Airing out your home daily will ensure that the moisture leaves your home before mold forms. It's important to catch the condensation early. If mold forms, it can spread quickly. Not to mention, mold spores can irritate the lungs.
Prevailing wisdom is that at least 5 minutes—and ideally 15 to 20 minutes—a day of ventilation significantly improves indoor air quality. For a strong ventilation, open the front and back door, along with windows on the path in between, to get the baddies out.
Proper ventilation keeps the air fresh and healthy indoors. Like the lungs, homes need to be able to breathe to make sure that fresh air comes in and dirty air goes out. Air indoors can build up high levels of moisture, odors, gases, dust, and other air pollutants.
15 minutes is enough to air the house properly
It will take just a few minutes to heat the room again. Leaving a tilt-and-turn window ajar all day, however, is not effective: it cools the walls and it costs much more to heat the room back up again.
Poor ventilation and high humidity in your home can eventually lead to the build up of mould on your floors, walls, ceiling and even furniture. Mould is easily identified by black or green spotting and a musty smell and can cause health problems, such as allergic reactions and cold-like symptoms.
The single most effective way to avoid Carbon Dioxide build-up is to keep windows open while you sleep. This allows fresh oxygen in, as well as allowing Carbon Dioxide to escape naturally. Another important factor in choosing to keep windows open at night is for temperature control or thermoregulation.
Occupants of homes with poor indoor air quality may complain of symptoms such as headache, eye irritation, fatigue, dry throat, sinus congestion, dizziness, and nausea. Because many illnesses can cause these symptoms, diagnosing sick building syndrome is difficult.
Unfortunately, keeping your windows open will not reduce the amount of dust in your home; in fact, doing this could increase it. There is a lot of dust in the air outside, which is comprised of dirt, sand, pollen, spores,'bits' of insects and a great deal more.
Keeping a window open reduced concentration of carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds, and some particulate matter in participant bedrooms. People slept better. Keeping a door open also reduced carbon dioxide concentration, without a direct correlation to improving sleep.
Too much air results in too little ventilation, which in turn causes high humidity. The excess moisture in the air can then lead to mold and mildew, as well as other problems.
If it's safe to do so, open doors and windows as much as you can to bring in fresh, outdoor air. While it's better to open them widely, even having a window cracked open slightly can help. If you can, open multiple doors and windows to allow more fresh air to move inside.
It is therefore important to air out the rooms in your homes as well to avoid high a concentration of CO2. There is a myth about this that needs to be debunked: opening windows does not bring in pollution, except in exceptional cases and during rush hours.
A bedroom can smell in the morning as a result of body odour, dust, moisture in the room, dirty bedding and a messy room. Poor air circulation at night makes unpleasant odours linger until morning. These smells can be avoided by regularly cleaning the bedroom and making sure to air it out every day.
Dangers of Too Much Ventilation
The two main dangers associated with too much ventilation involve roof damage and increased utility bills. If you have too much air circulating, your roof will collect moisture causing damages that will weaken spots and then cause leaking.
“Cool air from an open window can help people breathe better, unless the air is very dry,” Dr. Benninger says. Fans also can dry the air, but the soothing white noise may lead to better sleep.
Once you wake up in the morning, close all the windows plus window blinds to keep all that cooler air inside. Don't wait too long, though. With open windows, the air in your home will heat up as the outdoor temperature rises. That's why it's a good idea to close the windows when it's still cooler out.
So how often should you open your windows? It's recommended that you do so once a day, for at least five minutes. Fifteen to 20 minutes is preferable. However, when you open them is also important.
When windows are kept closed and there is insufficient air circulation inside, condensation can form on the panes. If ignored, this moisture can create serious problems. Mold, bacteria, and other toxins can start to build up and possibly cause illness in those living in the home.
A buildup of dust in your home is often the result of poor airflow. A combination of poor airflow and infrequent cleaning can lead dust and dust mites to settle comfortably into several areas in your home. “Dust mites live in mattresses, pillows, and upholstery,” Dr. Cajigal says.
Even in closed-up homes, it will still settle from the indoor atmosphere, leak from the ceiling cornices and attic spaces, and seep into your living areas through cracks around windows and doors. Any particles of dirt, smoke, fibres or crushed materials that go into the air eventually come down as dust.
Clean air is good for people to breathe. On a hot day with no wind, the air can feel heavy and have a bad smell. Once in a while, the air can even make your chest feel tight, or make you cough. When too much dirt and chemicals get into the air, the air is dirty or polluted.
Purchase an air quality monitor
These devices typically detect temperature, humidity, VOCs and PM2. 5 levels (which is the level of tiny dust particles and other allergens in the air you inhale).
'Sleeping with your bedroom door closed also helps to prevent the spread of fire by blocking the flow of air and smoke. If a fire starts in your home while you are sleeping, a closed door can help to contain the flames and give you more time to escape.