“It’s been crazy,” said Dennis McCarthy, manager at Mayer Hardware. “It’s just shifted over in the past few days.” The store in Rochester has been quickly going through filters and replacing them just as fast. Weatherizing items have been popular too. The space heaters are located right at the entrance. 

“Parts of the house are just a little colder than the rest, wall heaters can plug in and stay warm,” said McCarthy. 

Chris Brandau works at the Rochester non-profit PathStone that does weatherization assistance. They serve low-income Monroe County homes that are not located in the City of Rochester. The non-profit Action for a Better Community (ABC) services the City of Rochester. They can help with many winterizing needs.  If you are approved for HEAP, you will be approved for these services.

“If you have some large windows and things like that,” said Brandau, “We recommend a simple trick of putting a heavy curtain up to stop that thermal loss of the heat being drawn through the glass.” 

Fran Savage at John Betlem Heating and AC says that after you have checked the filters watch your thermostat. “Try not to set your thermostat too far down when you leave for work,” said Savage. “When you get back home it’s going to have a hard time trying to catch itself back up.”