|
Post by Elis on Oct 14, 2020 7:48:42 GMT
Apparently' German's obsession with fresh air and frequently opening windows is becoming increasingly interesting in other countries.
Just out of interest, how is iit done in other countries? I'm not a big fan of frequently opening windows since I get cold easily and I also think that some complaints about rooms being stuffy or smelly are completely exaggerated (usually by those who open the window for at least 20 minutrs every hour). Since I get cold easily, I have had plenty of times when I hardly knew which and how many clothes to put on in the morning to make sure I would not end up sitting in an office (or, earlier, a classroom) as a freezing, shivering, non-functioning zombie whose fingers were too stiff to write properly from the cold. Meanwhile, other people could not get enoough fresh air. One head of a place for private tutoring of pupils where I spent several years often had the windows of her office wide open, even in winter, and the heating on at the same time.
However, we are actually obliged to make sure we get fresh air in our flat, so I do make sure to open the windows wide around once or twice a day (sometimes more in certain rooms, especially whe we have laundry drying in there). It is something we now have to be extremely careful about because of our little guy and living on the third floor, so I usually try to do it when Frank and our little guy are outside so I don't have to worry. Somewhere I read that German houses are made in a way that requires opening the windows regularly to prevent walls from getting mouldy.
Admittedly, I'd be quite happy if I could live somewhere where this obsession with opening windows and "fresh air" doesn't exist. It may help against Covid-19 and so when I had to stand in at the school last week, I left two large windows wide open, but I was dressed in several layers, including a large, warm cardigan and must have looked like I'd dressed to teach in Siberia.
|
|
|
Post by JoeP on Oct 14, 2020 9:34:49 GMT
There's certainly been an obsession with "fresh air" among older generations in Britain. Part of it may be uncomfortable experiences with damp leading to condensation leading to mould, which you mention. And there's definitely a degree of worry about noxious things building up in the air inside homes and offices - but apart from carbon monoxide from badly maintained boilers etc - which everywhere now has detectors for - I'm not sure if there's any ground for. Having the windows open while the heating is on would definitely trigger a different obsession - "wasting money! stop it!".
|
|
|
Post by Kye on Oct 14, 2020 10:08:28 GMT
In my condo, there's a filter that constant circulates and purifies the air. If it's not on, the apartment gets very stuffy very fast since we have excellent insolation. I don't like to keep the windows open much because there's a highway right behind our building and the air around here is not very pure.
|
|
|
Post by Mari on Oct 16, 2020 8:43:37 GMT
I have all our bedroom windows open 24/7 and downstairs we have rosters for air circulation. I only close them when it's freezing and then usually still only at night.
The only window in this house that gets closed for longer periods is the one in the attic.
Mind you, the heating isn't on in the rooms with open windows. Only downstairs and in the bathroom.
|
|
|
Post by kingedmund on Oct 18, 2020 3:50:13 GMT
This is an issue? Odd. Growing up we opened up windows out on the ranch when it got cooler from hotter days but ac and heaters typically were on more often than not. Currently, I sometimes open up my front door and my three back doors if it’s a nice morning or evening but only for however long I am playing on my new piano. But I never think much about fresh air. The air system pretty much runs that for us.
|
|
|
Post by kingedmund on Oct 18, 2020 3:54:06 GMT
Plus if you tried to open windows most of the year here it would either freeze you out or die of heat since our temps are extreme. -17°C (winter) to sometimes 40°C summer.
|
|
|
Post by JoeP on Oct 18, 2020 9:11:47 GMT
Tell me more about the piano!
|
|
|
Post by kingedmund on Oct 21, 2020 3:39:16 GMT
Well. We went to the mystic store and I knew I wanted a baby grand but I was not sure if I wanted new one or older one. The new ones seemed electrical or had some type of electrics to them to enhance their quality so I was not impressed. Plays most were this stuffy looking black ones or white ones. I really prefer the natural wood look. My eye landed on a 1960’s, in perfect condition, brown, Chickering baby grand piano. I also became attracted to its history in American Pianos. It’s sounds beautiful and love it. My grandmother is smiling in on me in her afterlife if there is one.
|
|
|
Post by kingedmund on Oct 21, 2020 3:39:53 GMT
It’s on my Facebook. I posted it several months back. Of course I don’t really post much on FB much less read anyone’s stuff. I don’t have a lot of time to do that much. Focusing on other stuff anyway.... like playing piano.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Oct 21, 2020 12:45:10 GMT
I'd love to hear you play it
|
|
|
Post by JoeP on Oct 21, 2020 18:17:54 GMT
And see! A video!
