What Is Lüften? (AKA “Burping” Your Home)
We recently have been chatting as a team about this and most of us didn’t even know this was a thing. However a few on our team are big believers in this and do it often. They believe that it’s very helpful especially during the winter months when so many are feeling stuck at home out of the cold or recovering from the flu and respiratory season.
So what is “burping” your home? If you’ve ever opened all the windows in your house for a few minutes just to make things feel fresh again, congrats, you’ve basically been lüfting without knowing it. I guess you could say you are a “lufter”.
Lüften (pronounced LOOF-ten) is apparently a super common thing to do in Germany and other parts of Europe, and it basically means “to ventilate.” A lot of people around here call it “burping your home.” And yes… your house needs to burp sometimes too.
So I did a little research to find out why people swear by it, and how to do it without freezing your family or letting every bug in the neighborhood in.
What Is Lüften?
Lüften is basically opening your windows for a short period of time, even when it’s super cold, to completely exchange the air inside your home with outside air.
- This is not just cracking a window all day.
- Not running a fan to move air around.
- Not lighting a candle and calling it good.
This is intentional, short-term, full-air refresh. Basically like how you feel better after you burp, I guess?
In lots of European countries, people do this daily. Sometimes multiple times a day. It’s just part of normal life like making your bed every day or making a cup of coffee.
Why Do People “Burp” Their Homes?
Well from what I’ve read it’s because indoor air gets pretty gross. That’s really it. They say that all of these things build up inside of a closed home and need to escape:
- Stale air
- Odors (food, pets, humans existing)
- Moisture
- Carbon dioxide
- Dust and allergens
Apparently Lüften helps push all that out of your home and replace it with fresh outdoor air.
What Benefits Do People Notice:
- The house smells cleaner (without sprays just covering up the smells)
- Less stuffy or heavy air
- Fewer lingering cooking smells
- Reduced moisture and condensation
- A fresher, more energizing feeling overall
Some people even say they sleep better after doing it. And gosh who couldn’t use better sleep?!
How to Lüften or Burp Your Home:
Yes there really is a right or wrong way to do this, believe it or not. Basically you:
Open quite a few windows at once (especially across from each other if you can, I think this maybe creates a flow or circulating effect…I’m not really sure)
Let air flow for about 5–15 minutes
Close everything back up
A Few Tips:
Do it quickly
Turn off the heat while windows are open
Don’t leave windows cracked all day
Even during the Winter is fine!
I guess you can think of it like shaking out a rug or airing out a suitcase after a trip maybe?
A Few Fun Facts About Lüften
- In Germany, some landlords expect tenants to lüften regularly
- Many European homes don’t rely on air fresheners much at all
- It’s common to see windows wide open even when it’s snowing
- The phrase “burping your house” is a very American way of describing it, but hey it fits.
So let us know…do you lüften regularly? Haha!
German houses are built differently from 95% of American homes. They are very solid and very tight. They don’t do air conditioning and heat is commonly by oil furnace with radiators. If you don’t do this, the accumulated moisture just from people breathing in the house can cause mold problems, especially in bedrooms. Lüften is as common as washing dishes, and as necessary for a healthy home. We lived in southern Germany (Bavaria) and only missed air-conditioning maybe 2 weeks of the year. I miss those German windows that tilt in, too.