Duane House, Owner/Operator

Hi. I’m Duane House, owner of CBM Oriental Rug Cleaning. Thanks for dropping by.

I thought you might like to know a little bit about the person and company who'll be caring for your rugs and carpets. 

I was born and raised in Billings MT and I’ve been in the cleaning business since I was a young kid. My family owned the city buses and the school buses and my job was to clean them inside and out, including the shop facilities! 

I graduated from the University of Denver with a B.S. in Business Administration. I began working in the family business as Operations Manager of the school bus operation managing 75 drivers. 

I later was hired as General Manager of Commercial Building Maintenance, a large janitorial contract cleaning company with accounts including large office buildings and two oil refineries. In 1976 I bought the business and in 1979 I started a separate division specializing in residential carpet and upholstery cleaning. 

I found that I enjoyed this part of the business so much that we eliminated janitorial work because I could then maintain the quality of service I wanted with a low turnover of employees.

NOTE:  This experience taught me that being a large company is not always a positive goal….. that sometimes being smaller is the best thing. I liked the positive aspect of being specialized.  It’s easier to control the quality of service we give our clients. And the pats on the back and gracious comments from our clients are pretty nice, too.

So we became a smaller company with a core of employees who are like family.  One of those employees is going on 30 years of service!

But wait! Our learning process was just beginning 

In 1995 we realized we were getting an increasing number of requests to clean Oriental and Persian rugs. We used all the carpet cleaning methods recommended by the carpet cleaning industry and were getting what we thought at the time were decent results. But something was missing. I knew there had to be a better way!

That’s when, after much research I decided to attend the world-renowned Auserehlian School of Oriental Rug Cleaning. It is rated as one of the top schools and systems in the world. I was amazed at how much better rugs looked after being cleaned by the Auserehlian system. They didn’t look like “cleaned” rugs, they looked like new! 

Needless to say, I bought the Auserehlian system and now my clients rave about how beautiful the rugs look and they tell all of their friends to come over and look! That kind of satisfaction and enthusiasm are what I had been looking for. There’s no better feeling for me than when I have happy, enthusiastic clients who are cheerleaders for us. That’s one of the benefits of being small! Did I mention we have the only Auserehlian cleaning system within at least 300 miles of Billings? So who do you want to clean your rugs?

Since starting in this business, I have spent a lot of time attending schools to learn all aspects of cleaning and restoration. I am certified by IICRC in almost all cleaning and restoration techniques and have attained both Master Cleaning Technician and Master Restoration Technician status. 

Certifications:

 Another thing I’m proud of is that my youngest daughter, Melissa, also works in the business. Melissa spent 5 years in the field cleaning carpets and upholstery. She is now the office manager. She handles phones answering questions, scheduling jobs and keeping the operation running smoothly.
Whatever you need, Melissa will help you. She's a genuine pleasure to talk with.

Now that you know a little bit about us, call us for a free inspection of your oriental rugs.

Call us anytime at 406-259-5903

CBM ORIENTAL RUG CLEANING,
 a division of CBM Carpet Cleaning

730 Grand Avenue
Billings, MT
59101
406-259-5903

Email: DuaneHouse@CBMOrientalRugCleaning.com