Open windows in winter

[MichaelB]

It's 23 degrees and sunny here right now and there are quite a few people out walking around. My windows are open now. Here this is considered a very nice winter day.

OTOH, I cannot wait 'til I get to Florida.

 

[Nova]

I like a cooler temp when I sleep; DH likes it warm and toasty. An open window sometimes helps. The latest compromise is to close the window and lower the temp to 66 at night. Ha's idea of closing the bedroom door to isolate it from temps in the rest of the house seems interesting. Maybe MichaelB should stop worrying about the lady next door and just be glad that the lady in his house is so reasonable!

 

[Amethyst]

I know what you mean. It is one reason (though not the most important one) that I never liked working in an office that is all women. Women are always calling maintenance to turn up the thermostat.

Then they inexplicably drape sweaters over their shoulders, without putting their arms into the sleeves. It's like they went to some kind of dowdiness finishing school.

On topic, we keep the bedroom window open long after some other people would have turned on the heat. We like a bedroom that is about 50 degrees, with the electric blanket going. Once the furnace is on, though, all windows stay closed unless there's a sunny-day thaw.

Amethyst

Older women don't seem to put up with this easily, so one sacrifice if you want to be with a women is that you will also be too hot.

Ha

 

[freebird5825]

My utility bills are high enough without having an open window contributing to the damage. However, I do open them for a short period about once a week to get some fresh air inside. I also have a fair number of plants in the house, all producing some extra oxygen naturally.

Indoor Plants That Produce Oxygen | Garden Guides

High-Oxygen Plants for a Home | eHow.com

 

[aaronc879]

The only time I ever open my windows is for maybe a week or 2 in the summer when the temp is over 70 but not too hot and humid. If it's less than 70 outside then it's too cold to have the windows open. I like to sleep with the heat up to nearly 75 even when it's below zero outside. The rest of my home is no more than 60 degrees in the winter because i'm never in those rooms for more than a few minutes.

 

[Khan]

I like a cooler temp when I sleep; DH likes it warm and toasty. An open window sometimes helps. The latest compromise is to close the window and lower the temp to 66 at night. Ha's idea of closing the bedroom door to isolate it from temps in the rest of the house seems interesting. Maybe MichaelB should stop worrying about the lady next door and just be glad that the lady in his house is so reasonable!

Good grief.
Winter temp: 60F day, 50F night.

 

[Khan]

My utility bills are high enough without having an open window contributing to the damage. However, I do open them for a short period about once a week to get some fresh air inside. I also have a fair number of plants in the house, all producing some extra oxygen naturally.

Indoor Plants That Produce Oxygen | Garden Guides

High-Oxygen Plants for a Home | eHow.com

I have house plants.
If I want fresh air I go outside.

 

[W2R]

During the delicious days of spring and fall, I open all the doors and windows and enjoy airing the house out for long periods of time.

When it's cold, that is impractical. I still open the side and back door for a little while on most days to get some circulation going through the house. I do this only for around ten or fifteen minutes, while enjoying my morning coffee. The cold air helps me to shake off the fog of sleep. Then I let the heater warm up my house again.

 

[TromboneAl]

We open ours at night year round, and when it's warmer we have two open to get a cross draft.

Of course it rarely gets down to freezing around here, but the bedroom is typically 55 to 60 degrees in the morning.

If there's one thing above all others that helps us sleep well, it's a cold room and heavy blankets.

 

[Fireup2020]

I'll happily pay $50-75 a month if needed to keep fresh air flowing through the house! Turning off the heat means cold stuffy air! Hate too much A/C for the heat - for the same reason - not so comfy to pop open the windows to have hot fresh air blow through

Let her do her own thing!

 

[kumquat]

You would be amazed how many people are sitting out on the sidewalk having their coffee or sandwiches with temps in the low 40s.

Is that + or - 40's?

I have a friend who wears shorts at both temps.

DW cracks the bedroom window at both temps P's me O, but only because of cost of heating. I want to [-]kill[/-] educate her at -40 but after 33 years it seems too late.

Cold is relative. I used to take Boy Scouts winter camping at any temp between +10 and -50 F. "Be prepared" and it's not a big deal.

 

[WhoDaresWins]

Nope. No open windows here today with a high of 32 and a low of 20. I keep the thermostat around 68 during the day and set it down to 63 at night. If I want some warmth and ambience on these cold winter evenings, I turn on my gas log fireplace in the den off my kitchen. It throws off a lot of heat, to the point of sweltering almost. I wear flannel pajamas and have blankets on the bed. It it feels stuffy, I turn on the ceiling fan.
I leave for 3 weeks in FL at the end of the month. I will warm up there and hope the memory carries me through until spring.

 

[samclem]

If this neighbor has a "ventless" gas heater, then she might be opening the window for safety or comfort reasons (to keep O2 levels higher and to get rid of some of the copious amounts of water vapor these things pump out). These heaters are only supposed to be run for 4 hours max per day, and a window should be opened (a little) when they are operating. I'm not a big fan of them (they are illegal in many places, Canada included from what I recall)

It would take hundreds of typical houseplants, all in the sun, to produce the same amount of oxygen used by one person. Any effect of their presence (or of the respiration of the people inside the house) on O2 levels is swamped by the normal air infiltration rate of a typical home. That's not to say that they aren't enjoyable, but they probably aren't changing the O2 levels in the home to a detectable degree, and the wet soil is often considered a mold oasis and a net "minus" for indoor air quality.

