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

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

Routine furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your unit operating well. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could decrease your heating expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us notice issues before they become expensive. 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 Should My Furnace Have?

If you’re finishing your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should research manufacturer instructions and Ames statutes for clearance rules.

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

You also need to check the space 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 type of furnace pulls combustion air from the adjacent space. If there’s not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and toxic carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is placed in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in more 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 unit uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in air.

Keep Flammable Items A Safe Distance from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms are often also used for 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 corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could circulate the unpleasant odors throughout your home.

You should also routinely sweep around your furnace to stop dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request a Free Quote for Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Ames, Haselhoff Air Solutions can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 515-450-8739 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment right away.