|
|
|
Post by kingedmund on Oct 22, 2020 15:06:15 GMT
I just might do that one of these days. I am a little shy playing for anyone. Even my own husband.
|
|
|
Post by Elis on Nov 5, 2020 12:49:21 GMT
I have all our bedroom windows open 24/7 and downstairs we have rosters for air circulation. I only close them when it's freezing and then usually still only at night. The only window in this house that gets closed for longer periods is the one in the attic. Mind you, the heating isn't on in the rooms with open windows. Only downstairs and in the bathroom. Are you not worried that your older daughter could fall out? We are very careful about leaving windows in certain rooms wide open only when we can really watch Malcolm for the entire time. At this point, I'd feel way too cold with the windows open constantly, even in the bedroom.
|
|
|
Post by Mari on Nov 7, 2020 6:47:13 GMT
No, the windows are only slightly open and locked in that position. Do you not have positioning locks on your windows? Here in the Netherlands it's standard except for on really ancient windows.
|
|
|
Post by JoeP on Nov 7, 2020 12:19:15 GMT
How open is "slightly"? The locks on my windows allow for about a finger's-width gap. Nothing bigger than a mouse could get in or out.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Nov 7, 2020 13:48:43 GMT
We don't have locks on our windows, we have large windows that open fully and small windows that not even a small child could crawl through. We rarely open the large windows, which are about waist height at the bottom, since we don't need to but a small child could easily climb onto the window ledge if we did. The small windows are approximately 2 metres from the floor and, in the bedrooms, are usually open throughout the year. They provide sufficient fresh air to the rooms.
|
|
|
Post by Kye on Nov 7, 2020 13:54:10 GMT
My mind is seriously boggled at the idea of keeping windows open during the winter.
|
|
|
Post by whollygoats on Nov 7, 2020 16:05:56 GMT
frisches Luft!
There is something of a Germanic trait which remains amongst my elders of 'sleeping cool'; opening the windows a tad before retiring for the night and shutting up upon arising.
|
|
|
Post by Kye on Nov 7, 2020 16:40:09 GMT
If I tried that, my electricity bill would be astronomical.
|
|
|
Post by Elis on Nov 7, 2020 16:44:53 GMT
frisches Luft! There is something of a Germanic trait which remains amongst my elders of 'sleeping cool'; opening the windows a tad before retiring for the night and shutting up upon arising. We only have the windows slightly open dt night when it is warm. We'd gett too cold otherwise and the temperature might easily go down to 17°C or less. 'Sleeping cool' would be around 18°C for me, that is cool enough. For Malcolm too, I think. He still wears a sleeping bag since he won't stay under his duvet.
|
|
|
Post by Kye on Nov 7, 2020 17:37:52 GMT
I put the heat down to 19 C at night in the winter. That's cool enough for me!
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Nov 7, 2020 18:05:49 GMT
Where I grew up in Yorkshire, we were lucky if the room thermometer hit -20 C. (cf Monty Python)
|
|
|
Post by Mari on Nov 7, 2020 18:49:15 GMT
If I tried that, my electricity bill would be astronomical. Actually it isn't. The thermometer is in the living room downstairs so it only heats the house when the temperature there is below the pre-set one. Keeping the bedroom windows open while all the doors are closed is not a problem. According to the isolation experts airing regularly even improves heating proficiency.
|
|
|
Post by Kye on Nov 7, 2020 20:18:26 GMT
That doesn't work at my place where there's a thermostat in every room and the cats need easy access to my bedroom or they meow their heads off. Plus a room gets chilly quickly when it's -25 out...
|
|
|
Post by Mari on Nov 8, 2020 7:21:24 GMT
Ah, that changes things. We have a very strict doors closed policy to keep the warmth in the right rooms.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Nov 8, 2020 7:24:24 GMT
Ah, that changes things. We have a very strict doors closed policy to keep the warmth in the right rooms. Your children might frustrate that policy
|
|
|
Post by Mari on Nov 8, 2020 15:36:34 GMT
It will take them another 5 years or so till they're tall enough to open the doors and by that time they're old enough to understand rules and punishment.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Nov 8, 2020 16:46:42 GMT
Aha, I was thinking more about the early teenage years
|
|
|
Post by whollygoats on Nov 8, 2020 17:22:23 GMT
**FACEPALM**
Tangent...You're talking to a Dutch mother, man.
Think! Dutch babies! She said 'rules and punishment'. This, from a Dutch mother.
|
|
|
Post by tangent on Nov 8, 2020 19:21:28 GMT
Think! Dutch babies! She said 'rules and punishment'. This, from a Dutch mother. You perhaps overlooked the winky symbol.
|
|