Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to heat right.

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it hard for our technicians to accomplish furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit working well. A routinely serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce your utility bills.

Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?

Maintenance often helps us discover problems before they start. This could help lessen future repair bills and likely lengthen the life of your furnace.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re remodeling your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Jefferson City laws for clearance guidelines.

As a general rule of thumb, your furnace should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service technicians to easily replace it.

You also need to ensure the space has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This model of furnace draws combustion air from the adjacent space. If there’s inadequate air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is located in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in extra openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to assess airflow and ventilation as much if you have a newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in air.

Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms function as laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of clutter that could be fire hazards.

This includes:

  • Clotheslines
  • Cleaning or laundry products
  • Gasoline, paint or paint thinner
  • Rags and papers
  • Wood scraps and sawdust
  • Used filters

If you have a cat, put your litter box in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the unpleasant odors around your home.

You should also regularly sweep near your furnace to prevent dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Jefferson City, Stieferman Heating Company Inc can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 573-635-3547 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment today.