10 ms·

"As said in other threads, our grandmothers and mothers used to open all windows briefly every morning ..." ... and also their children and grandchildren becau

by rsync 6y ago

"As said in other threads, our grandmothers and mothers used to open all windows briefly every morning ..." ... and also their children and grandchildren because who, anywhere, wouldn't do this ? Even while living in Minneapolis, in the dead of winter, we still cleared the air each day. I guess forced air heating made that relatively pain-free since you can reheat the entire house very quickly ...

tafda 6y ago
I’ve heard this usually described as a German custom “lüften”, conveniently in line with Covid guidance. Would be interesting to see a world map of daily clear-the-air adoption. I hadn’t heard of it before this year. https://welcometogermerica.com/2018/12/how-to-air-out-a-room-like-a-german.html https://welcometogermerica.com/2018/12/how-to-air-out-a-room...
zephyrthenoble 6y ago
I have never "cleared the air."
NikolaNovak 6y ago
>>who, anywhere, wouldn't do this ? FWIW - Many places/people. Most, in my anecdotal experience. - I've seen numerous condos in north america and Europe that do not have effectively openable windows, certainly not in quantity to properly vent the entire unit. So you couldn't if you wanted to. - Some cultures have very differing perspectives; where I'm from, interior "Cross-winds" are deemed to be deadly. You will NOT open two windows at the same time anywhere in the house, ever, period. If any window happens to be open and a kid opens the front door, they'll be yelled at to close it ASAP lest... I dunno, something about their lower back? - But most people I've spoken to / lived with, across countries and continents just don't bother / it doesn't occur to them. It's not a thing (this includes living with three host families in Minnesota in the 90's - none of them opened their windows much if at all, trusting their HVAC to take care of them. Two of them were medical professionals.
- Mediterraneo10 6y ago
  > where I'm from, interior "Cross-winds" are deemed to be deadly. In Romania, too, popular belief considers drafts to be a dangerous cause of illness, but at least in my own experience, opening all the windows in the morning is an exception. Airing out the house daily in winter is seen as a healthful thing to do by many if not most families... but of course once all the windows are closed again, there shouldn't be the slightest hint of a draft anywhere in the house.
- jyriand 6y ago
  My mother is constantly complaining that apartment is cold, and then I close the window.
- SRTP 6y ago
  > interior "Cross-winds" are deemed to be deadly Interesting! Never heard this before. Where are you from, if I may ask?
  - NikolaNovak 6y ago
    I think this article describes it well, including the absolute cultural prevalence, belief, and influence :). It is written in regard to a single country (Croatia) but applies to Balkans and few other parts of Europe as well: https://zablogreb.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/propuh-or-the-great-cultural-chasm-between-us/ https://zablogreb.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/propuh-or-the-gre...
    - jacobush 6y ago
      In Sweden too, at least a generation back or two, it was like this.
    - soared 6y ago
      Incredibly interesting, thanks!
  - newsbinator 6y ago
    Sounds like Eastern Europe to me. My family members used to yell at me for sitting down on a stone fence or concrete bench, because something something cold stone ... lower back / kidney disease.
themikesanto 6y ago
Never heard of people doing this.
coldpie 6y ago
I've lived in the Twin Cities my whole life and have never heard of or done this.
throwaway0a5e 6y ago
>because who, anywhere, wouldn't do this ? Whoever paying to heat the building in question isn't gonna do this.
- awild 6y ago
  Venting significantly reduces the humidity of your air, driving down the heat capacity of it. Meaning you will need less energy to heat up the room. This thread seems to give a great overview of all interactions: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/45349/how-air-humidity-affects-how-much-time-is-needed-for-heating-the-air#:~:text=3%20Answers&text=Fairly%20humid%20air%20(say%2060,than%20the%20dry%20air%20itself https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/45349/how-air-hu.... It's actually common part of contracts in Germany that you have to vent at least 10min per day through 2 different rooms etc.
  - DubiousPusher 6y ago
    Furnaces dry out the air. Human activity can contribute moisture to the air. But the net effect is usually to leave the interior air dryer than the exterior air. Depending greatly on your lavatory ventilation. Where I live, allowing outside air in greatly increases the inside humidity. And I would guess this is true for most people given the widespread complaints of dry winter skin and bloody noses. Which is the product of increased furnace operation.
  - core-questions 6y ago
    > Venting significantly reduces the humidity of your air Even when it's raining outside, etc?
    - bigbubba 6y ago
      If it's raining, then obviously it's not very cold outside. Unless you're in the habit of cranking your furnace up to tropical temperatures I guess. For me, I keep the temperature above freezing inside but otherwise? I put on a sweater and open the window. It's cheaper, refreshing, and better for the environment. Right now it's 8 C outside; with the window open and a sweater on, I'm as comfy as a clam.
graeme 6y ago
I live in Canada and keep a window open a crack in winter to vent the place. It is considered highly eccentric. I know my grandmother did it but people seem to have lost the habit. I’ve only heard of it being widespread in Germany.
jaclaz 6y ago
Besides the advantage of air heating (that gives the illusion of reheating the house [1])there are a lot of differences in the way houses are built. Generally speaking "traditional" houses in Europe (made with brick or stone walls) tend to have rather poor insulation but very high termal mass, as opposed to more modern houses (and to the essentially wood/timber based houses in north America) that have a higher insulation but very low thermal mass. In high thermal mass houses completely changing the air does not lower that much the temperature as as soon as you re-close the windows the air is re-heated by walls, ceilings and floor radiating the heat they accumulated before. [1] whilst in reality it only re-heats the air

by rsync 6y ago

tafda 6y ago

I’ve heard this usually described as a German custom “lüften”, conveniently in line with Covid guidance. Would be interesting to see a world map of daily clear-the-air adoption. I hadn’t heard of it before this year. https://welcometogermerica.com/2018/12/how-to-air-out-a-room-like-a-german.html https://welcometogermerica.com/2018/12/how-to-air-out-a-room...

zephyrthenoble 6y ago

I have never "cleared the air."

