October 1999
Newsletter
- What's new! ...plus
September's $100 winner!
- October's $$ Saving
Tip - No magnets near computer
- Bathroom & Kitchen
Fans - Learn from my mistakes
- Carbon Monoxide
- How to protect yourself
- Our Sponsors
- The Monthly Funny!
1. What's new!
*We have picked a winner for our
free draw in September!
Congratulations to Paul Hodges of Calgary! Paul stopped by our booth
at the home show and ended up being our winner!
- We look forward to meeting more
of you at our booth at the Calgary Woman's Show Oct. 23 &
24th at the Roundup Center, Stampede Park! Please stop by and
say hello! You can fill out an entry form there for a chance
to win our October draw!
2. October's
$$ Saving Tip - No magnets near computer
Even though I work on my computer
all day, I had no idea that a magnet placed on your computer
could do so much damage! One of our customers at the home
show mentioned to me that magnets can ruin your hard drive!
So for all of you who picked up one of our fridge magnets, put
them on your filling cabinet or your fridge and save yourself
a lot of money and hassle!
3. Bathroom
& Kitchen Fans - Learn from my mistakes
Now that the weather is getting
colder, it is important to make sure that your bathroom and
kitchen fans vent exhaust outside the attic and not inside it.
You should be able to see the outlet vent sticking through the
roof or under the soffit (roof overhang). If the fans vent into
the attic area in cold weather, the moisture in the air can
condense and drip down on to the insulation. This makes the
insulation ineffective. Even if you see the vent outlets, it
is still a good idea to go up into your attic to make sure the
vents are connected. Also check any joints in the ducts
to make sure that they are not leaking. (A similar situation
happened to me about 2 years ago. It is actually what
prompted me to start Home-Work so this sort of thing would be
less likely to happen to other people.)
The electrician who told me he would use the best bathroom fan
and best hosing possible and vent it out through the roof, actually
used the cheapest hosing possible and shoved the hose into the
eave. The condensation caused the paint on the exterior
of our
home to peel off in huge chunks! When I called him to ask him
to come fix it (and I was very civil on the phone) he just hung
up on me!
4. Carbon
Monoxide - How to protect yourself
You may have heard the tragic
story of the mother of two who died in her own home from
carbon monoxide poisoning last year. She was unaware that her
son had started their vehicle in the garage while playing with
the car starter. Please protect yourself and be
aware of what you can do....
Carbon monoxide is an odorless
gas produced by combustion sources like gas appliances,
fireplaces and automobiles that is difficult to detect. Brief
exposure to the gas causes symptoms such as sore throat, headaches
and drowsiness. Prolonged exposure can cause death.
A health risk is posed (especially
in well-sealed homes) from backdrafting,which is a condition
resulting from more air leaving the house than is being replenished.
For example, a home's dryer and exhaust fans might force air
out, creating a vacuum, but if there's no fresh air coming in,
then dangerous carbon monoxide gas in the furnace exhaust could
be sucked back into the house instead of
pushed out through its vent.
- A way to prevent backdrafting
gases is to install sealed combustion gas furnace and appliances.
These self-contained units have a sealed air intake and a
sealed exhaust that don't mix with indoor air. A backdraft
in the house can't suck the carbon monoxide and other exhaust
gases from this type of system.
- Carbon monoxide testers can
be hardwired or self-contained like smoke detectors. Similarly,
some carbon monoxide detectors can sound an alarm when the
gas is present. Some ventilation systems have a control sensor
that detects carbon monoxide and triggers an air exchange.
Another patch-like detector turns a different color when gas
is present. Carbon monoxide detectors should be installed
in the home near combustion appliances like the furnace, fireplace,
and near the attached garage door.
5. Our Sponsors
Once again I would like to thank
all of our sponsors for helping us to get the word out about
our free service.
Please find out more about our sponsors by visiting our web
page.
- Remax House of Real Estate
- Keaco Services
- Phantom Screens
- The Blind Doctor
- Blinds 2000
- High Security Lock Co.
- Pillar to Post Home Inspection - Realty
World Tempo
- Richardson Rug & Upholstery
- Handles & More
New this month:
Window Works - Do you need your
home or business spruced up for the winter? We offer professional
cleaning of: windows, chandeliers, ceiling fans, carpet and
upholstery and ultrasonic blind cleaning. One call takes care
of it all....239-1176. (When you call, please let them
know you found them through Home-Work!)
6. The Monthly
Funny :-) Deadly Lunch
There were three construction
workers, one was Mexican, one was English,and the other
was Polish. They were on the high scaffolding of the building
they were building, and they were eating lunch. The Mexican
looked in his lunch, and said, "A taco! If I get a
taco one more time I'm going to jump off this building!"
The English guy looked in his lunch, and said, "Crumpets!
If I get crumpets one more time I'm going to jump off this
building!" Then the Polish guy looked in his lunch and
said, "Polish sausage! If I get this sausage one
more time I'm going to jump off of this building!"
The next day they all got the same lunch, and they all jumped
off the building, and died. At the funeral the Mexican's
wife said, "If he would have told me he didn't want tacos
I would have made him something different." Then
the English guy's wife said, "If he would have told me
he didn't want crumpets I would have made him something
else." Then the Polish guy's wife said, "I don't
understand, he made his own lunch."
(Please don't take offense to any
of my jokes, I don't mean to be
discriminatory- it's just hard to find a "contractor"
joke!)
