Although there has been a significant decrease over the years in deaths due to accidents in the home, approximately 400 to 500 people will still die senselessly and without notice due to the dangers of carbon monoxide poisoning. This number is garnered from the thousands of people who were hospitalized due to the effects of accidental CO poisoning, with Fall being the time of year that provides the greatest risk.

Fall is by far the most dangerous time of year for carbon monoxide issues in your home. People are feeling the winter chill seeping into their homes, and as such as starting up furnaces, wood stoves, portable heaters, and boilers for the first time since Spring. Although they start up quickly and appear to be safe and working well, carbon monoxide could be seeping into your home. It’s lethal, because you cannot see it, smell it, or hear it escaping into the air around you. For the little people in your family, including unborn babies, CO is extremely dangerous.

Your furnace or boiler can place you at risk

How new is your furnace? Older heating equipment was based on a system of natural draft. Warm air rises to vent CO efficiently to the outdoors, thus removing the threat of CO in your home environment. Issues would occur when leaks were present. Perhaps your vent pipe was shaken loose, or your pipes experienced metal fatigue from constantly being heated up and therefore caused large cracks. Gases condensing under your chimney can cause leaks, and also corrode metal.

Signs of wear you can see

Taking a look at your furnace vent or chimney, check for rust or water streaks, panels that appear to be missing, or debris scattered around your furnace. Also be sure to look for disconnected pipes, loose hardware that is on your chimney or furnace vent, and moisture inside your interior windows. If you have any doubts at all, it’s always the best course of action to get a professional to perform an inspection immediately.

Hidden dangers from wear and tear you CAN’T see

The most dangerous part of a faulty furnace is that you cannot view internal damage. Even the most handy homeowner can’t establish whether there is hidden, internal damage to the inside parts of your furnace, your vents or blockage in your chimney. It is vitally important to your health and family safety to have a professional check your furnace at the beginning of your yearly heating cycle to ensure it’s proper functioning. Generally the check on your furnace is thought of as ongoing maintenance, including: Tuning the burners, adjusting the flow of the blowers, cleaning the pilot light, checking for adequate gas pressure, setting the dampers, replacing and cleaning your filter, and many other small heating system checks that ensure that your furnace runs properly.

The definition of Backdraft

You may not realize it, but your home has the ability to depressurize. Backdraft occurs when the pressure in your house becomes lower than the pressure of the atmosphere outside of your home. In cases of depressurization, flue gases can cause backdraft. If you sit in front of your fireplace and feel a draft coming in, your home may be depressurized.

If you have a new furnace and appliances, your home will be more efficient and will not release waste heat to the degree that older furnaces do. As the heat waste is not substantial enough to create a natural draft to release combustible gases, these furnaces have power vents and sealed systems. Extra fans are used to remove the gases, and the chance of backdrafting CO spillage is much less with these new furnaces.

Newer, modern gas furnaces and appliances are more efficient and thus release less waste heat. Because the heat is insufficient to create a natural draft to push out the combustion by-products, the furnaces and boilers have power vents and sealed combustion systems. They draw their combustion air from outside the home and use an extra fan to exhaust the combustion gases. The chance of a carbon monoxide leaks from backdrafting is dramatically less with these furnaces.

Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Symptoms

If you have an acute headache, vertigo, signs of confusion, upset stomach, or faintness, you may have carbon monoxide poisoning. Carbon Monoxide is dangerous because once you begin to feel the symptoms; death is a very real possibility. Symptoms also occur with minimal exposure, including inability to catch your breath, slight nausea, and minor headache.

Be aware that the symptoms of CO poisoning are similar to the flu, and you can mistake these symptoms for a normal illness. Watch for when you exhibit symptoms, such as when you leave home or return home. Feeling ill in your home is a clear sign of CO poisoning. As well, if others are feeling in the same way as you, this is a very good indicator that your symptoms are due to your environment.

Don’t wait to act on your symptoms

If you feel as though you have been exposed to CO, open all doors and windows in your home and turn off any appliances that might be combustible. Leave your home and go to the nearest hospital, telling the physicians that you suspect carbon monoxide exposure. The emergency staff may perform a blood test to confirm CO poisoning.

