Do you 'air' your house?

Fruball

rileydog wrote: »

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



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!

I use that spray too. Ind0rex. I spray it at least once a year round all doors, skirting boards, behind furniture and outside under the door step etc.

Very glad I did as there was a false widow spider dying on my doorstep last summer that had obviously been 'got' by the poison. As they can give a very nasty bite, I am damn glad that I use the spray. A month or so after, I found a smaller, very sickly one climbing up my curtain. I wouldn't be without that spray! And Raid Red spray for the odd one I find. Each time I move furniture I always find the odd dried up body so I know it works!

Nobody has said it here but I am often told "There are no spiders in this country that can harm you".... A quick google search proves that there definately ARE!!! At least a dozen.

Do not look HERE if you are phobic.

They would never stop me airing my house though.

torbrex

Fruball wrote: »

Each time I move furniture I always find the odd dried up body so I know it works!

That well may be the shell left behind of the highly active and growing spider :eek:

mrcow

No one will think that their own house smells. If you're living in it, you can't smell it if it's always that way.

When we first bought this house, it stank something awful. The woman who owned it obviously didn't see (or smell!) the problem and happily lived in the awful stench she'd created.

The problem is worse if you own any pets. They smell. If you think they don't, it's again because you're used to it. Opening doors or windows is obviously going to help, but it obviously depends on how stinky it all is in the first place!

marisco_2

In the summer the doors and windows are flung open to let all the fresh air in, inevitably the odd spider, moth and bee finds their way in too. As much as possible clothes are air dried outside. Even in autumn and spring if it is a nice dry day.

I leave windows slightly open on a lock on dry mild days pretty much all year round. It helps to freshen the place. I rarely have radiators on upstairs and if they are it is on the lowest setting. Cant stand hot, stuffy bedrooms.

I have a ceiling fan in the bathroom which goes on if anyone is having a shower. The bathroom window is opened slightly as well at those times.

splishsplash

I air the house every morning - windows and doors are left wide open to get a bit of a breeze going while I'm on my cleaning run round the house.
The bedroom and bathroom windows in our house are never closed. The kitchen window is open most of the time, and the back door is open a good part of the time while we're at home, otherwise we're up and down to let the cats and dog in and out.

I have to say I dislike going into a house where the windows are rarely opened, and worse again if the heating is on. I always find the air has a slightly 'solid' feel to it that makes me feel uncomfortable, quite apart from any smells. I imagine the air is chock-a-block with dust mites and their droppings, and skin cells and dander .

I would say, OP, that even though you don't have mould or condensation, you may have that stagnant air quality that I'm talking about - maybe you're just used to it?

skintchick

I don't air the house unless I'm doing a big clean. I don't like a cold house. I open windows in summer when it's hot though.

None of my friends air their houses either. It seems odd to me to have windows open 24/7.

daisiegg

mrcow wrote: »

No one will think that their own house smells. If you're living in it, you can't smell it if it's always that way.

When we first bought this house, it stank something awful. The woman who owned it obviously didn't see (or smell!) the problem and happily lived in the awful stench she'd created.

The problem is worse if you own any pets. They smell. If you think they don't, it's again because you're used to it. Opening doors or windows is obviously going to help, but it obviously depends on how stinky it all is in the first place!

Totally agree with this. The people who owned our house before us had a dog. They were incredibly clean - so clean that when we paid a company to do a full deep clean of the house before we moved in, they didn't charge us full price as they said it wasn't fair as the house had been so clean to begin with. And yet, even considering how clean they kept the house, it smelt of dog. We are gradually replacing carpets, and that is helping, and I have windows open a lot - but when I have been away for a bit and come back into certain rooms I can still detect a faint whif of dog.

claire16c

skintchick wrote: »

I don't air the house unless I'm doing a big clean. I don't like a cold house. I open windows in summer when it's hot though.

None of my friends air their houses either. It seems odd to me to have windows open 24/7.

Actually thats about the only other time I open the windows apart from short periods at night when its hot - when Im cleaning.

thorsoak

Personally, I hate it when I cannot air the house. I loved the fact that in our old house, the back door and front doors were in line, and that I could get a nice through draught when I opened both - and the same with the two windows on the landing. To be able to open them together and get a fresh circulation air was invigorating. My children had fewer coughs and colds and had far more energy than most!

Now I still open the windows and doors as often as I can - not necessarily for long - but it is still worth it to get a nice fresh feeling through the house.

Lizzybop

I have windows open 24/7 somewhere in the house sometimes just on trickle.

We have a real problem with condensation in the winter otherwise.

I wish I didn't have to so much, but I don't really have a choice.

It wasn't the same in the last house we lived in so I believe it is the house or windows or a combination of the two. As we don't live any differently in this house to the last one.

I avoid drying clothes in the house as much as I can, always run the extractor fan when showering, then open the window after. Always close kitchen door when cooking, use the cooker hood and open kitchen windows.

There isn't a damp or mold problem in our house - just condensation on windows in the mornings (although much less if windows on trickle overnight).

I think you're very lucky if you don't have to have your windows open. I hate having them open in the depths of winter. Although I agree with the poster who said they thought it was possibly warmer having the air circulating. I totally get what you meant.