Letting your house burp is good for your health

What is house burping? More commonly known by Germans as lüften, this practice involves airing out one’s home by opening the windows every day.

There is no exact method, but most sources agree that five to ten minutes with the windows open is enough to let stale or stuffy air escape the home. This brief ventilation helps remove pollutants and improve overall air quality, which is good for both the home and its inhabitants.

According to Dr. Dan Jaffe, professor in the Department of Physical Sciences, outside air is often cleaner than inside air. The quality of air in a home is mainly contingent on the sources of pollution.

“Cooking is a big source of particulate matter and a gas stove or oven is a big source of the gases: nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide,” he said. “A HEPA (high efficiency particulate air) filter will also do a great job with particulates, but not the gases (nitrogen oxides, carbon dioxide or carbon monoxide. The only way you can remove the gases is with a stove fan.”

House burping may not be the sole solution to removing pollution itself, but its overall benefits are clear.

“Outside air will allow you to vent out the particulates and gases that would otherwise accumulate in your home,” he said. “We have recorded incredibly high pollution levels indoors in different homes when no remediation steps are taken.”

Listen about the origins of house burping in the segment by WBUR with Jaffe, “What is ‘house burping’ — and why are Americans co-opting this German tradition as a trend?” and read about the benefits of house burping in the story by Outside Magazine, “House Burping Reduces Air Stagnation and Improves Your Health.”