As we all know and experience, Calgary winters are pretty darn cold!!! If there were such a thing as an opportune time to have a heating problem, now would not be it. Of course, we all know that there is never a good time to have a problem with your heater. That is why it is important for your family to take advantage of furnace maintenance agreements that include Furnace inspections and tune-ups.

Regular furnace tune-ups are very beneficial for a couple of reasons. To begin with, there are the significant cost savings. A well tuned furnace burns as much as 10% less gas than a furnace that is not well maintained. Also, a well-tuned furnace will be a longer lasting furnace, by five years or more, than a not so well-tuned furnace. An additional benefit to regular testing and tuning is that, at ClearView’s Calgary Heating and Air Conditioning anyway, you will get professional Carbon Monoxide testing that are ten times more sensitive than home testers. That is a benefit that goes beyond cost savings.

I hate it, but it’s happening again—the senseless, tragic deaths and injuries caused by carbon monoxide poisoning.  Recently a Campbell River, B.C. man died from fumes while fishing.  In Toronto, six people were rushed to the hospital after inhaling toxic fumes in their home.  And in Woodstock, Ont., a family of four—the Hawkins family—all died from carbon monoxide poisoning in their home.  There was a plugged exhaust-ventilation pipe for the gas fireplace located in their basement family room.

These stories affect us deeply here at ClearView Plumbing and Heating because we know how absolutely preventable such deaths are!  Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. David Recktor, who worked closely with police officer Laura Hawkins, the mother who died, said, “The irony is that one of her last messages on this Earth was to get a carbon monoxide protector… She was so dedicated to safety and would want people to take that message home. A carbon monoxide detector is every bit as important as a smoke detector.”

So let’s make sure Laura Hawkins’ message gets out!  If you don’t have carbon monoxide detectors, please, get them today!  Don’t procrastinate!  Just do it!  And please pass the word to friends and relatives.  And if you have any question about your heat ventilation, call ClearView Plumbing & Heating and we’ll come check it out for you.

At ClearView, our plumbers know and understand that there are a lot of reasons people will pick up the phone to call us. There are various plumbing emergencies, pipe smells, pressure problems, odd sounds, and every other thing you could possibly think of. Actually, the most common area to experience plumbing problems is at the fixture and seal points. Luckily, these common issues are usually very easy to detect and fix. As added good news, they are often not very expensive to repair, either. Other, bigger plumbing problems, however, can come from deep within the pipes. There can be sweating, knocking, leaking, freezing, stinking problems that simply require a professional. That is where we come in!

ClearView Calgary Plumbers fix the big issues and the little ones, regardless of how common or unique the situation is. Of course we always offer up front quotes and free consultations to ensure that you do not get any surprises on your bill as well. So give us a call, or leave a plumbing question in the comments section of this post and we will try to answer it in a future entries.

We get a lot of phone calls coming from frustrated home owners that are experiencing some very annoying and stinky problems. Many customers smell sulpher or rotten eggs, strong sewer like smells, or dank, kind of damp smells that come and go based on weather, humidity, or pressure changes. We also have lots of complaints about bad smells during a strong wind.

Different smells at different times can be caused by… you guessed it, different problems. The good news is that, while a gross stench may feel like a big problem, they are usually cured with very simple an inexpensive solutions. Depending on the source of the smell or problem, a permanent solution can be as easy as replacing a worn out pipe or finding a frozen or blocked vent. Other problems are caused by weak ventilation or altering some typical household habits.

If you are experiencing some problems with strange or offensive odours, or any other problems, give your ClearView Calgary Plumber a call today!

Well the Calgary Winter is definitely upon us and, if you are experiencing problems with freezing pipes, loud noises, knocking sounds, or other plumbing issues, you are not alone. In fact, if you have not experienced problems with frozen pipes yet, you have either properly prepared or you are extremely lucky (or both!).

Here are a few tips from your Calgary plumber here at ClearView Plumbing & Heating.

1. Secure all sources of drafts, including cracks, holes, windows, crawl spaces, attics, etc.
2. Cover exposed pipes with rubber, foam, fiberglass, etc.
3. Drain your pipes before going on holiday or vacation.
4. Call your ClearView professional for big projects or jobs

The professionals at ClearView are here to help you with your frozen pipe problems and other winter plumbing issues. We are also happy to offer free consultations and advice. Give us a call today and make sure to stay tuned for more tips and information.

Our last entry focused on the ClearView Charity of the Month program for December, which is the Christmas Hamper Program. The Christmas Hamper program is a great local charity that is dedicated to helping Calgary families in need; we are so excited to be supporting it. Our ClearView Charity of the month program for November is a little more global in its efforts. It is an organization called Samaritan’s Purse, and the program is Shoe Boxes Full of Love.

The purpose of the Samaritan’s Purse Shoe Boxes Full of Love program is to provide toys and comforts to children across the globe who are not as fortunate as the many children here in Calgary. Every year people from Canada and other parts of the world come together in their efforts to send children simple gifts and a lot of love. These little gifts of items such as crayons, dolls, or games do not require a lot of money but the hope and happiness that they provide is immeasurable.

All of the staff and friends at ClearView were proud to take part in such an inspiring charity; it really helped us to bring on the right kind of holiday spirit as we entered the season. If you would like to learn more about Samaritan’s purse, Canada, please visit www.samaritanspurse.ca.

Do you have a charitable organization that is near and dear to your heart, please visit the ClearView Plumbing & Heating website to tell us about it. Every month for the next 12 months, we will select a different charity to highlight on our website and blog. We will also donate $1000.00 to that charity.

A carbon monoxide alarm sounded at the Inglewood indoor swimming pool this weekend, resulting in the evacuation of nine people.

Of the nine people evacuated, each one had a blood test to test for Carbon Monoxide Poisoning. One swimmer was escorted to the hospital after tests indicated she had 21% carbon monoxide within her blood stream. Luckily, she was fine and later released.

Now for the very significant portion of news to take from this story, which I originally read in the Calgary Herald. The woman who was rushed to the hospital after displaying a reading of over 20% carbon monoxide (CO), showed absolutely NO outward signs of illness. If she had shown signs of CO poisoning, they would have closely resembled flu-like symptoms. This means that, if you or your family is suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning, you may not know it until it is fatal. I am not trying to scare anyone, but I have always believed strongly in families taking active measures against Carbon Monoxide.

The best prevention against Carbon Monoxide poisoning is to have a professional come to your home and perform an annual inspection and test. Give us a call if you believe your family could benefit from Carbon Monoxide testing in Calgary. Also, take a look at this past blog entry, Home Carbon Monoxide Detectors Are Not Enough to Provide 100% Protection.