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Original poster

How often do you open your windows?

121 replies

Purplerainpurplesky · 09/04/2023 21:49

My DH hates having the windows open... Ever. I open them as the house needs fresh air otherwise it feels musty. How often do you open your windows?

OP posts:
Xiaoxiong · 09/04/2023 23:46

Every day. First thing in the morning while the duvets are folded back to air the mattress. Kitchen window opened while I boil the kettle. Other windows get opened for some fresh air as and when I'm in those rooms throughout the day - sometimes only for 10 mins or so but the house has to breathe.

FredaFox · 09/04/2023 23:50

When home I live in a 4th floor flat so I dont worry about leaving windows open so only shut them in bad weather as my windows tilt open
When at my mums she's in a bungalow, I fear leaving windows open at night even on a latch, more for bugs and mice (she's rural) than burglars. Am I being over cautious? I usually open them in the morning for an hour or so while getting ready but in sumner could I leave them on the latch?

TooOldToCareAboutOthersOpinions · 09/04/2023 23:52

Daily come rain or shine.
If snowing etc i do for a bit maybe 30 min in the morning then evening.
When milder pretty much all day, upstairs stay open wide. Downstairs just when I'm home.
If I don't open them daily i feel its allna bit stale and not fresh

thelengthspeoplegoto · 09/04/2023 23:52

Every day. It helps to keep the house smelling good. I also don't like condensation.

Maple2023 · 09/04/2023 23:55

Every day unless it's too windy/wet, then I have the vents open and the window on a crack lock setting
No bathroom windows

Maple2023 · 09/04/2023 23:56

Oh and closed at night as ground floor flat. Which is a pain in summer when I'm melting!

JeanieJo · 09/04/2023 23:57

Bedroom windows opened for around 10 mins every morning to air the rooms; kitchen and bathroom windows opened if there is steam from cooking or a shower.

Ghostlyfeet · 09/04/2023 23:59

I opened mine this week for the first time this year. I don't like a draft or the cold.

stevalnamechanger · 10/04/2023 01:13

Our bedroom windows are constantly open ! i can't stand not having fresh air / breeze

beezlebubnicky · 10/04/2023 01:17

Every day for at least some of the day.

Ventilation (as well as regular heating) is key to prevent damp. I've noticed a lot of British homes are really damp as people simple don't open their windows.

RMS0209 · 10/04/2023 01:19

Every day and my DP hates it Grin

MyNameOnHisGuitar · 10/04/2023 01:23

In cold weather never. In warmer weather, most days.

There usually lots of doors open for the dogs to run in and out though so that must be enough. 😬

JacobsCrackersCheeseFogg · 10/04/2023 02:06

Kitchen ones: every day.

French Windows: summertime.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 10/04/2023 02:49

7Worfs · 09/04/2023 21:55

In winter - one hour every morning.
In warm weather most doors and windows stay open all day.

Same here. Bedroom windows open at least an inch at night, too, no matter the weather.

ZeldaWillTellYourFortune · 10/04/2023 02:51

NBLarsen · 09/04/2023 22:01

For most of the year my windows are all open all of the time. When it's very cold, then I close the windows during the day and open again at night.
I need fresh air circulating! I cannot stand breathing stuffy stale air and cannot sleep with the window closed.

Agree. Just the thought of living sealed up makes me queasy.

DrMarciaFieldstone · 10/04/2023 02:51

Every day, for at least an hour in winter, all day the rest of the time

LighterNights · 10/04/2023 02:56

Every day

elm26 · 10/04/2023 03:12

Every day even in the winter, a window in every room will be opened for a good 30 mins. Not wide open but enough to let some fresh air through.

Bathroom window gets opened every time somebody has a shower or bath and our top window in the bedroom is always ajar through the winter too.

TakeMyStrongHand · 10/04/2023 03:29

Well this thread is eye opening. Literally never in winter and only if it gets too hot in summer. The back door is constantly opened and closed in winter for the bastard dog and left open from about this temperature until it gets cold again.

Ragwort · 10/04/2023 04:36

Every day but my DH doesn't like sleeping with the window open ... so we have separate bedrooms. Much better Grin. No idea why he's like that as he loves camping and being outside but seems happy to sleep in a fusty bedroom.

peanutbutterkid · 10/04/2023 05:14

It's in the long list of reasons to get divorced, stbX is neurotic about windows being left open in cold weather. He can handle 5 seconds to let a cat in or out, but otherwise he gets very shirty if a window (he didn't open) is left open a crack for any longer. I absolutely don't want hour+ in winter (this thread explains a lot about high heating bills), but 5-20 minutes here and there on odd days, in assorted rooms, yes. Mould isn't an issue, but smelliness or stuffiness.

Weirdly, although stbX complains about a window left for 2 minutes (that he didn't open so obviously this is control freakery not really about energy waste), he will himself leave external door/window wide open for minutes or even hours if he fancies, while horrible cold draught comes thru, as long as he wouldn't put heating on (outdoor temp > 12). Irrational as F.

readingismycardio · 10/04/2023 05:29

Every single day, no matter how cold (and it gets to -26 where I live). In the summer they're open a lot. Because we WFH I open them again in the afternoon for 10-15 min.

magicthree · 10/04/2023 05:44

All day, every day, all year round. Until I moved to where I am now my bedroom one was open at night also.

emptythelitterbox · 10/04/2023 06:02

I try to daily. I find it odd when some people never open their windows.

Londonnight · 10/04/2023 06:33

Every day. My bedroom window is open all night too, even mid winter. I cannot sleep in a room that doesn't have air circulating and I love a cold bedroom at night :) .