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

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

Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit operating smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may work more efficiently, which could reduce your heating expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice problems before they begin. This could help lower future repair bills and likely prolong 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 enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer specifications and Mankato area ordinances for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to check the area has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 needs combustion air from the surrounding location. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a small 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 newer, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to add 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 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 in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the stinky odors around your home.

You should also routinely 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 want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Mankato area, Northern Comfort Inc can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 507-387-6596 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment now.