 

[Nords]

We keep several of our windows open year-round, too. When we're sleeping we like the room cool while we snuggle with a Vellux blanket for extra warmth.

Sometimes those open windows are a problem when the rain starts blowing from the "wrong" direction onto window tracks that have gotten grimy from lack of use/maintenance...

 

[Khan]

We keep several of our windows open year-round, too. When we're sleeping we like the room cool while we snuggle with a Vellux blanket for extra warmth.

Sometimes those open windows are a problem when the rain starts blowing from the "wrong" direction onto window tracks that have gotten grimy from lack of use/maintenance...

And what is the lowest temperature where you are?

 

[Dawg52]

Sometimes I wrap a blanket around my head. Like dogs, men are happiest with a cold nose.

Ha

Not this old dog.

There was a similar discussion on another board I frequent. Some lady from Canada said her bedroom window was cracked a few inches and the temp at the time was -17. She said she would close it when it got cold enough.

 

[travelover]

Not this old dog.

There was a similar discussion on another board I frequent. Some lady from Canada said her bedroom window was cracked a few inches and the temp at the time was -17. She said she would close it when it got cold enough.

Yea, but that's -17 degrees C (Canadian). In Fahrenheit that's balmy.

 

[M Paquette]

And what is the lowest temperature where you are?

I hear that ice is always a liquid there. I dunno how they can build anything under those extreme conditions.

 

[devans0]

When I was younger, I lived in a house with radiators and a boiler. It was impossible to regulate. 90 degrees F in winter inside that was 20 degrees below freezing outside. If the windows hadn't been frozen shut in my room, the windows would have been open.

 

[Nords]

And what is the lowest temperature where you are?

Well... well... well... this morning it got down to 63 degrees, but some mornings have even been in the 50s!!

 

[Rustic23]

After a three year tour in Germany we rotated to Hawaii in January. The first day of work I showed up at work in a short sleeved uniform. The civilian secretaries could not believe I was not cold! Three years later they were right, it was jackets on the flight line!

 

[FUEGO]

To those who crack the windows open to get "fresh" air, I have a question. What kind of air do you have in your house before you open the windows?

Does the air get "stale" (if so, describe how you know it is stale)? Odoriferous from lots of cooking? Too much B.O. (and I don't mean the Commander in Chief, so let's not get political!)?

Just curious. I have a 38 year old house with original windows and we open the door many times per day even if we never leave the house. I am assuming we get plenty of "fresh air" circulating passively from not having an air tight house.

 

[haha]

To those who crack the windows open to get "fresh" air, I have a question. What kind of air do you have in your house before you open the windows?

Does the air get "stale" (if so, describe how you know it is stale)? Odoriferous from lots of cooking? Too much B.O. (and I don't mean the Commander in Chief, so let's not get political!)?

Just curious. I have a 38 year old house with original windows and we open the door many times per day even if we never leave the house. I am assuming we get plenty of "fresh air" circulating passively from not having an air tight house.

It's simple. Some people like the feeling of airflow, so we take steps to achieve this.

But to directly address your point, usually indoor air is more polluted than the outdoor air- so almost any indoor air quality can be improved by exchange with the outdoors.

Ha

 

[FUEGO]

It's simple. Some people like the feeling of airflow, so we take steps to achieve this.

Thanks - so "fresh air" = "air flow" or a breeze. Gotcha. I understand that - I like a little breeze too when it is warm. I guess I was wondering if people had a distaste for "stale" air or "old" air and just wanted "different" air.

But to directly address your point, usually indoor air is more polluted than the outdoor air- so almost any indoor air quality can be improved by exchange with the outdoors.

I have actually heard the exact opposite on this point. Outside air has a lot of automobile exhaust and the resultant chemicals (SOX, NOX, Ozone, CO, VOC/HC, etc) and entrained particulate matter (mostly from natural sources in drier areas, but diesel combustion produces a significant amount too if your house is near a road, particularly a truck route). Not to mention seasonal allergens like pollen.

Sometimes we open a window if we just made some smokey or stinky food or burnt something (ie blackened pan fried fish or pan fried sausage/bacon). Otherwise we are generally satisfied with the indoor air quality and characteristics (though it does get a little dry in the winter). My in-laws, coming from an ethnic immigrant community, frequently have their windows or door open in the middle of summer heat or winter cold. But it is usually to air out some very pungent foods (fish, intestines, shrimp paste, etc).

 

[Nords]

I have actually heard the exact opposite on this point. Outside air has a lot of automobile exhaust and the resultant chemicals (SOX, NOX, Ozone, CO, VOC/HC, etc) and entrained particulate matter (mostly from natural sources in drier areas, but diesel combustion produces a significant amount too if your house is near a road, particularly a truck route). Not to mention seasonal allergens like pollen.

We call those "tropical tradewinds"...