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Love, Charity, Spirit – What Garvin's Sewer Service Does To Help

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dreamstime_xxl_7309839Love, Charity and Spirit are words used interchangeably in many cases. It’s my opinion, the commercialism of THIS Christmas Season seems to be replaced with Spirit more than ever. Maybe it is a step back to simpler times as we think about those out of work, foreclosed on, underemployed, etc. Maybe this economy has us appreciating the family, homes and jobs we and our loved ones DO have. Maybe those with things are more empathetic than ever before. Nonetheless, the Christmas Spirit is here and very alive and it is beautiful.

Today, I had the tremendous oppourtunity to sort toys and gifts for the Denver BOMA Toy & Gift Drive. I had to hold back tears as I walked into the sorting room to see thousands of toys, clothing, toiletries, food and gifts. The BOMA (Building Owners and Managers Association) Drive collects gifts from over 100 buildings, asking tenants and staff to give of new and/or slightly used items, which are in turn distributed to several Denver charities. The charities include women’s shelters, the Denver Children’s Home and the Jeffco Action Center.

On Friday, my sister Jennie, attended SMDRA (South Metro Denver Realtors Association), where they also had done a toy drive for Interfaith Communities. She took pictures and shed some tears for the hundreds of toys that were donated. She personally has been a recipient of such giving when she found herself a single mother due to her ex-husbands incarceration.

Humbled by the knowledge that life can change at any minute with someone’s careless acts, the loss of income or even misjudgments of our own, we give. We give because we recognize that we are blessed, regardless of what we have, because of Love, Charity, Spirit, however one chooses to interpret them.

Garvin’s Sewer Service is dedicated to making Denver a better place to live. Let us know how you help our cities on northern Colorado.

Our Declaration for Sewer and drain cleaning service

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garvins_sitebg6_cartoonWe have set certain standards of service for our company before, during, and after our sewer and drain cleaning service. These are expectations that we try to set for our customers and our technicians. When we have our customers give feedback, we ask them to think of us in relation to this “Declaration of Service”.

I’d love your feedback on these. I’ve given the shortened version below, but you can see the entire Declaration HERE

  1. We quote our prices over the phone
  2. We give an estimated time of arrival (usually within 2 hours)
  3. You will receive a call when we are on our way
  4. The serviceman will be wearing a Garvin’s logo uniform
  5. The serviceman will use protective gear to keep your home as clean as possible
  6. He will run a “system check”
  7. He will present you with an invoice and a magnet and/or business card

Would you feel comfortable with this as a customer who is asking for someone into your home? What suggestions do you have to improve?

Thanks!

Free your hose or seek sewer service!

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dreamstime_l_2667231I’m not being obscene, (not that I put that past myself), but now is the time of year to unscrew your garden hose and store it. It is also time to release any water from your sprinkler system. If you don’t, you may be sorry this winter and/or spring.

Also, if you haven’t already, kick on that heating system and make sure it is working. The last thing you want to deal with is needing heat and not having it.

Holidays are also a particularly busy time for our drain cleaning technicians as the volume of people staying in their homes (as opposed to being out and about) increases, and more people are entertaining in their homes. This increases the volume of things that can clog a drain, and can cause back-ups. This can be very embarrassing and gross, so be ready with contact information for your favorite, handy-dandy drain-cleaning company.

Lastly, if you have a plumber or heating technician to your home, ask them to check your water heater. Cold showers on cold days make for grumpy faces.

Happy Winter Preparation!

Plumbing Girl

DIY Drain Cleaning

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drain_cta_revHere at Garvin’s, we like to see a smooth-running drain. And if that means you’re doing your own drain cleaning, so be it!

I recently saw a YouTube video on a new device that is said to help with unclogging secondary lines. By “secondary lines”, I am referring to inside plumbing lines, such as clogged bathtub, clogged kitchen or bathroom sinks. Most of the time, slow running drains are a condition of something being trapped within the first few feet of plumbing (this is the area between the drain and the p-trap, the curvy pipe under the drain.) This particular device is a plastic piece with barbs. You simply feed the piece of plastic into the drain, and the barbs will grab hair and lint or anything else that may be light and in the line.

Other things that I’ve seen like this are spring loaded pipes with wires threaded through that have a little grabbing “hand” on the end. It works much the same way. I agree that for slow running drains with clogs within the first foot, this can be a good option. I always discourage the use of chemical products (such as Drain-O®), and instead highly suggest one of these devices. They can be found for under $10 at a home improvement store.