Carbon Monoxide Detectors

You should always have carbon monoxide detectors installed, and although they are good back up plan, you should always have your furnace checked regularly. Check out our Calgary furnace rebates for energy upgrades while you are at it.

It’s vital when purchasing a new heating system or air conditioning system for your home that you are confident in the contractor you choose. The contractor is essential because these heating and cooling systems are field engineered and put together by the contractor.

Purchasing heating for your home is not like purchasing an appliance in that it’s not as simple as plug in and go. These systems are custom designed for your house specifically, and the contractor is in charge of putting together your system, selecting the components, and installing it in your home. Until it’s actually assembled and installed, the heating and air systems for your home are simply a pile of pieces.

If cars were put together like heating systems are

Imagine putting a car together in the same way that you would an air conditioner. The dealer would go through a list of manufacturers looking for parts like engines, drive trains, and spark plugs. That same dealer would be the one putting the entire car together, and he would be ultimately responsible for being sure that everything worked together.

The dealer would also end up putting together some of their own parts, perhaps creating their own parts from metal pieces.

The Quality of the product would show through

Although the automobile dealer would state that they offer genuine engines, the quality of this put together car would be miles off from what the consumer is normally used to. Certain car dealers would insist on quality product and provide a well-put together car. Some might try to cut corners for a better price. The quality would vary widely from each dealer.

What you see is not always what you get

Consider this: You are buying a car and you ask for a SUV. Unbeknownst to you, the dealer only knows how to deliver a small economy car. You believe you are buying an SUV, but you aren’t getting what you asked for. Unless you really know your vehicles, you may never know that you are only getting the economy version of what you asked for.

The car would be garage assembled

When your car is delivered to you home, it would be in hundreds of pieces that would require assembly in your driveway. If the dealer isn’t an expert in putting the car together, you may end up with as subpar product.

You’re investing a lot of money in something where the bottom line comes down to the skill of the assemblers. It’s scary, but just a couple of dollars per hour can make the difference between an expert and a hack.

Warranties Depend on the Dealer

If the only regulations for a dealer is licensing and complying with codes, these conditions are easily met for almost any business. These businesses would open and close overnight, with one out of five closing every year and leaving the customer without a warranty. Although the parts may be under warranty with the individual manufacturers, the labor is entirely dependent on the dealer.

It is the dealer that matters most

If you bought your car in the same way you bought your heating or air conditioner, you would be sure to select a reputable HVAC dealer and accept his warranty and recommendation for the entire car, just like your heating contractor.

You may experience these symptoms:

From: Jain, K.K. (1990) Carbon Monoxide Poisoning, Warren H. Green, Inc., St. Louis, MO

Symptoms that may indicate you have Chronic Carbon Monoxide poisoning are fatigue, lack of energy, limited drive to perform usual activities, diagnosed clinical depression, or hormone specific disorders. Symptoms develop over time, and often are only diagnosed after a lengthy exposure to CO. Often, the discovery of CO poisoning is made by accident, as it’s not always measurable in the blood or the air.

Often we are asked for referrals for current customers who have relatives or friends in other cities that are looking for a quality plumber. If you know of someone who requires a plumber, here are eight easy questions that they should ask when seeking a quality-plumbing professional:

• Does the company you work for have a plumbing license?
  The minimum requirement to operate a plumbing company is a city or provincial license. Licensing is required to protect you, the public. If you hire an unlicensed plumber, they are not accountable to regulators and won’t be available if things go wrong.
• Does the company have insurance?Insurance protects you. Most companies will have general liability insurance, but not all do. Make the basic assumption that, if they do not advertise that they have insurance, they most likely do not.
• Is there a posted website? Websites are now, more than ever, a sign of legitimacy. Most, if not all, plumbing companies have a web presence today.
• How long has the company been in business and have they operated under only one name?
  With one in five plumbing companies closing every year, the best way to predict whether the plumber will be around to honor his warranty is if they have been in business for a long period of time under the same name. Most companies state how long their business has been open. Be wary of companies that close due to a poor reputation and reopen with a new name.
• Does The Company Have a brick and mortar address?Most plumbers who are uninsured and are fly-by-night often do not have a storefront. If they are a long term company, they will have their own offices.
• What is a Standard Guarantee? Guarantees are essential in trades such as plumbing, and the better the guarantee, the better your peace of mind.
• Were you provided with a full quote before work began? You should be looking for a company that offers a fixed quote, despite how long the work may take. Be wary of others who charge by the hour or give open-end quotes. The work could cost a lot more if the plumber takes longer than he stated.
• Is there a company vehicle and is it well maintained? If your plumber shows up in a ratty old van, it might be an indicator of how he will provide service. By far the most important thing you can get from your plumber is honesty, fair pricing, and high quality from a company that gives you a basis of trust. If you have any questions about this, give us a call. We’d be happy to help and discuss the latest Calgary cash incentives and government for plumbing and heating upgrades!

