If you work full time, when do you air out the house?

[tardisjumper]

Now the weather isn't freezing anymore I have spent the whole weekend with all the windows open, and the flat feels and smells amazing. Oh, and our washing has dried really quickly.

However, I have never quite cracked how to air the flat during the week. I fall out of bed at 7 and leave at 7.30 to go to work. We get back at about 6.30. Sometimes DP gets home earlier. Yes it is warmer at the mo, but tbh in the evenings it is pretty chilly and we just want to curl up on the couch.

So how do we air the flat?

extractor fans can also take away steam and humidity, which reduces the risk of condensation, damp and mould.

That's my concern about the evenings. It was bloody freezing last night, and I just couldn't face having them open after trapsing thorugh the cold on my commute.

Mmmmmm, probaly not airing mine nearly enough but at £200 a month on heating oil I think the windows will be staying closed for time being.

you've persuaded me to air the house today but it's freezing in here now!

Extractor fans for bathrooms
Every other room trickle vent open
Bedroom has window open a fraction but locked
Living room/kitchen windows open in morning while I get ready and at night

upstairs windows open after shower, closed after breakfast. Its not very long but helps.
Velux window vents - open all day.

BodyofEeyore Your post at 18:12:47 is unbelievably rude. Are you always that rude ?

Like many, I've never come across this practice of airing the house each day. My house is airy enough through normal usage. The idea of letting all the heating outside is so environmentally unfriendly, not to say expensive! I will often open the kitchen or bathroom windows when needed, but not every day, and if it's really cold, then the extractor fans do the job. When the heating isn't on, I'll often open a window in my teenage ds's room, but the rest of us don't create odours in quite the same way.

we open the bedroom windows after getting out of bed for about 20 min and leave the bathroom extractor fan on.

open living room and kitchen windows when home from work for 10-20 min and the bedroom windows again for about 10 min before going to bed.

I can't get my head around why people don't open the windows. my clothes would never get dry inside if I didn't air and I don't want mold enywhere as it aggravates the dc's eczema.

also wrt to heating, damp air takes a lot of energy to heat up and keep warm. airing lowers the moisture in the air and the heating can work more efficiently thus saving gas/oil/money.

I wonder if there is a difference in view between those who have the heating on all day and those who don't. Is this where the worry about losing heat comes from?

Unless its really cold I only have the heating on for a couple of hours in the morning and after 5 so it doesn't make much difference if I open the bedroom and bathroom windows for a while during the day.

Are the window opening refusers also heating on all dayers?

I think its the opposite as my heating is off during the day so I would make the house even colder by having the windows open and would then waste energy by having to turn the heating on to warm it up again. The back patio doors (in the kitchen) and the kitchen window gets opened when cooking and we also have a cooker hood extractor fan. The bathroom and shower room also have extractor fans and get used when using the shower/bath.

I never "air the house", certainly not in the winter. Luckily ours is quite spacious, and must have good ventilation, becuase musty smells and condensation don't seem to develop. As we are in a bungalow, all the windows are locked generally, so it is a faff to keep opening them.

Obviously we keep a spray in the bathroom for nasty niffs, and light the odd scented candle......

a house which is not adequately ventilated will be more humid, there is likely to be condensation, and the walls will be damper.

Sadly the damp walls are better conductors of heat, so using more energy to keep the house warm, and if you occasionally open the windows, the evaporating water will chill the walls.

The amount of heat held in air is quite small.

But I do realise that some people have an aversion to ventilation.

I am an opener of windows and a heating on all dayer. Our bathroom window is locked a centimetre open all the time, except when the DS's have their bath when I close it to stop draughts.

I jus open the windows for 5 mins whenever I am at home or cooking.

Wry drying damp clothes in the airing cupboard - you're not meant to as it can be a serious fire hazard. Last house I worked in had a fire risk assessment and a hunky fireman said so

Sorry about the typos!

just

wrt

I've never heard of 'airing out' the house either! We do have extractor fans in the bathroom and kitchen, so that keeps dampness/smells under control.

It's quite noisy where we live though, so not very nice to have the windows open too much (we live near a main road and an airport). Don't think the air outside is particularly 'fresh' around here either.

How is it a fire hazard?

Not that I do it, surely that just leads to more dampness?

For the survey - I've never heard of 'airing the house daily' (although do sometimes open windows in bathroom and kitchen, and of course when it's hot and stuffy in the Summer) and I don't have the heating on all day. That would be even more barking, to put the radiators on then open the window and let it all out, surely?
Then I rarely dry washing in the house, except in the tumble drier. Non tumble dryable stuff goes in the conservatory in my house.