Natural gas furnaces need enough space and airflow to run correctly.

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

Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit working well. A regularly serviced furnace may run more efficiently, which could decrease your energy expenses.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot troubles before they begin. This could help lower future repair costs and possibly prolong the life of your unit.

So how much room 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 instructions and Moline ordinances for clearance guidelines.

As a general recommendation, your heater should be 30 inches away from furnace room walls on all sides. This allows our service technicians to conveniently replace it.

You also need to ensure the room has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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

If your furnace is placed in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to install 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 system 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 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 in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the unpleasant odors around your home.

You should also routinely sweep around your furnace to block dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Moline, J.L. Brady Company LLC can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 309-517-7511 or use our online scheduler to set up an appointment today.