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Sleeping with the windows open

(132 Posts)
Zonne Mon 18-Jul-22 00:24:09

It’s possibly the hottest night of the year so far. I’ve just been up to pull the bedroom curtains, and noticed that not one of the ten or so houses I can see has their windows open, not even the small ones. I can’t imagine how hot it must be in their bedrooms.

I have at least one bedroom window open all year, and tonight all the upstairs windows are all flung wide, and will stay that way. Please tell me I’m not the only one?

lindiann Mon 18-Jul-22 09:53:17

I told my computer off last night as it came up Rain Coming.Told it not to be stupid, went to look out of back door and it started to rain then Hail Stones made it a lot cooler and fresher.

farview Mon 18-Jul-22 10:05:12

When we've lived abroad...we kept windows closed to keep out the warm air....

Grandmabatty Mon 18-Jul-22 10:08:30

I would love to have my bedroom window open, however the previous owner put french windows in (bungalow) so they are firmly closed at night.

Jaxjacky Mon 18-Jul-22 10:08:30

Another who has the bedroom window open all year round.

kircubbin2000 Mon 18-Jul-22 11:45:07

Usually shut as cat comes in from next door.A few open today as it's a bit warmer.Lots of flies too.

Teacheranne Mon 18-Jul-22 11:54:20

karmalady

Teacheranne, I angle my plantation slats slightly, no-one can see in and air can flow

I’ll try that, thanks. I do angle them slightly during the day to stop folks looking in but have always shut them tightly at night.

I have a piece of mesh over the window, held on to the frame by double sided Velcro strips which keeps the flies out when I read in bed. That window has a limiter on so it only opens a little way which I had installed when I moved here. So the air flow is not brilliant but better than nothing!

Nannina Mon 18-Jul-22 11:58:37

I think the current advice is to keep windows closed and curtains/blinds drawn in the day to minimise heat build up in the day. When temperatures drop as the sun goes down open curtains and windows to let hot air out and cooler in. My bedroom is south facing and it works for me

Happysexagenarian Mon 18-Jul-22 12:03:40

We always have our bedroom windows open even in the depths of winter. Last night every window in the house was open.
We have bug nets on our bedroom window ever since DH was attacked by a horsefly! Tonight we might sleep in the garden, we did it last year and it was lovely.

Nandalot Mon 18-Jul-22 12:04:53

Perhaps they have a DH like mine who thinks his hay fever is worse if we sleep with the window open! The bedroom was an oven this morning.

CountessFosco Mon 18-Jul-22 12:06:08

This is of course the blessing of inward opening windows and outward opening shutters as we had in France. Why don't we have these here? Well, probably the answer is because it is only fine and hot for such brief periods.

maddyone Mon 18-Jul-22 12:12:31

Whatever else you do, make sure your curtains or blinds are shut during the day if your windows face the sun. It really makes a tremendous difference to the temperature in the room. We also run a fan directed at the bed all night and have a fan downstairs too. The back door is open most of the day to allow the breeze through, plus various windows when the sun is not on them.

watermeadow Mon 18-Jul-22 15:42:31

I can no longer have doors open and windows only6” top and bottom because I have two indoor cats. They have a Catio, an outside run accessed from a window so I’ve been leaving that window wide open all night. I hate the heat and am not bothered by security.

AreWeThereYet Mon 18-Jul-22 15:56:24

The sun-facing windows and curtains are closed all day and opened in the cool of the evening, until we go to bed. Any breeze then runs right through the house. We're fortunate that our house is north/south facing, so we live in the north side during hot weather, apart from trips to the kitchen. I'm also grateful for the leather sofas - lovely and cool. When the leather warms up a bit I change seats.

I went to hang some washing out a short while ago, and weirdly although while standing in the sunshine it was baking, in the shade there was quite a nice cool breeze and didn't feel that warm.

AreWeThereYet Mon 18-Jul-22 15:57:17

Totally forgot the point of the OP, sorry - yes we have bedroom windows open all night all through the year.

Pudding123 Mon 18-Jul-22 16:09:55

I have all blinds and curtains shut if the temp outside is warmer than inside and windows shut until the air outside is cool.

M0nica Mon 18-Jul-22 16:24:18

All south facing windows are closed with curtains drawn. We have all the north facing bedroom windows wide open and at night we open the south facing bathroom window, with venetian blind down and shut, to encourage a cross breeze, but it is closed first thing.

Neighbours on the same north/south orientation as us seem to have all their north facing windows open

Dinahmo Mon 18-Jul-22 22:15:43

If you#re leaving your windows open at night, try leaving an outside light on. That should attract the insects and stop them from coming indoors.

Blossoming Mon 18-Jul-22 22:26:07

Windows closed, vents open to allow a draught. The blackout curtains keep out the sunlight.

Serendipity22 Mon 18-Jul-22 22:26:38

Bedroom window wide open here.

smile

Helen657 Mon 18-Jul-22 22:41:44

Bedroom windows both wide open, plus the bathroom and bedroom windows at back of house, also got small fan on in bedroom, & left one on in downstairs hallway. Despite having curtains closed all day my bedroom is currently 30 degrees according to the thermostat! It’s going to be a long night!!! Almost looking forward to going to work in the air conditioned office tomorrow- it was bliss today!

twiglet77 Mon 18-Jul-22 23:14:10

The point of closing windows is to keep the cooler air in and the hot air out. Open by 05.00 to freshen the room, unless you can leave them wide open overnight, and then shut them by 07.00. Keep curtains closed for the same reason. My house was a comfortable 27 degrees today when it was 39 outside. The windows other than the south and west-facing sides were cracked open on the security latches but certainly not wide open when it’s scorching outside, I want a cooler sanctuary in the house!

Catterygirl Mon 18-Jul-22 23:34:00

Can’t bear the cold. Windows shut all year round. OH is in spare room during the heatwave and complains every morning that he wakes up at 4, feeling very cold. He has two fans and three windows open. He was brought up in the Middle East with aircon on 24/7. Luckily we no longer argue about this and try to help each other reaching the ideal temperature.

Fudgemonkey Tue 19-Jul-22 11:07:57

Windows open during the night but by 6am all closed and blinds/curtains pulled to shut out the sun. House feels cool compared to outside which is 33 degrees ???

undines Tue 19-Jul-22 11:13:58

I have all my windows wide and curtains drawn but I notice many neighbours have all tight shut. I think it depends how well-insulated your house is, how good the blinds are and how much breeze there is - a balancing act. But I notice our downstairs loo and utility room, neither of which have windows, are the coolest places when the rest of the house heats up, so today I am experimenting with one of my downstairs rooms to see what happens - window shut, dark curtains drawn. Air conditioning is the only real answer!

Awesomegranny Tue 19-Jul-22 11:15:12

I have plantation shutters too, find having one panel slightly one lets in a breeze and people can’t see in. Trick is when the window is in shade during the day have then and windows open, then shut them all and close the door and cool air stays in the room works really well.