Extreme cold alert in effect

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(Updated)

Wednesday is day three of the deep freeze that’s hit the province and this day is the coldest one so far. Many parts of Ontario are under extreme cold warnings. And as the cold settles in, it brings with it a lot of potential problems for homeowners.

The wind is biting. It has not felt this cold since last year’s polar vortex. It feels like minus 30 with the wind chill and many cities are opening warming centres again tonight. And when it gets this cold overnight, it can cause problems with furnaces working overtime. Here are some tips for homeowners.

It’s the kind of day you didn’t want to be outside. The wind chill is making it feel like minus 30 and as temperatures plunge, people are cranking up their thermostats.

Rob Walsh is with Boonstra Heating and Air: “When the weather gets like this your furnace is working overtime so it’s working constantly it has to keep up.”

All that extra work can cause problems. And this time of year, furnace fixers like Rob Walsh are in high demand: “Every technician is working overtime. The phones are ringing like crazy. We have technicians that actually work through the night. Some of the real issues we have are maintenance issues. So not changing the filter, dirty flame sensors, plugged drains.”

But there are ways to prevent your furnace from failing.

Rob says: “Making sure the filter is clean, take it out making sure it’s not plugged up.”

And keeping the area around your furnace clear.

Rob adds: “It’s really important to make sure it has the correct air flow you just don’t want to pile things up there 50 you need the furnace to breath.”

One of the biggest problems this time of year is snow and ice building up on the exhaust and intake pipes that Can actually stop your furnace from working so it’s important to keep this area clear.

And his most important piece of advice? Call for a service before the cold weather hits.

Rob: “When you have a preventive maintenance, we can catch a lot of things before your furnace fails at the wrong time.”

Another issue is pipes freezing, especially when it’s cold overnight.

We spoke to a plumber who said they haven’t been too busy this year yet. They’ve only had a couple of calls for frozen pipes this week. It’s nothing like last year when they had more than 500 calls in just one month.

But if you’ve had problems with your pipes freezing in the past, he suggests letting a little water run overnight that’ll keep them from freezing.