Teresa Bunay, owner of Spring Nails & Beauty on North Main Street in Spring Valley, said Thursday she is less concerned about how well her gas heating system works and more concerned about how much the utility bills might cut into the business's profits.

"Maintenance of the heating system in this moment is not one of our concerns," she said in Spanish, adding "the bills, of course, come out quite high" after a month with just a handful of seriously cold nights.

December could be one of those months when gas heating bills spike 20% or more.

Judging by the latest News 12 forecast, Bunay's well-maintained heating system will be burning a lot of fuel well into next week.

Nearby, at Rockland Car Wash on Route 59, the managers' main concerns are to make sure their 40,000-BTU heater stays working through Thursday night and making sure the car wash's heavy plastic doors seal in that heat.

Otherwise they may risk the water lines freezing up, something that would throw off the operation just as business is about to spike.

"Believe it or not, our busy time is the wintertime, because all the cars come with all the salt and snow," manager Kevin Guaman said. "So it's going to be our busy time. So we have to be more prepared."

The managers said they can manage higher utility bills and having to buy more salt to keep the run-off from freezing as long as they are ready for the inundation of cars which could last for days.