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

Your furnace can overheat if it doesn’t have enough clearance. It also makes it difficult for our specialists to accomplish furnace repair.

Regular furnace maintenance is important to keep your equipment running smoothly. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could lower your heating costs.

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

Maintenance often helps us spot issues before they become expensive. This could help lower future repair costs and potentially extend the life of your furnace.

So how much clearance should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Should My Furnace Have?

If you’re finishing your basement or sealing off your furnace room, you should take a look at manufacturer instructions and Siloam Springs ordinances for clearance guidelines.

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

You also need to ensure the room has plentiful 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 draws combustion air from the nearby space. If there’s insufficient air, dangerous gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could leak into your home.

If your furnace is positioned in a tiny room with a gas water heater, you may need to install more openings. This could involve 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 add air.

Keep Combustible Materials 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, situate your litter box in another room. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could deteriorate your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the smelly 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 a Free Quote for Furnace Service

Whether you have to have furnace replacement or routine maintenance in Siloam Springs, Siloam Springs Heating & AC can expertly meet your needs. Our highly trained technicians can fix any furnace model or brand.

Call us at 479-308-8176 or use our online scheduler to request an appointment today.