The frigid temperatures can make it tough for furnaces to keep up.
It's expected to dip to a low of -28C Thursday night with the wind-chill — temperatures have dropped well below -30 with the wind-chill the past couple of days.
Fahrhall Mechanical's Tony Obeid says his crews have been working overtime trying to keep up with service calls this week and there are some key items to keep tabs to avoid a last-minute service-call.
"Check your filter, make sure it's clean, if it's not, replace it because without proper airflow your furnace is going to shut down. There are so many safety switches inside of a furnace to stop it from running if it's dirty, that's number one," says Obeid, who spoke to with Patty Handysides on The Afternoon News.
Many people tend to forget their furnace has to vent somewhere, added the home comfort specialist.
"Make sure outside where the vents come out for your exhaust fan, if you've got a high efficiency furnace, shovel around that area to make sure there's no snow or ice build-ups," says Obeid.
Cranking up the heat during a deep-freeze isn't something Obeid would recommend.
"Whatever you feel comfortable with, keep that temperature going. For people who have high efficiency [furnaces] with a direct current motor, keep the fan in the on position," he says. "That way you'll slowly circulate the air and clean the air and the machine won't have to work as hard because it will just keep moving the heat around."
Cory Marentette is with Reliance Home Comfort and with temperatures dipping this low, frozen pipes are a real possibility.
"You have to disconnect your hose in the winter time no matter what. I know people have these frost free hoses, but they still freeze. You won't know until the spring when you go to open it up because it actually shuts off inside of the house, but that's when you're going to flood," he says. "Drain your hoses; shut them off from inside the house ... get the water out, any exposure to this cold will cause anything to freeze."
Temperatures are expected to climb over the freezing mark this weekend, but Windsor-Essex remains under an extreme cold warning.
— with files from AM800's Patty Handysides.