Natural gas furnaces need adequate space and airflow to work right.

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

Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit working well. An annually serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce your heating costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot issues before they begin. This could help reduce future repair costs and potentially lengthen the life of your furnace.

So how much clearance should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Will a Furnace Take Up?

If you’re remodeling your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should research manufacturer directions and Dresden laws for clearance guidelines.

As a general rule of thumb, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This lets our service professionals to easily work on it.

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

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This type of furnace pulls combustion air from the surrounding area. If there’s not enough air, dangerous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a small room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in supplemental openings. This could involve 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 newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull in air.

Keep Combustible Materials Separate from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms double as 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, put your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the stinky odors throughout your home.

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

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Dresden, McFadden Heating & Cooling can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 519-683-2339 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment right away.