Old, damp, cold house - windows opened or closed when going away for a few days

[Ilovefran]

I live in an old and cold and damp house.

Before I used to leave my windows open 24/7. Now I my bedroom, i usually have a dehumidifier running with the windows closed.

I am due to go away for a few nights and I don't want to leave the dehumidifier running and I want to turn it off.

I don't know what to do with my window. To close it or leave it a little bit open.

You see I closed it before and came back after a few nights and there was a musty smell.

This time my plan was to close it and leave tubs of salt and kitty litter around to soak up any moisture.

I have a pet hamster in my room and I don't want it getting too cold.

How do I manage my bedroom window? Open or closed?

You can get dehumidifier thingies which absorb water, not the electric ones. Haven't used them but may be worth a try. I wouldn't leave a window open for security reasons.

What is happening to your hamster while you are away OP. Is someone coming in to feed it?
I wouldn't be happy going away and leaving windows open because of security concerns.
If someone is coming in to look after your pet could they open the windows for the spells they are there?

Yes years ago we used to put plastic dehumidifiers with crystals in to absorb the moisture on our window sills.
I'd forgotten about them.

Yeah, sounds like you have a daily pet sitter coming by to care for your hamster. I’d leave house heated to 18C and ask the pet sitter to open all the windows in the house the second they arrive, leave them open for ten minutes, and then close them all right before they leave. That’s the other way to prevent damp- you either leave a central window cracked 24/7 like the bathroom window OR you luft the house like the Germans do which is open everything for a ten minutes airing and close it back up the again. The thermostat will sense the cold and kick the heat on for a bit so the house doesn’t get really cold.

I’m worried about the hamster too! I would have the heating on ‘constant’ at 16/17.

I'm not going away for too long. Just for a few nights and my pet will be ok with plenty of food and games and water.

The enclosurer was just too big (and heavy) to take away to a sitter. Hamsters can get stressed if you change their environment so I figure i am just going away for a few nights and she will be ok. I will have plenty of food and water and different water sources and water bottles and games and a pet camera and games. I have a list of games to provide for her.

Some hamsters will go into hibernation if it gets too cold.

You can get people who pop in once or twice a day to keep an eye on pets, clean the cage etc. They would also be able to give the room an airing.

List of games?! For a hamster?!

Put a small oil filled radiator in the room and leave it on low.
Much of the moisture in the air will come from you, so if you’re away, it will be less.

If you let the rooms get too cold the moisture in the air will condense in the coolest spots, possibly damaging furnishings/books etc.

Amazon/Robert Dyas sell crystal dehumidifiers that typically last a couple of weeks.

We have a Unibond Aero 360 in a cold corner, which works well.

It is worth checking the long range forecast to make sure the weather isn't going to be too chilly; you don't want to come home to a burst pipe!

They are called boredom breakers - wrapping some food in tissue paper, hiding food in his enclosurer, tearing up bits of toilet paper so that he can carry the paper to his burrow to make it softer and warmer, digging box.

I have some paper cups that I will fill with dried works and I will hide it in his enclosurer.

Sprays are dried kinda grassy stuff and my hamster loves them.

I am not worried about security. I could leave the door wide open with a massive notice to say that I am away and the house will still be good. I live in a great area with some good neighbours.

I won't be able to leave a heater on. I will be able to blast the heater in my room for a while before I leave.

I wonder, would it be best to leave my bedroom window closed while I am away?

That isn't an option for me because I live with an aging parent who likely won't allow it. Unfortunately. I can't rely on her to mind my hamster because she has no boundaries. She will root, snoop, take and steal, and dump my things. I think she has dementia. It's strange. She has moments of clarity and then other times there is a lot of - what the holy f*ck - moments.

Close it and turn on the dehumidifier, it will shut off automatically when it's full so won't be going for days.

Close your window whilst you’re away. Open the windows once your home because it will need airing out anyway from the smell of the hamster

Would it be safe to run it while I am away. I often did that just for a day or so or overnight and it's fine. I will be going for 5 nights.

This is likely the only option to do but I don't feel comfortable running electricity appliances while I am away.

He doesn't smell too bad. He has loads and loads and loads and loads of bedding that is freshing changed.

I wonder would condensation build up in the room while I am away?

I would like to leave the window closed and just open it when I get home again.

I know sometimes when I go to bed late, I sometimes see condensation on a window when I am not even in the room too. This is even with a dehumidifier under the window.

I suspect moisture will likely build up on the windows and in the room while I am away.

I want to minimise returning to damp and a bad smell.

Just leave the window closed, as PP said most moisture in a bedroom comes from you breathing. If you run the dehumidifier for a good few hours before you go, then unplug it it will be fine.

Presumably your radiator will be coming on and off if your parent is still in the house.

5 days seems like a long time to leave a hamster, but admittedly don’t know anything about them.

After 5 nights of no clean bedding it will smell. He might have loads of clean bedding before you go but it’s going to get urinated and poo’d on which will not smell fresh