Hi,

My furnace is around 11 years old and works great, it's built into the bottom of a framed space in the utility room with a large vent above it. Just cleaned it out today, along with all the floor ducts in the house. Vacuumed and dusted the unit itself and installed 2 fresh filters in the slots at the top of the metal frame, which is always done regularly, but I just found a thick plastic mesh type filter way up above them that I had never seen before. It was beyond filthy with sawdust from a remodeling done here recently so I took it outside to hose it off and it's a lot better, but is stained and very faded in places. Can it be soaked and washed out with soap or should it just be replaced?

Also, I think that the top of the door should fit flush into the wood framing, but I can't put it back that way. There's now a 1" gap above the door and cold air blows out of it when the furnace is running. The top front of the metal frame has a lip which a lip on the back of the door hooks onto, and that's the only way it goes together for me. My late husband always had trouble closing it too, and I can't spend $100 just to get a serviceman here to fool with the door. Am attaching a picture of the top corner of the credibility gap. :p Can someone please tell me if there should be that much space between the top of the door and the framing? If not, how can I fix it, or will it hurt anything to leave it alone?

Thanks for your time, and any help you can give me. Please have a great day, and Happy Holidays!

Barbara

Read page 4 of this document about the install of your furnace. It mentions 200 sq inches above your furnace for thr cold air return. You should have a grill work above this furnace so it can draw in return air but you did not show that part in the picture.

http://www.acdirect.com/images/coleman/pdf's/pdf2.pdf