Recently an electrician told me that one of his associates took a side job, working in someone’s home. He had to get up to an area where he could reach some wiring, and asked to borrow the customer’s ladder. As he was working, the ladder snapped, and he fell to the ground. Now, the owner’s facing a “pain and suffering” lawsuit. The homeowner tried to get someone to do a simple job, and how they’re facing a major financial setback.

If They’re “Cheap” – Then Chances Are, They Aren’t Fully Insured

Once in a while we find out about someone who, looking to save a few dollars, hires a cheap technician. If a technician has unusually low prices, it almost ALWAYS means that the tech is cutting corners on something that you need: maybe they haven’t been certified, so they don’t do work to code. Maybe they’re simply not skilled enough to get enough work. These are all major concerns – but most homeowners don’t stop to think about what could happen if the technician slips and falls on their property.

NEVER Risk Financial Disaster By Using A Non-Insured Technician.

People can get hurt in crazy ways – like tripping over a rug, falling on children’s toys, or even because of their own mistakes. Always, always, ALWAYS take a few minutes to ask for verification that the service you plan on hiring is fully insured – and don’t risk hiring someone on the side who doesn’t bother with insurance. Otherwise, you could end up footing the bill for their accident – including pain and suffering! Better cross your fingers and hope they don’t slip and fall!

At ClearView, we carry full insurance policies to PROTECT OUR CUSTOMERS from the risk of these kinds of accidents.

We carry Liability Insurance “just in case” – which protects you should we ever damage your property. If we didn’t have liability, you’d get stuck with the bill.

If they don’t have worker’s compensation insurance and a technician is injured on your property then you may be liable for their injury. We also carry Worker’s Comp Insurance which protects homeowners if the technician is injured or disabled while working on your property.

Having issues with your plumbing is stressful. Even more stressful is the realization that you have to pay someone to repair your appliance or fixture or simply find the money for a complete replacement. In our economy, you have to pitch your pennies anywhere you can. But ask yourself this: it really saving you money when you perform your own plumbing repairs? For most people, the answer is going to be no, because they simply have no idea how to perform the job properly.

Fixing your dishwasher (or how to spend a Saturday flooding your kitchen)

For the trained professional, it’s a simple task to replace your dishwasher. For a homeowner it may be daunting, and mistake upon mistake is made until his or her kitchen is flooded and someone needs to make the call to a trained professional.

A trained plumber can quickly install your new dishwasher, but it will take a lot of extra work and weeks of your time to replace the parts of your home damaged due to flooding caused by you trying to do it yourself. Ultimately, you don’t save money and actually end up spending more out of pocket to replace and restore the issues created by your attempt at doing it yourself.

Keeping your toilet in tip-top shape

If you are interested in saving water and want to upgrade your current toilets to low-flush styles, you might think it is easy to install a few new toilets in your home. Unfortunately, watching a few home renovation programs on fixing your toilets does not properly prepare you for the realities of such an undertaking.

Simple mistakes can be made when installing a new toilet, including improper water shut off/on that, although a simple fix, may confuse the homeowner and result in a call to a professional. The bottom line is that you could have a bathroom that is out of commission for a period of time while you figure out what went wrong. Instead of trying to fix it yourself, calling in a professional can really save you inconvenience.

Why do it yourself?

