"We've been pretty busy fixing this stuff..."

That's because central heating units...like one outside a home in the Belpre area's Riverside Heights...are unexpectedly giving up the ghost. And that's keeping business brisk for companies like Steers Heating and Cooling.

"This is about my fourth or fifth (job on Tuesday", said repairman Will Bonnett.

"And I've been on a new construction," said his partner, Josh Wine, "hooking up vents and everything."

In this case, it was a part called a heat exchanger...in which a leak developed; a leak which could have brought on some consequences for its owner.

"The old heat exchanger was busted and cracked, so we're putting in a new heat exchanger," Bonnett said while working. "If it would have been undetected much longer, it would have caused carbon monoxide problems in the house."

Proof that heating systems don't pick convienent times to break down. It's also a reason to get them inspected prior to when heating season begins in late fall.

Simple maintenence also includes removing debris such as dirt and leaves from the outside heating unit...and regularly replacing the filter in the inside furnace.