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

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it hard for our professionals to complete furnace repair.

Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit operating smoothly. A regularly 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 troubles before they become expensive. This could help lessen future repair costs and likely prolong the life of your system.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should research manufacturer directions and Booneville ordinances for clearance rules.

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

You also need to check the room 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 needs combustion air from the adjacent area. If there’s insufficient air, hazardous gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.

If your furnace is located in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to add extra openings. This could include 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 furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to pull 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 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 in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the smelly odors all over your home.

You should also routinely clean by your furnace to prevent dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Booneville, Booneville Heating & Cooling can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 662-269-8716 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment right away.