Do you 'air' your house?

Hermia

I open the windows every day even if it's only for a ten minute blast. Having lived in rental properties I know that mould problems are very hard to get rid of once they take hold. I also like fresh air. I think I am quite sensitive to bad smells as I pick up on pet smells/bins/dirty clothes really quickly. I hate it when I go into a house and you can smell what the family have had for dinner for the last week!

rileydog

valk_scot wrote: »

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.

Hmmn, maybe we have different ideas of what an 'effect' or even a 'severe effect' is! I don't like spiders, they freak me out so I do my best to avoid them and stop them getting in my house by keeping my windows closed. Keeping my windows closed has no 'effect' on me. Talking about them does have an effect ie the images popping into my head at bedtime so I just don't talk about them

Strangely I'm OK with the back door being open in the summer but not the windows, I think it's because spiders are sneaky and like to creep through gaps whereas I've never seen one coming through an open door!

coolcait

rileydog wrote: »

...
Due to a spider phobia I probably open my windows three times a year (only in the height of summer when it's unbearbale) I also dry all my washing inside, again because of the spider risk! ...QUOTE]

I also have a spider phobia, but I do 'air' my house.

That's because I know that the eight-legged horrors who rampage across my living-room; brazenly situate themselves - peeping-tom style - on my bedroom walls; and monopolise my bathroom...

are all 'house spiders'.

Not 'outdoor spiders who came in through the open window'.

You need to find a different coping strategy for your spider phobia.

You also need to look at the pieces of furniture which are placed against a wall. Especially outside walls.

Move a couple of those, and see whether or not you have a damp/mould problem. :eek::eek::eek:

For me, that was the moment when I had to learn to allow my rational brain to deal with the 'airing'/'spider' dilemma.

'airing' won.

coolcait

rileydog wrote: »

... I have some of that spray - ... and vet strength flea spray on the carpet which lasts 12 months, and screens on some of the windows, and a super-strength spider spray imported from Oz - and I keep my wondows shut!

I wonder what effect all of thatmight be having on your lungs and/or respiratory system? Or on others who live in your house.

Although I have a phobia of spiders, I recognise that the indigenous British species don't cause much physical harm.

A wide array of insecticide sprays, and no ventilation, might just cause physical damage to a human.

Callie22

I constantly air our house. We rent, and we have a real damp problem due to the fact that the back half of the house apparently has no damp-proof course, so if I didn't air it a lot we would have real issues with damp and condensation, which ultimately would affect our health. So I keep an upstairs bedroom window open all day, and open the downstairs windows as much as possible when I'm home. I'm also really strict about regularly cleaning the windows and wiping the seals and sills with bleach solution, so they don't go mouldy.

I really, really hate 'stuffy' houses and also really can't stand it when I can smell last night's dinner the morning after, so that's another factor. It drives OH wild that there are windows open constantly but I hate living in a stinky, damp, stuffed-up house. I'm (over) sensitive to smells too, which is annoying.

claire16c

No I don't open the windows because like you I have a spider phobia. I would love to get fly screens installed. When it gets hot in the summer we use fans or I open the windows for about 30 mins before going to bed & that's it. I wouldn't open them in the winter because I want a warm house! I don't want all the heat escaping.

Hopefull next summer I should be able to never have to open the windows because we have warm air vent heating & we've just had a new boiler which comes with this summer air cool
Mode.

Plus in the summer sometimes the back or front door gets left open for a while when were doing stuff outside.

But no we have no damp problems. Oh and the couple of times I relented & opened windows in the summer in the day resulted in massive spiders coming in so it just reinforces my fear!

rileydog

coolcait wrote: »

You need to find a different coping strategy for your spider phobia.

You also need to look at the pieces of furniture which are placed against a wall. Especially outside walls.

Move a couple of those, and see whether or not you have a damp/mould problem. :eek::eek::eek:

Nope, no mould/damp/condensation That's why I started this thread, to see if it was nonsense about needing to air the house to prevent this as I don't ever air the house yet suffer from none of the above. It seems it's not nonsense but somehow my house defies physics

coolcait wrote: »

I wonder what effect all of thatmight be having on your lungs and/or respiratory system? Or on others who live in your house.

Although I have a phobia of spiders, I recognise that the indigenous British species don't cause much physical harm.

A wide array of insecticide sprays, and no ventilation, might just cause physical damage to a human.

Well the only thing that is sprayed inside the house is the flea spray which supposedly has effect for 12 months, the instructions say to vent the room for 30 mins after spraying - which I did as I opened the back door downstairs but no windows The spider sprays go on the outside frames for the three times a year I open them so no damage to my lungs, only to any unfortunate spiders who try and come in through them!

rileydog

claire16c wrote: »

No I don't open the windows because like you I have a spider phobia. I would love to get fly screens installed. When it gets hot in the summer we use fans or I open the windows for about 30 mins before going to bed & that's it. I wouldn't open them in the winter because I want a warm house! I don't want all the heat escaping.

Hopefull next summer I should be able to never have to open the windows because we have warm air vent heating & we've just had a new boiler which comes with this summer air cool
Mode.

Plus in the summer sometimes the back or front door gets left open for a while when were doing stuff outside.

But no we have no damp problems. Oh and the couple of times I relented & opened windows in the summer in the day resulted in massive spiders coming in so it just reinforces my fear!

Yay, finally another 'non-airer'! :j Makes me feel a smidgen more normal.:rotfl:

peachyprice

Our small top bedroom window is open 24/7 even in deepest winter, the boys small top bedroom window is opened pretty much every day, DD's window is open probably 1-2 times a week but her door is always open. The kitchen window is opened every saturday while I'm doing my housework and when I'm cooking. The patio doors are opened daily for a good blast of fresh air.

I can't stand stale air swilling around the house. Can't say I've even thought about sipders getting open windows, they'll get in regardless through any small crack. Have you seen how small baby spiders are?

rileydog

peachyprice wrote: »

. Can't say I've even thought about sipders getting open windows, they'll get in regardless through any small crack. Have you seen how small baby spiders are?

Well whenever I have opened a window there's always spider webs inbetween the frame which leads me to believe they're trying to get in :eek: I appreciate I can't stop all spiders in my house but I honestly see the not opening windows as a small action that causes me no issues and might just prevent a handful getting in. I use fans in the summer and relent around three times a year! I go in and out of my house by the doors freely so fresh air does get in, just not through open windows!