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Greetings! |
 | | Our Newest Team Members Jordan Leichtweis & Dustin Luurtsema |
I would like to introduce two new additions to the G.H. Clark family. The first is my brother-in-law Jordan Leichtweis. Jordan will be in the front office handling job scheduling and running estimates. Dustin Luurtsema will be in charge of all roofing and siding jobs. We are happy to have both of you!
We trust that your summer is off to a great start. In this month's newsletter we are going to take you inside the Viwinco window manufacturing plant. You will also be introduced to a local soccer team who will be representing the United States in this year's Special Olympics.
The "Green Tip" this month has to do with Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs or CFLs.
Please share any of your ideas or tips with us. We would love to hear from you!
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| "Improving Homes One Family At A Time" |
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Special Olympics Team USA Soccer
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Window Manufacturing Plant Tour
 | | Viwinco Window Plant Tour >> |
Join Ron Fansler on a tour of the Viwinco Window manufacturing plant. G.H. Clark Contractors offers a lifetime material warranty and a lifetime labor warranty on all of our window products. We can custom make any window size or style!
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Green Tips
You can help reduce the heat in your home this summer and save money by switching out your incandescent light bulb to CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs). Compact fluorescent bulbs have been around for a century, but have only really been widely distributed since the 80's. They work because an electric charge causes a gas filled tube to emit ultra-violet light which then causes the coating on the glass to get excited and emit visible light. They can last 15 times as long as incandescent bulbs and only use 1/5th the energy, making for a real savings in energy. With a lifespan of around 10,000 hours, they pay for their higher price after about 500 hours of use. And because they release less heat, they don't heat up your home as much as incandescent bulbs. You should probably start getting used to fluorescent lights as incandescent bulbs will be phased out in the United States by 2014.
They contain mercury, though, so you should be extra careful when handling them especially careful if they break around you. Lots of local hardware stores will take your spent CFLs and recycle them properly. If you have a broken bulb, ventilate the area and leave it for 15 minutes, preferably closing the door to the room behind you. This allows the trace amounts of mercury to settle to the ground. Then, use a stiff piece of cardboard to sweep the powder and fragments into a glass jar or plastic bag. Do not use a broom, the bristles tend to just kick up the powder (and mercury) into the air, the opposite of what you need. Wipe the area with a damp cloth or paper towel, maybe even one of those dust rags with the static cling, and throw it into the same plastic bag or jar. Then vacuum the rest and dispose of the plastic bag, jar and vacuum bag. Toss any bedding or clothing that came into direct contact with the broken glass or powder, and immediately wash any that came into indirect contact (the clothing you were wearing while cleaning). Seems like a daunting procedure, but it is really not hard, nor did it require quarantine or one of those big white space suits. |
