This week's odd viral term: "house burping." All kinds of outlets are writing about the trend, which involves briefly opening the windows of a home for ventilation—even in the dead of winter. As IFL Science explains, this is actually an age-old practice in Germany known as "lüften." It's "part health practice, part cultural quirk," writes Tom Hale. Typically, it's done in the mornings, then repeated once or twice more throughout the day for about 10 minutes each time. As the Washington Post notes, some German leases even stipulate the practice.
The reason it's suddenly a thing in the US? TikTok, mainly. A number of popular videos have surfaced extolling the virtues of the practice, whose name has been Americanized into "house burping." See one example here. "Burping your house means opening doors or windows wide open for 5 to 15 minutes to rapidly flush out stale, moist air, reduce condensation, prevent mold, and refresh indoor air quality without significant heat loss, often using cross-ventilation especially in kitchens, bathrooms, and bedrooms," reads the caption on another video, per People. Also worth watching: the bemused reaction of a person in Germany to all this, here.
As for the big question: Does it work? The general consensus in coverage seems to be that it's worthwhile. Today quotes industry professional Tony Abate as saying lüften can indeed help with the buildup of mold, carbon dioxide, and other contaminants. "You bring in some more air from the outside, you dilute those concentrations and you reduce them," he said. But be warned: Politico wrote about this back in 2021, when a scientific paper concluded that lüften was undermining energy efficiency in Berlin. That story also introduces yet another German term to consider:
- "The correct way to ventilate a home is to employ the Stoßlüften, or shock ventilation method," says researcher Raymond Galvin. "You open your windows completely for three minutes if it's windy, five to 10 minutes if it's not."
,
uBlock 
,
and
Ghostery 
)
