Natural gas furnaces need sufficient space and airflow to heat right.
Your furnace can shut down if it doesn’t have enough space. It also makes it hard for our professionals to perform furnace repair.
Routine furnace maintenance is essential to keep your equipment working smoothly. A routinely serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could decrease your utility costs.
Related: How Does Furnace Maintenance Impact the Energy Efficiency of Your Home?
Maintenance often helps us discover problems before they begin. This could help lessen future repair costs and possibly prolong the life of your system.
So how much clearance should your equipment really have?
How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?
If you’re remodeling your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer instructions and Mount Pleasant ordinances for clearance requirements.
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 conveniently replace it.
You also need to make sure the room has enough airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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, dangerous gas fumes and poisonous carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.
If your furnace is positioned in a tiny 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.
Unsure if your furnace or water heater has adequate ventilation? We can help!
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You don’t need to think about airflow and ventilation as much if you have a up-to-date, high-efficiency furnace with PVC piping. Your furnace uses one pipe as an exhaust vent and the other to draw in 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, situate your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the smelly odors around your home.
You should also frequently vacuum by your furnace to stop dust from building up.
Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?
Request Expert Furnace Service
Whether you need furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Mount Pleasant, Olde Towne Heating & Air can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can repair any furnace model or brand.
Call us at 843-485-0967 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment today.