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

Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it challenging for our specialists to complete furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment working smoothly. A routinely serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could reduce your utility 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 lessen future repair expenses and likely lengthen the life of your furnace.

So how much clearance should your system really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re remodeling your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer instructions and Magnolia laws for clearance rules.

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

You also need to check the room has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 kind of furnace needs combustion air from the adjacent area. If there’s inadequate air, hazardous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a tiny 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 consider airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in air.

Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms function as laundry and storage space, you should keep yours free of clutter 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 elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the smelly odors all over your home.

You should also regularly clean around your furnace to stop dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Magnolia, JTech Mechanical can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 281-231-8768 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.