Ventilation at home - windows open or close? For how long? Purifiers?

[tenten]

Just curious what the set-up is like at everyone's homes re ventilation.

Do you keep windows open all the time, only for a few hours, keep them shut all the time? And do you run your air purifier ( if you use them ) all day? What about air-conditioning - all day whilst windows are shut etc?

Apologies if it's a silly question but now that I have a child, I'm trying to figure out what's best.
I have an IQair in every room - since I run them all day, I tend to keep my windows shut, which then necessitates air-conditioning. Not terribly green I know. Not to mention feels downright silly as the temp outside drops. I do open my windows for a few hours a day to ventilate the house, but can't help feeling I'm letting all the gunk in.

I know, i know, it's part of living in HK and unavoidable - but just curious what everyone does at home...thanks.

 

[penguinsix]

Depends on the air quality outside. We check the air quality outside more frequently than we do the weather, so it seems. If the air is passable, we'll open up (in the mornings) but generally we keep things closed down pretty tight.

I made a website for air quality that uses Western standards rather than Hong Kong's API.

http://www.theairyoubreathe.com

 

[lesliefu]

Normally have the windows open when the sun is out AND the humidity is below 80% so that I don't let any moisture come into the house as the house will smell and the things will get moldy. Use my air filter for a couple hours daily in each room...air pollution is of course a factor but on days when it is really sunny the air polluton index is not usually high, likewise when the humidity is high the pollution is normally very bad. I am assuming you live on the south side though so you would already be away from the pollution caused by non-environmental factors.

 

[charade]

I have the windows open as much as possible now that the weather is cooler. I also like my son to go outdoors as much as possible so I guess I'm not that concerned about pollution.

 

[yonge]

Our children and I are allergic to mosquito bites, so we actually keep the windows closed almost all the time. We keep the humidity down with the aircon in the summer and the dehumidifier in the winter. We use an air purifier in their rooms. We have fans to circulate the air year-round. Hope this helps!

 

[elle]

Windows open at least part of each day from fall to spring (generally mornings and evenings and longer when the weather is nice and mild). We have fine window screens which we installed that pretty much keep all bugs out and do cut down on the larger dirt particles coming into the house.

Run Alen purifiers in baby's room and living room all day/ night. In the summer, we run the aircon all day and don't open the windows. Also keep dehumidifiers running in the kitchen and bathrooms in the summer.