Burping isn’t just a habit to relieve gas — it’s also a term for ventilating your home in the winter.
House burping, a new home health trend, is the term for opening windows for 10 to 15 minutes to let fresh air in, even during the coldest months of the year.
The trend is currently making rounds on TikTok, with one video shared earlier this month showing a woman opening the front door of her home, reminding people to “burp” their houses for five to 10 minutes a day.
However, the practice has been most well-known in Germany as “lüften,” which translates from German to English as “air out.” The method has not only maintained better air quality in European homes, but has also been known to reduce humidity and conserve energy.
Still, experts agree that opening your windows for just a few minutes in the winter, and even longer during the warmer months, can go a long way.
“Adding volumes of outdoor air by opening windows will lower concentrations of indoor air contaminants that can make you and your family sick,” Tony Abate, a certified indoor environmentalist and chief technology officer at indoor air purification and monitoring company, AtmosAir Solutions, told House Beautiful.
Choosing to “burp” homes throughout the day not only improves the air quality, but also regulates the carbon dioxide levels in our homes, as Denver, Colorado air quality expert Megan Doser noted to House Beautiful. Increased carbon dioxide levels can be caused by cleaning products, air fresheners, gas stoves, or water heaters, she explained.
“Replacing moist indoor air with drier outdoor air and reducing the concentration of carbon dioxide makes a big difference in how we feel,” Doser said.
However, “house burping” won’t stop the mold spores on our walls or dust on our floors from growing, Doser added, noting the importance of keeping homes clean even when the windows are open.
While “house burping” is just now trending in the U.S., poor indoor air quality has always been a nationwide concern.
According to the American Lung Association, indoor air can be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air, with Americans spending more than 90 percent of their time indoors. Poor air quality can be especially dangerous for people with lung disease or any underlying conditions.
Aside from “house burping,” the Mayo Clinic has other recommendations for improving the air quality inside homes.
Ventilation can be improved by running a bathroom fan intermittently, having a window air conditioner fan that draws air from outside, or using indoor fans to circulate air inside homes.