If your car breaks down, you call a mechanic. If your child is sick, you take them to a doctor. When dealing with plumbing, you might think you are saving money by doing it yourself, but the hassle you can feel during and after the ‘repair’ are never worth the minimal amount of money saved.

Call 403-216-8439 for all plumbing repairs. Save yourself the hassle of spending hours on your plumbing by calling the professionals.

Out of all of the appliances in your home, your furnace works the hardest. During the cold winter months, your furnace can turn off and on nearly 9000 times. Because of how much you rely on your furnace and how hard it works, it absolutely needs a safety check on an annual basis.

Carbon Monoxide testing is not something to be taken lightly. Findings from the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which recently analyzed CO poisonings from 1992 to 1996, found that the furnace issues made up almost 74% of poisonings that were attributed to appliances and other products.

Low levels of CO, such as those below 10%, are barely noticeable in your home. You won’t have symptoms, and you won’t be able to detect any scent in the air. However, just because you don’t feel sick does not mean that the CO is harmless. Hospital research has shown that extended exposure to continual low levels of carbon monoxide has been linked to brain damage.

The subjects showed symptoms such as changes in behavior and inability to remember short term thoughts. Unfortunately the study had no reference point for how long the subjects were exposed for brain damage to occur, as they were unaware of when they were first exposed to CO.

When you reach a CO level of above 10%, the person exposed will have flu-like symptoms tiredness, fatigue, difficulty breathing, headache and coughing. A good measure of whether or not it’s the flu is finding that your pet exhibits symptoms, as there is no way for your pet to get the flu. Any CO level above 20% is considered lethal, so it is imperative that you get your heating system checked on a regular basis.

When dealing with a furnace, you don’t want to take any chances. Ease your mind by hiring experts who will clean and check your natural gas furnace.

We only use fully certified Service Technicians who are continually upgrading their training and are qualified to work on your natural gas equipment.

Whether you have questions about your filter or your heating system in it’s entirety, your Service Technician will be able to answer you during your service call.

Your satisfaction is guaranteed by CLEARVIEW PLUMBING & HEATING.

Your questions on insulation answered

Do you ever wonder why insulation is important in your home? Without insulation, there is no continuous thermal barrier that diminishes the heat flow through your home. It’s important to have the proper kind of insulation, as well as the correct type, placed within your floor, walls, and ceilings.

With the correct insulation, you have fewer bills for heat in the winter and cool air in the summer, and your home is snug when it needs to be and cool when it’s hot outside. Insulation needs to be installed properly and be the correct type to avoid the pitfalls of spaces and holes allowing unwanted air to blow into your home.

Homeowners should be educated about R-value. An R-value measures the capability of the insulation to ward off the elements that attempt to move through it. If your insulation has a high R-value, it is less likely to allow hot air into your home.

In terms of air conditioning, blown-in insulation needs to be placed above your bedrooms so that the heat of the day does not make your sleeping quarters unbearable at night.

Effective Air Purifiers

If you do your research, you will see that as homes become more insulated, the protective barriers can work against you; keeping pollutants inside your home and not letting them escape.

Air contaminants aren’t just for those with pets or smokers; the air in your house is loaded with dust, spores, bacteria, and pollen.

You may think that the filter in your furnace works to trap these contaminants for you, but the reality is that your furnances filter only traps a small amount of the bad air in your home. If you are a person who suffers from allergies or asthma, you know that even a small amount of irritation can go a long way to making you uncomfortable.

The best air purifier for your money is the The Aprilaire® Media Air Cleaner air filtration system. It’s quiet, easy to use, and inexpensive.

Deadly airborne microorganisms are here to stay

As our heating and cooling systems have changed for the better, our homes, places of business, and educational institutions have become a haven for germs that exist solely indoors.

The answer to really attacking the germs in your area and prevent them from spreading is Ultraviolet “C”. Installed in your ducts, it sterilizes your indoor air and kills the germs before they spread.

Not only does UVC kill all of the germs it comes into contact with, you also save on duct cleaning and have an overall cleaner home environment because it keeps your heating and cooling systems free from algae, mold, and slime.

The Dryness Cure

There is nothing worse than dry air in the winter. You skin can feel dry and itchy due to the humidity that is stripped from outside air that is heated in your home. The dryness affects not only the people in the home, but your furnishings and the basic structure of your house as well.

