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

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it difficult for our technicians to perform furnace repair.

Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your system working well. An annually serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could lower your heating expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us discover troubles before they begin. This could help reduce future repair expenses and potentially extend the life of your furnace.

So how much clearance should your equipment really have?

How Much Space Should My Furnace Have?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer specifications and West Jefferson laws for clearance rules.

As a general suggestion, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This permits our service professionals to easily replace it.

You also need to ensure the area has enough 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 pulls combustion air from the nearby space. If there’s not enough air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in supplemental openings. This could include a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

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

Keep Flammable Items Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms are often also used for laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of items 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, situate your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors around your home.

You should also regularly vacuum near your furnace to stop dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or annual maintenance in West Jefferson, West Jefferson Plumbing and Heating, Inc. can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 614-879-9091 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment right away.