Almost every day at ClearView Plumbing we hear a story about the “nightmare repair job.”  Maybe you had to wait all day and they never showed up.  Maybe they got started on your repair, then disappeared in the middle of the job and didn’t come back for days.  Or maybe they finished the job—but it was done wrong.  And it took weeks to get them to come back and correct it!

That’s why it’s important to look for a company that works with trained, licensed professionals, not someone who does this kind of work on the side.  Sure, you may save a little money working with a “sideliner.”  But you may also pay for it later, because the “sideliner” probably won’t have state-of-the-art training, knowledge or equipment that the professional has.

At ClearView Plumbing & Heating, our goal is to turn your “nightmare” plumbing or heating problem into a “dream repair.”  Here are 10 ways that we protect you against a nightmare experience.

1. Accountable. Our technicians are employees of ClearView Plumbing (not subcontractors).  So they are more accountable, more reliable.
2. Professional. Our employees are certified, licensed, and continuously trained in their fields of expertise.
3. Background-checked. Our plumbing employees are drug-tested and have been background-checked.
4. Experienced. ClearView Plumbing has been doing business in the greater Calgary area for over a decade. We have thousands of satisfied customers. You can read some of our customer testimonials online.
5. Well-connected. ClearView Plumbing has an excellent credit rating and a good professional relationship with vendors.
6. Insured. We are licensed in Alberta and fully insured.
7. Strong Warrantees.  We offer some of the strongest warrantees in the industry.
8. Major Brands. We supply, install and repair all major manufacturer’s equipment, and we are factory trained.
9. Upfront Pricing. We put work orders in writing and gives firm upfront quotes and price guarantees.
10. Up to Code. ClearView Plumbing will meet or exceed all manufacturer and local building code requirements and coordinate all permits applicable to the installation.

Here are some simple things you can do to keep your heating system running smoothly—to save money on fuel, to prevent problems and repairs, to keep your home more healthy and comfortable, and to add years to the life of your heating equipment (these are not necessarily in order of importance).

1. FREQUENT FILTERS. Check your furnace filters every month or two during the heating season, and if need be, replace them. Your service technician can show you how to do this if you don’t know.
2. STAY BALANCED. If you have hot and cold spots in your home, or if one area of your home is getting more heat than it needs, your heating system probably needs to be balanced. A heating technician can do this for you.
3. CRACKING DUCTS? Once a year, inspect your heating ducts to look for cracks or places where hot air could leak out. You can repair these with quality duct tape.
4. THE INSULATION EQUATION. Heating ducts and water or steam pipes that pass through unheated areas, such as attics, crawl spaces and basements, should be covered with duct insulation or unfaced R-11 insulating batts or blankets. This adds up to energy saved for you.
5. BE A DUST BUSTER. If you have radiators, convectors, or baseboard heating units, vacuum them regularly   Dust acts as insulation and wastes heat.
6. DUST-FREE FANS. Also, once a year you should clean the fan blades on your blower motor and keep the area around the furnace free of dust, lint and litter.
7. DON’T BLOCK THE FLOW. Don’t block air inlets and outlets, including radiators, with furniture, drapes or clothing.
8. STAY IN TUNE. Manufacturers recommend that you get your gas heating system cleaned and tuned at least once every two years.

I think we all understand the value of regular maintenance when it comes to our cars.  Sure, you could save some bucks by skipping the maintenance on your new car—and you might be okay for a while.  But eventually it will cost you. Regular maintenance is an investment in the life of your automobile.

Likewise, regular maintenance is one of the best investments you can make in your heating system.  Manufacturers recommend that you have your gas heating system completely cleaned and tuned at least once every two years. And there are several reasons why.

First, regular maintenance keeps your heating system running smoothly and more efficiently, and that can reduce your fuel bill by as much as 10% to 30%.

Second, regular maintenance will help to prevent breakdowns and costly repairs. Your heating technician can spot small problems and fix them before they become larger, more expensive problems.

Third, regular maintenance helps to protect your family from the possibility of deadly carbon monoxide leaks.

Fourth, regular maintenance may be required to keep your warranty in effect. If so, then failing to maintain your heating system could void the warranty.

And fifth, regular maintenance will certainly help extend the life of your heating equipment. And when you consider the cost of replacing such equipment, this is a very big benefit.

So here’s a hot investment tip: don’t neglect the maintenance of your heating system. And if you think your system might need a tune-up, here’s another tip: just call ClearView.

The other day we got a call from a homeowner who said, “My burner is going on and off, on and off, and yet I’m not getting enough heat. What’s going on?”

Let me tell you what I told him. While it’s true that gas systems tend to have short cycles between Off and On, if the cycles seem shorter than usual and you are not getting enough heat, this may be the symptom of a problem.

For example, dirty filters may be blocking the air flow, causing the short cycles and lack of heat.  You can examine your filters, and if they are very dirty, you can try replacing them. This may fix the problem.

