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

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

Annual furnace maintenance is essential to keep your unit running well. A routinely 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 start. This could help lessen future repair expenses and likely extend the life of your unit.

So how much clearance should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or closing off your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer specifications and Omaha ordinances for clearance requirements.

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

You also need to ensure the room has plentiful airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an older furnace with a metal flue.

Related: Furnace Service or Furnace Replacement: What to Consider

This kind of furnace needs combustion air from the surrounding area. If there’s insufficient air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could back draft into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a little 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 assess 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 pull in air.

Keep Flammable Items Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms are often also used for 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, situate your litter box elsewhere. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could create wear on your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could spread the stinky odors all over your home.

You should also routinely clean by your furnace to prevent dust from developing.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you want furnace replacement or regular maintenance in Omaha, The Frazier Company can expertly handle your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 402-628-0206 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment right away.