Natural gas furnaces need enough space and airflow to heat properly.

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it hard for our professionals to accomplish furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your unit running trouble-free. An annually serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could lower your utility costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice troubles before they begin. This could help lessen future repair expenses and potentially prolong the life of your unit.

So how much room should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer instructions and Wisconsin Rapids statutes for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to make sure the room has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This model of furnace pulls combustion air from the nearby location. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.

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

You don’t need to consider airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit 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, place your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the smelly odors throughout your home.

You should also regularly sweep by your furnace to prevent dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Wisconsin Rapids, Rapids Sheet Metal Works Inc can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 715-301-0256 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment right away.