To get back some moisture in the air, humidity is added in a vapor form to the dry air and pumped back through the home. To gain a better balance of moisture in your home, Aprilaire introduced the world’s only automatic humidifier. It produces up to 50% more moisture in your air, and with the Auto-Trac system you don’t have to spend time adjusting the humidistat. Aprilaire simply monitors the current temperatures and regulates the humidity inside the home accordingly. Easy to maintain, the free-flow design means you don’t have to spend hours checking levels or cleaning. Find a setting that makes you comfortable and let Aprilaire do the work.

The daunting task of buying a gas furnace

Finding the right type of furnace for your home is a big undertaking. The wrong choice can cause you years of discomfort.

Begin by finding the name and make of your previous furnace and do a breakdown of what you loved and disliked about it. If you disliked your furnace, ask yourself why? If your bills mounted higher and higher in the winter, you will probably be seeking a more cost efficient way to heat your home. As well, if you continually froze in the winter, you might be seeking a furnace with a higher capacity to produce heat.

A decent furnace is a great investment for your home. Not only will they provide you with the comfort and savings you are seeking, but a high-end furnace is also a good selling point for you if you plan on moving from your home. You will get to enjoy your heating system now, and be assured that you will be upping the equity in your home for the next family that will live there.

When shopping for your new furnace, ask your sales person about the Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency rating or AFUE. The efficiency of your furnace will be vital to your bottom line, and you can find a number of extremely efficient gas furnaces at ABC. You can choose a two-stage or variable speed, and be sure that with either option your comfort is guaranteed.

If you choose a furnace with varying speed options, know that you will have a significant increase in power in relation to a standard furnace. You will be more comfortable in your home knowing that these variable speed furnaces are also less expensive to run, by almost 80%!

The Two-stage furnace blows at full capacity when the outside temperature is at it’s coldest. When the temps warm up, it operates at a reduced capacity to save you money. Simply by automating the consistency of heat, the two-stage furnace improves air filtration and air quality in your home.

There is real tragedy in hearing of a family dying due to Carbon Monoxide poisoning, if only for the simple fact that it is completely preventable. As the winter season sets in and we crank up our furnace, the reports of Carbon Monoxide poisonings begin to trickle in.

How do you know you are suffering from CO poisoning? Flu like symptoms mimic CO exposure, including nausea, headaches, dizziness, and being unable to properly breath. If you leave your home or get fresh air, your symptoms will disappear. A group or family within a home that share the same symptoms should immediately have their house checked for CO.

Bear in mind that infants, children, and the aged population have a lower tolerance for CO. Women who are pregnant should be on the lookout for symptoms as well, because the risk to their fetus from CO exposure is great.

Once you suspect that you have been exposed to CO, go outside and get fresh air immediately. Open all doors and windows in your home, turn off all appliances, and do not return to the building.

A hospital or medical clinic will help you assess your level of CO by confirming it with a blood test. Be sure to visit the hospital if you are concerned you have been exposed.

With modern times come modern conveniences. We all rely on our flat screen televisions, digital cable television, high-speed Internet access, and cell phones with data plans. With the convenience comes a cost: Large cell phone towers and huge power plants.

We need to have power to fuel technology as it evolves, and we rely on that power to get us through our day-to-day lives. However, most people aren’t thrilled with the idea of having power lines everywhere or a huge power planet near by. The popular term “NIMBY” stands for “Not in My Back Yard” and it applies to technology more than anything else.

Massive power outages across North America affect each part of the grid interchangeably. We can feel power outages as far away as Toronto when we are in Calgary or Vancouver. As our desire for technology grows, we can no longer tolerate a culture where NIMBY is part of the mentality.

The first step is to inform our elected officials that we are in favor of environmentally sound power systems, including nuclear, water, or clean coal equipment. Secondly, we can also take responsibility for our own actions and reduce our individual energy use. Steps such as tuning your furnace, adding humidity to your home in the winter, or upgrading your heating and cooling system to the newest and most efficient style are all things you can do today to ensure a healthier and more power friendly future.

Call me at 403 216-8439