Can I cover part of my cold air return with furniture?

The cold air return grate for my central heating system is 13.5" (front to back) x 23.5" (along the wall). Can I put a piece of furniture (piano) over the back 7" of the grate (with no clearance underneath), so I'm left with 6.5"" x 23.5" How much would it help if I put the piano 2" above the grate?

Thanks
Mickey

If you mean the ventilation for a boiler then you must not restrict it or risk concealing it so that it can get blocked with lint or dust etc..

Fatplumber --

I should have explained better. This is a forced air gas furnace, and I want to cover around 1/2 of the surface of the cold air return with a piece of furniture. I'm guessing that I shouldn't.

But would it be OK if the piece of furniture is 2" off the ground, so the cold air gets underneath?

Mickey

Not really the best forum for you as we are all UK based.

If you look at it logically though, do you think that you are restricting the air? If the answer is yes then you don't really need to ask do you. The issue for safety is whether the air you restrict is combustion air. If so then you are risking your family's safety. If it is secondary air, that is air that is heated and circulated then you are restricting the heat that you have available. I would in any evemnt make sure that the piano is away from the wall by a couple of inches and clean the vent as often as possible.