For stopped, back-uped, or clogged sinks and clogged tubs, I suggest you contact a Professional drain-cleaning company. We have seen homeowners purchase a drain snake and break through pipes or get the snake broken in the line, which ends up costing even more than the cost of hiring us to begin with.

Basically, if you think it is something you can handle by yourself, you could be right. I suggest you call and talk to us and see if it is more than what you bargained for. Our staff is happy to troubleshoot your issue.

Hatcliff Testimonial for Garvin's Sewer Service

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dreamstime_xxl_20866752another great testimonial from a client who used our Heating Service:

Mitch,

Just a quick note about the heater “tune-up” I had done today.

George was GREAT! He called about 1/2 hour before arrival to let me know he needed to make a parts run and would be running late… When he did arrive, he was polite and courteous… pulled covers off the funace and explained what he was going to do. When he was finished, he explained to me how the furnace worked, special attention was directed to intricate parts that if not maintained, would result in the unit shutting down. He fabricated a holder to keep the filter in one place and explained the difference between the less expensive filters and higher end ones and his recommendation. George installed the CO2 dectector for me. Before he left, he made sure I didn’t have any other questions or concerns.

I am thoroughly satisfied with the service I recieved today. I have marked my calendar to call next spring for AC tune-up. You can rest assured that Garvin’s has a new client!

Mr. Hatcliff, Arvada

Thanks! If YOU or someone you know is experiencing a COLD spell, whether furnace, thermostat or water heater, give Garvin’s a call. Trusted, honest family owned company serving Greater Denver since 1940! 303-571-5114 24/7/365

https://www.garvinssewerservice.com/hatcliff-testimonial

Laborious Sewer Service

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dreamstime_xxl_15692023Dear Matt,

I know I talked to you about this but would like to tell you again how impressed I was with your team. You personally responded to my sewer service problem promptly and got everything moving even though it was a Friday before our last long weekend. This put a new meaning to “Labor” day that we all will not soon forget.

Brian was very dedicated as he hand-dug searching for my line for many grueling hours through not the best conditions — aka clay soil and very large tree roots. He was very careful of my plants and surrounding areas. You cannot even tell anyone was there except for the new cleanout and some exposed dirt that still needs to settle. He also did a wonderful job with the new cleanout installation.

Mike was a huge help to Brian digging when he got there and elected to be “in the hole” most of the time because he fit so well and was quite good at maneuvering in the extremely tight spot. I am sure this was one job he will not soon forget and could have done without some of his hands on learning experience that night.

Adam was our hero when he arrived and was successful in retrieving your sewer snake and then cleaning out the rest of the line to the street. I am sure it was our good luck that this did not involve any major tree roots or collapsed lines. We all breathed easier when he was through. I also appreciated that he came back and ran that part again the next morning after everything was in place.

Finally as I feel like I have met most of your staff with this experience, they were all very courteous, kept on task- even though it was a very long task. They took great care to see that very little was disturbed and put back in prime condition. You should be very pleased that these gentlemen worked so well as a team- not all companies are that fortunate to have that team effort. Most of all they made this- if possible- a pleasant experience which at one time did not look very promising. I will definitely refer any friends or neighbors to your company for sewer service in the future. Take no offense if I say you guys are great but hope I don’t have to see you again in the very near future.

Thanks again,

Kay K.

Boulder, CO

 

You’re welcome, Kay! We’ll be sure to let Brian know how pleased you are!

10 Weirdest Things That Required Professional Drain Cleaning

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dreamstime_xxl_65815Working in the sewer and drain cleaning industry has lead to some interesting surprises. Why would people flush these things? Or did they just drop them in the toilet, didn’t want to retrieve them, and want to see if they’d go down the drain? Either way, they stuck around longer than they thought they would!

 

Our TOP Ten Weirdest things found clogging drains:

(true story)

1. Rutabagas

2. An Adult Toy

3. Cat Litter

4. Cardboard (in a disposal)

5. Squirrel

6. Very Large Undies

7. Dentures

8. Hairpiece

9. Rubber Gloves

10. Tropical Fish

 

Have you flushed something that didn’t want to go away? Give Garvin’s a call and we can take care of your drain cleaning.