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

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

Regular furnace maintenance is crucial to keep your system working well. A regularly serviced furnace may heat more efficiently, which could reduce your energy bills.

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 expenses and potentially extend the life of your system.

So how much area should your furnace really have?

How Much Space Does My Furnace Need?

If you’re finishing your basement or enclosing your furnace room, you should consult manufacturer instructions and Cedar Rapids ordinances for clearance rules.

As a general recommendation, your heater 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You also need to ensure the area has ample airflow and ventilation, especially if you have an outdated furnace with a metal flue.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 surrounding space. If there’s inadequate air, unsafe gas fumes and deadly carbon monoxide could flow back into your home.

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

You don’t need to consider 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 pull in air.

Keep Combustible Materials Away from Your Furnace

Although furnace rooms double as 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, put your litter box somewhere else. Cat urine contains ammonia, which could corrode your furnace’s heat exchanger. Plus, the furnace could move the stinky odors around your home.

You should also regularly sweep near your furnace to prevent dust from accumulating.

Related: Is it Time for Furnace Service or Replacement?

Request Expert Furnace Service

Whether you need furnace replacement or annual maintenance in Cedar Rapids, Ilten's can expertly take care of your needs. Our highly trained technicians can work on any heating equipment model or brand.

Call us at 319-208-2351 or use our online scheduler to get an appointment today.