Do you 'air' your house?

Fruball

As someone whose job involves going in and out of people's houses all day long I can tell you which houses are aired and which aren't.

Without wanting to be rude, the houses where windows clearly aren't aired smell VERY stale, particularly in bedrooms.

The thing is, every family/house has it's own unique scent (although we can never smell our own) and unaired ones are not pleasant _pale_

I had my living room window open most of yesterday! I like to open the windows for a few minutes each day for a quick blow through.

moreofthegoodstuff

Fruball wrote: »

As someone whose job involves going in and out of people's houses all day long I can tell you which houses are aired and which aren't.

Without wanting to be rude, the houses where windows clearly aren't aired smell VERY stale, particularly in bedrooms.

The thing is, every family/house has it's own unique scent (although we can never smell our own) and unaired ones are not pleasant _pale_

But for example in my case I keep my windows open practically all the time but still have damp issues and condensation. The property I live in is only around 20 years old but just isn't right!

bestpud

Our bathroom windows is open all the time in the summer and during the day in the winter. I open the bathroom door when I have a shower too. If we don't the bathroom gets mouldy very quickly.

I open the bedroom windows for a couple of hours in the morning to dry up the condensation.

I open the front door and kitchen window when cooking to prevent condensation and smells.

I like having a breeze blowing through the house when it starts to feel stuffy so tend to open more than one window at a time.

I used to be like that with spiders. I had to have all the furniture away from the walls so I could get the vacuum cleaner round them and then I'd put a bag over the nozzle and hold it on with an elastic band in case I'd caught any and they might climb back out.

I wouldn't go near the garden and never opened windows. I paid the window cleaner extra to get rid of webs and/or spiders under the eaves! I could have caused a serious accident the day one dropped on me in the car while I was driving!

I'm much better now though as I did some desensitisation work with a counsellor. I couldn't bear to look at a cartoon picture when I started - couldn't even cope with knowing the cartoon picture was in the same room.

Now I can cope with one sat in the corner of a room and can catch and release outside all but the very big ones. I don't think I will ever pick one up and I don't like them but they don't rule my life any more.

Truly, its transformed my life! I strongly recommend you look into ways of easing your fears because it only gets worse in my experience.

valk_scot

I live in a large, high ceilinged, well insulated 30's house, dry a lot of my laundry indoors in the winter and don't have a condensation problem. I still open most windows every day even in winter to let the air blow through, open the bathroom window after showers and baths and sleep with the bedroom windows open. I think it makes a lot of difference to the air quality, houses that are sealed up all the time smell stuffy and a bit sour tbh. My BIL has a new build house with climate control type heating and it's horrible inside, you can barely breathe. Plus there's a horrid stale odour that they try to mask with air freshner type things. I try not to visit. There's nothing like fresh air!

OP, I presume you don't stay in the house 24/7 for fear of spiders? So what's the difference between going outside and having the windows open a little with bug screens across the gaps? Or, have you thought of going for treatment for this phobia? The general opinion is that once a phobia starts severely affecting your lifestyle it's time to seek help. And I can think of few things more important to a healthy lifestyle than being able to breath fresh air.

rileydog

Fruball wrote: »

As someone whose job involves going in and out of people's houses all day long I can tell you which houses are aired and which aren't.

Without wanting to be rude, the houses where windows clearly aren't aired smell VERY stale, particularly in bedrooms.

The thing is, every family/house has it's own unique scent (although we can never smell our own) and unaired ones are not pleasant _pale_

I had my living room window open most of yesterday! I like to open the windows for a few minutes each day for a quick blow through.

I'm confident that mine is the exception to your rule For example now I'm in the living room and all I can smell is Lenor as I've got washing drying, my bathroom always smells of lovely shower gel and my bedroom doesn't smell but I think that's because there's just me and I am clean, shower daily, change bedding regularly etc - if there was me and a smelly bloke I would have to brave it and open them more regularly as the 'morning after bloke smell' is not a pleasant one!

I'm still quite shocked at the amount of people that do air, or more like the amount that don't! I thought it would be more evenly split but looks like it's only me that doesn't air! :rotfl:To be honest my spider phobia has got worse in recent years as but even when it was better I hardly ever opened the windows and I've never had damp/condensation issues wherever I've lived over the years.

rileydog

valk_scot wrote: »

OP, I presume you don't stay in the house 24/7 for fear of spiders? So what's the difference between going outside and having the windows open a little with bug screens across the gaps? Or, have you thought of going for treatment for this phobia? The general opinion is that once a phobia starts severely affecting your lifestyle it's time to seek help. And I can think of few things more important to a healthy lifestyle than being able to breath fresh air.

Nope, I manage to leave the house on a daily basis and hold down a full time job in a responsible position. I even go in my garden in the summer The reasoning behind not wanting the windows open is that is how the spiders get IN and then lurk in places ready to pop out and scare me :eek: The screens would stop the bigguns but not the smaller ones but keeping the windows shut keeps them all out

I don't think my phopia 'severely affects my lifestyle' - I choose to keep my windows closed when I'm home, my house doesn't have condensation/damp and it doesn't smell so what's the harm in keeping them closed?

I reaaaaaaally don't want to address the phobia as it creeps me out even typing about them! I started the thread because I was interested in whether it was 'normal' to air (which it seems it is) but now we've got round to spider issues I'll probably not be able to get to sleep tonight as everytime I close my eyes I see one! :eek:

Threebabes

Oohh yes. I like to air the house out. I like the windows open, if theyve been closed and the heating has been on it feels dry and stuffy. I dry the clothes indoors in the winter.

Goldiegirl

I do like to have fresh air in each day.

In the summer I would have windows open all the time, and even in the winter, I open the windows for a while each day.

Erinnire

I sleep with the bedroom window open whatever the weather and always open the bathroom window when having a shower or bath and always have the window open when the tumble dryer is on but that's about it. I am allergic to bees so try not to have the windows open too much in the summer.

valk_scot

rileydog wrote: »

I don't think my phopia 'severely affects my lifestyle' - I choose to keep my windows closed when I'm home, my house doesn't have condensation/damp and it doesn't smell so what's the harm in keeping them closed?

I reaaaaaaally don't want to address the phobia as it creeps me out even typing about them! I started the thread because I was interested in whether it was 'normal' to air (which it seems it is) but now we've got round to spider issues I'll probably not be able to get to sleep tonight as everytime I close my eyes I see one! :eek:

Umm......I would say these are fairly severe effects. Don't you? It's not just about not being able to open your windows tbh.