When you look into your furnace room, what do you see? We get it, storage is low, modern life requires a lot of stuff, and the furnace room ends up getting a little cluttered. However, storing things in your furnace room can be a big safety issue, and could even damage your furnace depending on what and where it is. Here are some furnace room safety tips that you need to know to keep your home safe.
1. Don’t Store Things in the Furnace Room
Essentially, there is nothing that you should store in your furnace room. If you have a small utility room for the furnace, this isn’t too big of a loss. If your furnace is in a large room or an open, unfinished basement, then you can obviously have objects in it, just several feet from the furnace.
There are several things that you should not store in the furnace room, including:
- Kitty litter: When kitty litter is warmed up it can release ammonia which can damage your furnace’s components.
- Paint: Paint can off-gas chemicals if it is heated up.
- Cleaning products: Cleaning products can also off-gas chemicals.
- Fuel: Fuel is combustible and isn’t safe next to the furnace.
- Paper: Any paper products, wood chips, sawdust, cardboard boxes, and other flammable items should not be stored near the furnace.
- Rubber: Rubber can melt under constant heat from the furnace.
- Plastic: Plastic may be damaged from the heat of the furnace.
- Furniture: Furniture may be damaged if it is too close to the furnace.
2. Keep the Path Clear
There should be at least three feet clear of your furnace on every side. This allows for proper airflow around the unit and will also prevent things from getting damaged by the heat. Plus, your HVAC technician will have an easier time coming in to do maintenance on the unit when the path is clear.
3. Ventilate
Your furnace room also needs proper airflow. Should you keep your furnace room door open or closed? Ideally, you’d keep it open. However, if you have children or pets who cannot access the room, then it is wise to get a vented door for your furnace room so that air can pass through even while the door is closed.
4. Keep it Well Lit
There should be some light in the furnace room so that you, and your technician, can move around in it safely. Check the lightbulbs in there even if you haven’t stepped foot in the space for a while. You might also want to keep a flashlight outside the room so that you can go take a look at the furnace and other equipment during a power outage, or if the power to that part of the home needs to be cut.
5. Clean the Room
Of course, keeping the room clean will keep it safe.
Have you noticed your furnace room lately? Is it safe? If you are not sure, you may want to call the experts at Guelph ClimateCare. We are here to help!
