Winmar Kootenay
822 Kootenay St. N V1C 3V4 Cranbrook, BC, Canada

Today we are grateful for the opportunity to support the Beneath the Surface Campaign to purchase an ultrasound machine for our local hospital in Fernie, BC. Access to medical devices is often taken for granted in larger cities, however in small towns such as Fernie, our friends and loved ones must drive over an hour to have an ultrasound completed, often in adverse conditions over mountain roads. Here is a step in the right direction to changing that.

Have you ever wondered what that musty smell is inside your basement? If so, check out our latest blog post on what mold is, and how you can determine if your home has a mold problem. https://winmarkootenay.com/i-think-my-home-has-a-mold-prob/

We have an exciting new opportunity for an energetic and enthusiastic cleaning technician based in beautiful Fernie BC! Need we say more? Apply today!

Hey fellow Fernie-folk, are you tired of the same boring work routine? Are you looking for an exciting career opportunity where you can truly make an impact on your community in their greatest time of need? Are you energetic, open to change, and ready to embrace a culture of doing what is right and always doing what we say we are going to do? If so then consider joining our team today!

Very proud of not just our office, but the entire Winmar family for stepping up to the challenge and helping reduce the spread. Keep up the great work!

Did you know that we specialize in professional decontamination services to help reduce the spread of COVID-19? With offices in Fernie and Cranbrook we are here to help our community re-open in these unprecedented times.

Currently, there is no specific environmental surface test to determine the presence of COVID-19. However, WINMAR Kootenay utilizes an on-site environmental monitoring device that evaluates ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) surface residue as a marker for evaluating the successful execution of our preventative decontamination process. This protocol is used in the food processing and healthcare industries to determine the effectiveness of cleaning operations, and we also use the s...ame system in our office on trauma, crime scene, and sewage cleanup projects. ATP sampling provides rapid, real time results which assists our Infection Control Technicians on showing us where we need to focus our preventative decontamination efforts. The higher the relative light units (RLU) number, the more living things are present on the surface such as saliva and bacteria. (For this device, below a 5 is safe for most food processing areas.) Lately, we have seen refrigerator handles as high as 157, counter tops 25, computer mouses 50, and door frames that people lean on at 70. After we complete our decontamination protocol in accordance to our Infectious Disease Exposure Control Plan, we take a second reading to provide a before and after. Here you can see we lowered a high-traffic microwave face from a 12 to a 1.

Today we are proud to share that all 12 of WINMAR Kootenay's Infection Control Technicians have risen to the challenge of helping flatten the curve and have been working tirelessly 7 days a week to help our community. The decontamination work we perform each day helps reduce the workload on the front line healthcare workers, and helps keep employees and visitors at essential businesses safe. Although we are doing everything we can, we are only a small team and we truly need ...your support. To our neighbors and our friends in Fernie, Cranbrook, Sparwood, Elkford, Creston, Kimberely, Invermere, and Golden, we ask for your assistance. Please, follow the CDC guidelines. Wash your hands. Practice social distancing. Together, as a community we can, and we WILL win this battle.

Amazing entries are rolling in for the annual popsicle stick bridge contest here at the Regional Science Fair. Stop by College of the Rockies Cranbrook campus to see the bridge breaking at 11am today, check out cool science projects, and learn about the profession of Engineering and Geoscience. Last years strongest bridge held 800 pounds, let’s see if that record will be broken this year!

This week our team was busy processing contents from a major fire. As devastating as fire losses can be, did you know that we can often save many items even after heavy smoke, soot, and heat damage? This not only reduces the waste in our landfills, but we can restore contents which hold sentimental value for the homeowners.... Check out these before and after photos of a few items we ran through our ultrasonic cleaning line today at our Cranbrook facility. What do you think?

On high risk asbestos projects we install a dedicated safety shower for our workers to decontaminate themselves after their shift. Often this shower has to be constructed outdoors, meaning our team members are showering in frigid winter conditions. Many abatement contractors make their employees use cold water, but did you know that we always take the time to set up a dedicated water heater at no additional cost to our customers? ... The benefit of this is twofold 1. Asbestos removal is not an easy task. Our team members are wearing heavy protective gear and breathing through respirators for several hours, while performing hard physical labor. Ending your shift with a nice warm shower is the very least we can do to say thank you for all that you do. 2. The primary purpose of the safety shower is to clean any asbestos fibers off of the worker, to ensure they do not inhale the fibers or transport them outside of containment and throughout our customer's property. Workers who have to shower with cold water often rush and do not take adequate time to fully decontaminate, placing those around them at risk. At WINMAR Kootenay the way we do business is simple. We take care of our customers property as if it were our own, and to be the contractor you would want inside your loved one's home. If our employees are cared for and appreciated they reciprocate the same level of care to our customers, and everyone goes home safe and happy when the job is completed.

To the untrained eye, ice damming is just another form of exterior home decor during those cold winter months. But as beautiful as it appears, did you know it can cause thousands of dollars in damage? The good news is ice dams are 100% preventable. Check out our latest blog post to learn more! https://winmarkootenay.com/what-is-ice-damming-and-how-can/

If someone were to offer you $10,000 and peace of mind for 15 minutes of your time, would you accept? Well, unfortunately we are still working on our free money machine, but what we can do is provide you with a list of questions you should ask your insurance broker which could save you thousands of dollars and help you sleep better at night. https://winmarkootenay.com/what-homeowners-wish-they-asked/