Heating And Fresh Air.

I always sleep with the bedroom window open. No heating on overnight. In the morning, I throw the bed linen back from the beds and open all the windows, upstairs and downstairs, for 15 minutes, setting a timer on Alexa. This was what my Mum and her Mum did (not the Alexa bit!😄) so I just do it, too! Once the windows are shut, the beds are made.

RosiesMaw2

In Germany they regularly open their windows to exchange stale air with fresh air from outside, a practice known as lüften . The German government recommends this practice to reduce the risk of infection, and it's sometimes required in leases.
Here are some ways Germans open their windows:
Stoßlüften
A practice of opening windows for at least five minutes in the morning and evening to circulate air.
Querlüften
A practice of opening all windows in a house or apartment to cross ventilate.
Frische Luft
A German term that refers to fresh air. Office workers in Germany often open all windows in the morning and after lunch to let in fresh air.

We do the first two, for 5 mins in the morning, unless the weather is foggy. Letting cold moist air in serves no useful purpose.

Always sleep with the bedroom window regardless of the weather and temperature.

silverlining48

If my heating is on the windows are not open. In winter
I sometimes open windows for a blow through for 10 minutes, then close them again.

That's what I do. In the morning when we get up, I turn the bed back, open the bedroom window, then go into the kitchen, door closed. The window is closed when I go back to make the bed.

We also have trickle vents in all windows, and the kitchen/diner gets a blast of air most mornings when I pop down to the composter.

love0c

Always sleep with the bedroom window regardless of the weather and temperature.

Inadvertently funny love0c - I bet that window takes up most of the bed, and isn’t very cuddly!

I'd not thought of sleeping with the bedroom window, hmm.

When we lived in the Netherlands it was usual to see the bedroom windows wide open and the duvets hanging over the window sill, winter and summer.

I open the back room doors regularly during the day for the dogs to go in and out. I leave them open for the necessary 5 or 10 minutes, but head off to a different room to keep myself warm. I then go back in, close the doors and am happy to carry on working in there. It doesn't take long to reheat.

We live in a centuries old listed house. Despite secondary glazing in major rooms ventilation is very good ( it’s draughty!) we don’t need to open windows!

Forgot to lock the door yesterday and the house was thoroughly aired before I realised the dogs had let themselves out - do wish they would learn how to shut it 😀

Tizliz

Forgot to lock the door yesterday and the house was thoroughly aired before I realised the dogs had let themselves out - do wish they would learn how to shut it 😀

DH does that.
It's not just a dog thing.

We instruct James to keep the East Wing aired at all times. One never knows when visitors may descend!

Our private quarters are kept at a equable temperature. When Molly arrives at 7 am sharp to turn back the covers and open the drapes, we may request some ad hoc airing.

When we had a holiday home in France we had to block all our trickle vents because of the cluster flys coming into the house in Autumn and dying in their thousands on the floors rund the house.

Gosh, our windows are sealed up tight all winter, unless my kitchen overheats while cooking. Our thermostat is kept at 19 celcius during the day, and down to about 17 at night.

I'm not sure what trickle vents are.

We have a cold air exchange on our natural gas furnace, meaning it brings in outside air, heats it, then distributes it through the house via vents in every room. Extractor fans in bathroom and kitchen.

Dempie55

I always sleep with the bedroom window open. No heating on overnight. In the morning, I throw the bed linen back from the beds and open all the windows, upstairs and downstairs, for 15 minutes, setting a timer on Alexa. This was what my Mum and her Mum did (not the Alexa bit!😄) so I just do it, too! Once the windows are shut, the beds are made.

Snap Dempie55! Although it’s a guesstimate rather than Alexa.

Don’t heat the bedroom until around 8pm then all heating goes off around 9.30 and we’re usually in bed before 10.30 with a trickle vent for air.

No central heating here, bedroom window open at night. Other windows opened for a short time in the mornings to air the house. My friends have moved into an eco house and I find it quite stifling. Much prefer my draughty old house.

I'm not sure what trickle vents are

They are small vents inserted at the top of a window frame or door to allow a small amount of air to come in. The ones in our conservatory can be closed but I think the one above a kitchen window can't be closed.

Thry can also remove moisture and help prevent mould forming.

M0nica

When we had a holiday home in France we had to block all our trickle vents because of the cluster flys coming into the house in Autumn and dying in their thousands on the floors rund the house.

I wonder if that's how all those spiders get into the conservatory? I can close the ones at the tops of windows but the one in the roof can't be closed. 🕷

Allira

Norah

We've 2 wood fireplaces, chimneys allow ventilation.

Bathroom windows are open. Sufficient.

Oh, we've got a chimney too, but no lit fire.

I think chimneys cause air to circulate. Also the open bathroom windows allowing the bedrooms to be chilly (14 last night) and nice air movement.

Our chimney has quite a large opening for a more modern house but we did put a cowl on the top because we had more than one bird falling down the chimney!

Katyj

Exactly the same as GrannyGravy. I have to keep an eye though because DH closes them sometimes 😃

Same here, on both counts. I like the bathroom window open a little bit - just for a an hour or so in the morning to air the landing, but my husband can sniff out an open window like a dog can sniff out sausages, and closes it behind me. The window and/or the bathroom door is opened and closed all morning 😀.

Casdon Just seen this. Ha ha yes funny. A window does keep still though and it does not snore!! Joking apart, I do like to feel cool air on my face in bed. I'm a strange one!!!

My late husband was a builder and he was often called out during the winter months to go and looked at mould in someone's house. Invariably it was condensation. He would always insist on all windows being opened, even on the coldest days. It is important to allow warm, moist air out and cold, drier air in. When we sleep we produce a lot of damp air and it has to go somewhere.

When we sleep we produce a lot of damp air and it has to go somewhere

I got fed up with the bedroom window being condensated up when we awoke in the wintertime, too cold to have window open.

We now have a fairly quiet dehumidifier on through the night. Problem solved.

DH used to grumble he couldn’t sleep for the hum, likewise if we had a fan going in hot weather.

But the snoring tells me otherwise, and neither of us notice it now.