Natural gas furnaces need enough space and airflow to work correctly.

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it challenging for our professionals to complete furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment working smoothly. A routinely serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could decrease your utility costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot issues before they become expensive. This could help lessen future repair bills and potentially prolong the life of your system.

So how much clearance should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should research manufacturer specifications and Wyandotte laws for clearance rules.

As a general recommendation, your system should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service professionals to easily work on it.

You also need to make sure the space 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 type of furnace draws combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

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

You don’t need to think about 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 Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms are often also used for laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of things 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 somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors all over your home.

You should also regularly clean by your furnace to stop dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Wyandotte, Gee & Missler Heating & Air Conditioning can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 734-284-1224 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.