NikolaNovak 6y ago

>>who, anywhere, wouldn't do this ? FWIW - Many places/people. Most, in my anecdotal experience. - I've seen numerous condos in north america and Europe that do not have effectively openable windows, certainly not in quantity to properly vent the entire unit. So you couldn't if you wanted to. - Some cultures have very differing perspectives; where I'm from, interior "Cross-winds" are deemed to be deadly. You will NOT open two windows at the same time anywhere in the house, ever, period. If any window happens to be open and a kid opens the front door, they'll be yelled at to close it ASAP lest... I dunno, something about their lower back? - But most people I've spoken to / lived with, across countries and continents just don't bother / it doesn't occur to them. It's not a thing (this includes living with three host families in Minnesota in the 90's - none of them opened their windows much if at all, trusting their HVAC to take care of them. Two of them were medical professionals.

Mediterraneo10 6y ago
> where I'm from, interior "Cross-winds" are deemed to be deadly. In Romania, too, popular belief considers drafts to be a dangerous cause of illness, but at least in my own experience, opening all the windows in the morning is an exception. Airing out the house daily in winter is seen as a healthful thing to do by many if not most families... but of course once all the windows are closed again, there shouldn't be the slightest hint of a draft anywhere in the house.
jyriand 6y ago
My mother is constantly complaining that apartment is cold, and then I close the window.
SRTP 6y ago
> interior "Cross-winds" are deemed to be deadly Interesting! Never heard this before. Where are you from, if I may ask?
- NikolaNovak 6y ago
  I think this article describes it well, including the absolute cultural prevalence, belief, and influence :). It is written in regard to a single country (Croatia) but applies to Balkans and few other parts of Europe as well: https://zablogreb.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/propuh-or-the-great-cultural-chasm-between-us/ https://zablogreb.wordpress.com/2012/12/26/propuh-or-the-gre...
  - jacobush 6y ago
    In Sweden too, at least a generation back or two, it was like this.
  - soared 6y ago
    Incredibly interesting, thanks!
- newsbinator 6y ago
  Sounds like Eastern Europe to me. My family members used to yell at me for sitting down on a stone fence or concrete bench, because something something cold stone ... lower back / kidney disease.

themikesanto 6y ago

Never heard of people doing this.

coldpie 6y ago

I've lived in the Twin Cities my whole life and have never heard of or done this.

throwaway0a5e 6y ago

>because who, anywhere, wouldn't do this ? Whoever paying to heat the building in question isn't gonna do this.

awild 6y ago
Venting significantly reduces the humidity of your air, driving down the heat capacity of it. Meaning you will need less energy to heat up the room. This thread seems to give a great overview of all interactions: https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/45349/how-air-humidity-affects-how-much-time-is-needed-for-heating-the-air#:~:text=3%20Answers&text=Fairly%20humid%20air%20(say%2060,than%20the%20dry%20air%20itself https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/45349/how-air-hu.... It's actually common part of contracts in Germany that you have to vent at least 10min per day through 2 different rooms etc.
- DubiousPusher 6y ago
  Furnaces dry out the air. Human activity can contribute moisture to the air. But the net effect is usually to leave the interior air dryer than the exterior air. Depending greatly on your lavatory ventilation. Where I live, allowing outside air in greatly increases the inside humidity. And I would guess this is true for most people given the widespread complaints of dry winter skin and bloody noses. Which is the product of increased furnace operation.
- core-questions 6y ago
  > Venting significantly reduces the humidity of your air Even when it's raining outside, etc?
  - bigbubba 6y ago
    If it's raining, then obviously it's not very cold outside. Unless you're in the habit of cranking your furnace up to tropical temperatures I guess. For me, I keep the temperature above freezing inside but otherwise? I put on a sweater and open the window. It's cheaper, refreshing, and better for the environment. Right now it's 8 C outside; with the window open and a sweater on, I'm as comfy as a clam.

graeme 6y ago

I live in Canada and keep a window open a crack in winter to vent the place. It is considered highly eccentric. I know my grandmother did it but people seem to have lost the habit. I’ve only heard of it being widespread in Germany.

jaclaz 6y ago

Besides the advantage of air heating (that gives the illusion of reheating the house [1])there are a lot of differences in the way houses are built. Generally speaking "traditional" houses in Europe (made with brick or stone walls) tend to have rather poor insulation but very high termal mass, as opposed to more modern houses (and to the essentially wood/timber based houses in north America) that have a higher insulation but very low thermal mass. In high thermal mass houses completely changing the air does not lower that much the temperature as as soon as you re-close the windows the air is re-heated by walls, ceilings and floor radiating the heat they accumulated before. [1] whilst in reality it only re-heats the air