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At D. A. Burns we’re proud of our commitment to being a good corporate citizen of our community.   Our service team puts forth a little extra effort and expense to conserve energy and reduce waste while assuring the most favorable outcome from our services.

For Health
Carpet and soft furniture coverings are actually very beneficial.  Soft furnishings don’t create dust; they keep it away from your lungs.  Our number one concern is that our cleaning contributes to a healthy indoor environment.   With our in-home cleaning services, we’re removing soil from your living space, using processes that leave the least residue possible.  While we have the knowledge and resources to employ a variety of cleaning methods, we most often prefer to use hot water extraction.  Although this requires the most expensive equipment and highest level of skill, it also removes the most soil while leaving behind the least residue.  We use cleaning products selected for the safety of our clients and technicians, and specify that no dyes, odors, bleaches or brighteners be added.  We’re providing clean, with no cover-ups.

Cleaning Green    
D. A. Burns has been “cleaning green” long before the term became popular.  We were the first company to work with a new locally-made product called Safe Clean, and once perfected it became our primary choice of cleaning products.  We properly dispose of the water we extract from cleaning and have been a leader in working with State and local agencies to encourage other businesses to do the same.  It would be easier for us to buy a “green certification” from one of the many organizations now in business to sell those certificates, but we’d rather do the work and not be guilty of “greenwashing” our customers.

Commitment to Continued Education and Training
We hold regular training sessions at our locations and via the internet.  We’ll also send our people to seminars anywhere in the country if needed to make certain we’re not working with outdated information.  Our people were instrumental in the writing of many industry guides and training programs, so we give back to the industry as well.

Our technicians hold multiple industry certifications from recognized training organizations and we are one of the few companies designated Wool Specialists by Wools of New Zealand (the best wool for carpet).

Support of Local Suppliers
In addition to supporting our local suppliers and reducing energy and waste from long-distance shipping, we get the advantage of being able to partner with local people we have come to know and trust.  In many cases we are requested to test new products and provide feedback to the manufacturers.  Often, we’re able to have products tailored for our use so we have the absolute best product for a given circumstance.  Our van-mounted cleaning systems, primary cleaning agents, cleaning tools and carpet dryers are all manufactured locally.  Our SPOT OFF carpet spot remover was developed years ago by Dave Burns, one of the founding sons of D. A. Burns and Sons.

Charitable Giving
We recognize that the communities we serve are responsible for our continued success and we welcome the opportunity to support not-for-profit organizations and activities that provide vital resources and services.

Recycling and Proper Waste Disposal
We’ve built waste water disposal stations at our Bellevue and Seattle locations to utilize the sanitary treatment system.  We reduce waste by returning shipping materials to our local suppliers.  We separate recyclables to recover paper and cardboard, plastic containers and film, glass and metals. We’re working with a new local recycling company to recycle carpet remnants generated from our custom carpet fabrication activity.  Even as we’ve grown, our recycling program reduced the amount of waste sent to landfills by 50%, and we’ve reduced that by another 25% just this year.

A Little Extra Effort to Save Energy
Our equipment is monitored to reduce running time.  We’ve installed timers and other automatic controls on electrical equipment, and motor vehicles are not left idling.  We route our vehicles to minimize driving time, which allows us to reduce fuel consumption.  Our delivery routes are even planned to take right turns instead of left turns to reduce the amount of idling needed when waiting for traffic to clear before crossing thoroughfares.  Besides being more environmentally friendly, the fuel cost savings allows us to continue to provide pick-up and delivery service to our clients without adding an extra fee.

A Leader In Our Industry
D. A. Burns is recognized as having the knowledge and diverse background to act as an unbiased resource for others.  We were a leader in working with a multi-agency task force to write new regulations for the handling of carpet cleaning waste water.  We are the only cleaning company to assist with writing the State of Washington’s Sustainable (green) Cleaning Program for public buildings.  Our cleaning plant attracts industry visitors from around the world who are eager to see our clean, efficient operation.

To learn what we’re going to be cleaning in the future, we are members of a number of professional organizations and a carpet manufacturer’s association.  We’re always happy to assist with your questions regarding the cleanability of a particular textile, as the most impressive looking item may also require the most care to maintain.

D. A. Burns was a founding member of the Carpet Cleaners Institute of the Northwest (CCINW) through which we freely share best practices with other firms in the northwest US and western Canada.  We are also a founding member of the Association of Rug Cleaning Specialists (ARCS), an international association of professional rug cleaning companies that also share their knowledge and experience.  Members of the D. A. Burns team have served as Officers and Directors on the Boards of regional and national organizations, and have had more than one Presidency in that mix.

All of this is just a part of providing service you can trust at a reasonable price.