Or it could be that a fan belt is loose so that the fan does not turn fast enough to remove heat from the furnace; as a result the furnace overheats and shuts off. Then, when the furnace cools down, the burner comes on again for a short period until it overheats again. Your home won’t heat up enough between cycles. If this is problem, then the fan belt will need to be replaced.

(By the way, if you’re not getting any heat but you can hear the fan motor running, it could be that you have a worn or broken fan motor belt. Replacements for your fan belt should be available at your local hardware store and you can replace this yourself, or call ClearView plumbing and heating company to do it for you.)

If changing the filter and the fan belt doesn’t fix the problem, just call ClearView plumbing and heating and we can check your heating system out.

Okay, so your heat is off and you’ve checked everything. You still have enough fuel. The thermostat is turned up. The pilot light is on (if you have one). The furnace switch is on.  And you’ve even tried turning this switch off for a few minutes and then back on. And still there’s no heat.

Before you panic or call your plumbing and heating company, first check to see if the circuit breaker connected to your heating system has tripped. This happens from time to time.

First, turn your furnace switch off (using that red switch at the head of the stairs going down to your basement, or using the power switch on the side of your furnace). Then go to your electrical box, locate the fuse or circuit breaker for your heating system (hopefully it’s labeled). Is the fuse or circuit breaker “tripped” (half-way between On and Off)? If so, this is your problem. Turn it to Off, then wait a couple of seconds and turn it all the way to On. It should stay on. Then, when you turn your furnace switch back on, you should hear the furnace come on. You’ve just found your lucky breaker!

But what if the circuit breaker doesn’t stay on when you turn it on? This means there is either a short in the electrical circuit to the gas burner, or it means you have a faulty circuit breaker. To correct this, you can replace the circuit breaker yourself, if you want to—and it’s not hard to do. First, turn the circuit breaker off. Then remove the circuit breaker, take it to your local hardware store and get a replacement. Then install the new circuit breaker and switch it to on. If your heating system comes on, you know the circuit breaker was the problem. If you’re not comfortable replacing the circuit breaker  yourself, you’ll need to call an electrician.

And if, after your replace the circuit breaker, the heating system still doesn’t come on, just call ClearView.

Have you noticed how we sometimes overlook the most obvious solutions to household problems?  The other day a friend told me he had spent about an hour trying to figure out what was wrong with his stereo, only to finally discover that someone had accidentally unplugged it!

The same can be true with your home heating system. When the heat goes out on a cold day, it’s often easy to overlook the simplest, most obvious solutions.

For example, if you have no heat, you might first check your thermostat and make sure it hasn’t somehow gotten turned down below room temperature. It happens! If this is the case, simply turn the thermostat up higher than the room temperature and see if your heating system kicks on. Also, if you have a programmable thermostat, check the batteries to see if they are low or dead.

Or you can check to see if the power switch–that red switch at the head of your stairs going down to the basement–has somehow gotten turned off. Sometimes, someone will accidentally brush against this switch and turn it off without realizing what they have done. If this has happened, simply turn the switch on, and you should hear the heating system come on.

If the problem is more serious, you can call ClearView Plumbing & Heating for help.  But first, check to see if there is a simple, obvious solution.

Computers can be frustrating, but I do like the “reboot” feature.  (No, I’m not talking about kicking the computer—though I’ve thought about it once or twice!). I just like the fact that many computer glitches can be solved by the simple action of turning the computer off, then on again.

But did you know that you can reboot your gas heating system too?  Well, some of your can. Many of today’s gas heating systems use electric ignition components that can sometimes lock up like a computer.  So if your gas heating system stops, you may just need a reboot!

Here’s how it works. If your gas heating system stops, try turning the power switches off. Locate the switch on the side of the furnace, and also the red switch at the head of the stairs going down to your basement. Turn both switches off and leave them off for a few minutes. Then turn them back on and see if the burner starts up again to heat up the system.

Rebooting your heating system is simple. And it could save you the kind of frustration that makes you want to kick the furnace!

We know that windy days are rough for airplane pilots. But did you know that they can also play havoc with the pilot light in your gas heating system?

It’s true. If your heat goes off on a cold, windy day, and your gas heating system has a pilot light, you should probably first check to see if the pilot light is still lit. There’s a good reason for this: on a very windy day the pilot light can be blown out through a down draft. If this has happened, simply follow the directions for relighting the pilot that are printed on the instruction plate on your furnace.

By the way, you should know that the pilot light could also go out if there is a temporary interruption to the gas supply.

But suppose, when you relight your pilot, it doesn’t stay lit. What then? It could be that your thermocouple is defective. (The thermocouple is a small fitting that the pilot flame touches and heats up.) You can call ClearView Plumbing and Heating to replace this, or you can remove the thermocouple yourself and take it to a hardware store to purchase an identical thermocouple. Once you’ve installed the new thermocouple, follow the directions for relighting the pilot light.

Or it could be that the pilot flame might be too small to heat the thermocouple tip, in which case you would need to remove the pilot and clean it, or call ClearView plumbing and heating to do this for you.