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

Your furnace can get too hot if it doesn’t have enough room. It also makes it hard for our technicians to perform furnace repair.

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit working trouble-free. A routinely serviced furnace may work 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 troubles before they begin. This could help lessen future repair expenses and possibly extend the life of your unit.

So how much clearance should your system really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re updating your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer directions and Alice ordinances for clearance rules.

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

You also need to ensure the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an aging 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 not enough air, unsafe gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a little room with a gas water heater, you may need to put in extra openings. This could involve a fully louvered door or vents in the walls.

You don’t need to assess airflow and ventilation as much if you have a modern, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your system uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in air.

Keep Flammable Items Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms function as 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, put your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the smelly odors all over your home.

You should also routinely sweep by your furnace to prevent dust from building up.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Alice, Rescue Heating & Air can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any HVAC model or brand.

Call us at 361-265-4371 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment today.