Why do my neighbors keep their windows open through the dead of winter?

[Anonymous]

We are currently leaving many of our windows cracked or open an inch or two due to covid. One of us is an essential worker.

[Anonymous]

We turn off the heat and crack our bedroom window all night in the winter, even well before COVID. My husband and I are both from cold places and we sleep much better at night with the cold (I mean, it's not that cold in DC but it's all relative I guess). I was in a sorority in college that had a cold dorm and ever since I've loved sleeping with the windows open in winter.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Since a bunch of people have said radiators, I should mention that we live in townhouses built in 2018 with forced air.

NP. Forced air heat is in itself a reason to open windows at times. Forced air is dry and dries out my nose and skin and generally feels gross. Of course you can use room humidifiers or get a whole house humidifier system, but there are other issues with those. Cracking windows (or putting one window all the way up during the day even in winter, on fairly clement days) provides some humidity even though winter air is drier than summer air; it's at least not as dry as forced air heat.

It seems odd to me that it baffles you. Did you grow up in a household where your folks said things like "Close that door/window, you're letting all the heat out, we're not paying to heat the whole outdoors" in winter? Asking seriously. My mom was like that and winter was dusty and dry inside the house (back way before room humidifier were something you just bought easily at any store).

[Anonymous]

If I had radiators, I'd do that too. But I have forced air, which dries out the air enough already, so I only open the windows for a couple of hours every day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fresh air.

This and sleep better cold

[Anonymous]

Are they foreigners? From some arctic country?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Fresh air.

+1.

[Anonymous]

I don't have them open 24/7, but each morning I'll open most/all windows in my bedroom to air it out--usually just for 1/2 hour to an hour or so.

[Anonymous]

We keep our bedroom window cracked 24/7 and sometimes living room window too. We live in a very well insolated condo so it never gets as cold as we like.

[Anonymous]

We have always opened our bedroom windows a little bit at night and now with pandemic and all of us being home all the time I open our out to the screened porch door for 15 minutes almost every morning. The bedroom is because I like to sleep in a cold room burrowed underneath cozy down comforter; for the house I just like the sense that we’ve freshened the air a bit. PS I also run my bedroom ceiling fan 24/7/365

[Anonymous]

The house smells fresher. It gets stale with windows closed all the time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes this is nosy, no it has no effect to on me, I’m just baffled. Are they smokers? It is a cultural thing? All of their bedroom windows are cracked several inches 24/7 including times like right now when it is below freezing outside.

Because it is their house and it is none of your damn business. So mind your own business. You are the neighbor from Hell.

[Anonymous]

I am originally from Germany and everyone airs out their house no matter what the temperature outside is. Not 24/7 but we like our fresh air!

[Anonymous]

I like to sleep in a cold room. Radiant heat from apartments around mine (especially below, since heat rises) provides too much warmth for me, so I crack the window.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes this is nosy, no it has no effect to on me, I’m just baffled. Are they smokers? It is a cultural thing? All of their bedroom windows are cracked several inches 24/7 including times like right now when it is below freezing outside.

Because it is their house and it is none of your damn business. So mind your own business. You are the neighbor from Hell.

It’s a very innocent question, respectfully asked. I am one of the people OP has observed and I’m not offended.