TOLEDO, Ohio — From snow, to rain, to bitter cold, the WTOL 11 weather team has been updating the Toledo area on the continuous bitter cold.
When the thermometer drops like this, losing heat isn’t just an inconvenience. It can be a life-threatening situation. And with the demand to get the heat back on, you could be waiting for help.
"When you have severe weather like this, there's only so many contractors out there to do 'X' amount of work, so subsequently people have to wait longer sometimes," Gary Keel, president of Glass City Heating and Cooling said.
Keel said the most common call they receive during a cold blast is a lack of heat.
"The equipment has longer run times and when the equipment has not been maintained, or is getting old, you know, fifteen to eighteen years, it tends to break down," he said. "We have to do a lot of repairs and installations for people."
But what if you do lose heat? Keel said there are a few steps you can take.
"Well the first thing to do would be to go check your filter. If it's plugged, pull it, turn the furnace off and back on, and it may reset itself. Then, immediately call a contractor... hopefully us," Keel said.
Keel said his company loves helping people. He said he knows anyone without heat needs the help as soon as possible.
"I'm blessed. I just enjoy what I do. I've found something that I've mastered over the decades and I
actually enjoy what I do, and so I'm just happy that I'm able to provide," he said.
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While it may be too late to prepare for the cold that’s already here, when it warms up, Keel says you should take a moment to be ready for next time.
"The main thing is have your annual maintenance done and actually take care of your equipment. Make sure you keep up on your filter, upgrade to a good filter, which you only need to replace once a year. If the furnace is fifteen, sixteen, seventeen years old, that's really the life cycle of equipment today," he said. "If people don't want it to break down and leave them stranded then they should upgrade it in order to have a device that's actually going to perform well."
That extra preparation could be the difference between riding out the winter weather in a warm home or calling for help.
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