies and seven domestic and international imaging-product companies, but CPAC and Fuller Brush were the only units to file for Chapter 11.

Fuller Brush said it has lined up bankruptcy financing and plans to operate normally while in Chapter 11 proceedings.

Before 2007, CPAC was a publicly traded on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Buckingham Capital Partners took the company private in April that year, paying $42.8 million and assuming $6.7 million of debt.

Fuller Brush was once owned by Sara Lee Corp., which purchased it in 1968.