This is probably not true. Inside air contains more pollutants than outside, even in cities. Living spaces should be aired out once every day or so. (See this article in the Chicago Tribune for example.)
Airing out means only an exchange of air, which means temporary coldness. Once the windows/doors are closed again, the air quickly heats back up, because all of the furniture, walls, etc. are still the same temperature.
Because you can put as many clothes as you like on to warm up, there’s a limit to how many I can take off.
Pics?
Perhaps you don’t but with three dogs and an occasional smoker guest, I do. If it is any less than 60 degrees in Florida, all my windows are thrown open. When it was in the 40s this past weekend, I told my family to put on a sweater and deal with it. The fresh crisp cool air smells good and gets rid of some of the AC stuffiness.
Yes, I am a window-opener-freak and proud of it.
Hijack: If you had time to type “(sp),” then you had time to look up the spelling.
Temperature isn’t the only factor. By early afternoon, my office has a general funkiness and stuffiness about it. It’s a hygiene issue as well as a comfort one.
Or it could be that the OP smells, is unaware of it, and his housemates are desperate to get some respite!
But here’s the thing, I often get opposite comments, often from women, about how I must be crazy because I’m NOT cold. Though I prefer cooler, normally I can tolerate about room temperature, but if it gets any warmer I start to get uncomfortably warm and sweaty, and by the time it’s 75, I’ve got a heat headache.
As it is, I have only turned on the heat in my home once so far this winter, and that was when it was single digits outside. Otherwise, the ambient heat is generally plenty, if it it gets above 60 or so in the winter indoors, I probably have the door cracked because there’s no way I’m turning on the AC in the winter.
Here’s the thing, I’m very active, I have a lot of muscle mass and, in general, I prefer the cold over the heat, so I prefer a much cooler indoor temperature than most. Similarly, women are generally smaller, have less muscle mass, so I understand that women are often going to be cold much sooner than I am. But, quite frankly, I envy you in that. I’m trade being cold for being hot any day. When it gets cold, one can always put on a coat or a sweater or a hat. I can make tea or cocoa. In the summer, in a professional environment, I can’t take anything more off than I already have, and even with a fan blowing right on me, if it’s warm enough, it’s just blowing more hot air and hope it keeps me from getting sweaty; I hate sweating when I’m just sitting there. The best I can do is a drink a lot of ice water.
I’ve never seen anyone ask anyone else if they can turn on a space heater if they’re cold or a fan if they’re hot, so I don’t see opening a window as all that much different. That said, if it’s a reasonable temperature inside, which is roughly room temperature, then that’s unreasonable of them to open a window and, for that matter, for people to turn on space heaters. The office manager should try to keep it close to a reasonable temperature as possible (which may, in fact, be cooler or warmer than room temperature, depending on the industry) and then it should be up to everyone else to handle their own comfort to within reason. Yes, room temperature is a good 10 degrees or so warmer than I’d like, but I’ve learned to tolerate it, and there are plenty of people around the office who wear sweaters or whatever. But the moment someone turns on a space heater, now it’s warmer for EVERYONE.
And, quite frankly, if you can’t be comfortable in room temperature, or whatever an appropriate temperature in your industry, maybe with a little layering, then you should perhaps reconsider where you’re working, or even see a doctor if you are having that much trouble staying warm or keeping cool.
For the record: I air out regularly. Replacing the air every now and again is fine. I’ll leave the windows open several times a day, generally when I have other rooms to be in.
But getting up every time the temperature inside is approaching something livable to let in blasts of frozen hellbreath because you’re imagining stuffiness and heat is attention whoring, plain and simple. It’s funny these people never do this on a regular day, noooo. Then the air stays mysteriously breathable for hours at a stretch. But when they have some sort of audience to perform for? Yeah, suddenly it’s fucking “stuffy”. Asshats and martyr-wannabees, every one of them.
Yes, you do.
Inside air gets too moist. That humidity can cause mold and health problems. Some inside air also fills up with noxious gases from various sources too.
All homes and building must exchange air with the outside to avoid this. Most are leaky enough to do it, but some are sealed up tight, and in winter the windows and doors don’t get opened enough to exchange air. Some modern buildings have heat exchangers to do this - they exchange air, but first transfer most of the heat from the outgoing air to the incoming air.
If you’re in a structure that’s not leaky enough to exchange air or has no exchanger mechanism, you might want to open a window every once in a while.
BTW, your rage and sensitivity to cold might indicate a glandular problem. Get yourself checked.
I don’t think I’ve ever worked in an office where the windows open, so this has never been an issue for me.
I do get cold. So in the winter I wear to the office:
A wool suit (jacket and trousers)
Long socks
A short sleeve undershirt
A long sleeve buttoned shirt and tie
A sweater
This is indoor clothing. If I go outside I put on a hat, scarf, gloves, overcoat.
Some folks in my office wear arm-baring dresses and complain. They are stupid.
[QUOTE=lance strongarm]
Inside air gets too moist.
[/QUOTE]
Entirely true, unless it is too dry.
This 
I was raised to sleep with the window open a crack [call it about 3 inches or so] winter or summer. I hate trying to sleep when it is too hot. I have a small fan that goes with me when we travel so if I get too warm I can have a nice breeze.
I also prefer to dress warm, we keep the house at 45F and heat with a wood stove, the hot water baseboard heat sucks ass as you can’t be warm unless you are sitting next to it unless you crank it so the heat is at 80F. The stove does the radiant heat thing along with heating the air. If it gets too warm we pop open a window which also airs out any cooking smells. We do have air conditioning for the summer, I have temperature control issues combined with the occasional hot flash.
If it’s too dry, the air exchange is working. Or the HVAC is working too well. Or whatever. If you sealed yourself up in an airtight box, you’d get too wet soon. And then die of lack of oxygen. But first you’d get wet.
Oh I could get on top of this rant all day.
No, it is not hot in here boss, the thermostat is at god-damned 65 and my fingers are stiff even with this winter sweater on. You know when the best time to have a conversation is? Inside the office! Not standing with the door open with your customer halfway down the icy steps and forced to stop there as you yammer at them for 5 minutes straight. Close the effing door! You’re the one complaining about how much utilities cost, and yet you’re the one letting all the warm air out. Have some common sense!
Oh and no, when you are finally feeling a bit cold, cranking the thermostat 10 degrees over what you actually want will not in fact make it warm up any faster, idiot! Learn how heating works!
You also haven’t grasped the concept that of course a room will feel warmer if you’ve just walked a mile! Stop messing with the thermostat the second you get back, because your heartrate and body temperature will be back to normal in 5 minutes and then you’ll wonder why it’s cold! Dumbass!
Hmm maybe taking off your jacket while indoors would help with that whole “why is it so hot in here?” thing you keep doing. Just a thought…fucking idiot! UGH!
I’m with the OP.
No, I do not want to dress for a polar expedition when I’m at work. If I have to put on outerwear (note: "outer"wear) while sitting in front of my computer, it’s too cold.
I am 100% behind this rant, fuck all the window openers!
My parents have a habit of doing this, especially my mom. She’ll keep the front door open with only the screen door shut whenever she’s cooking even though we have one of those air sucking thingys right above the stove. Its not that its “hot” but she doesn’t want any of the smell of good food in the house. Meanwhile, the kitchen and living room are freezing because the door’s wide open and usually so is the kitchen window and the back door. She insists on opening windows and doesn’t care if its cold or even raining outside.
To hell with airing out. Unless it gets really warm, my room’s windows are shut from about late November all the way to late January. There simply is no reason to open them. I breath fine, I have no asthma or respiratory illnesses. The whole airing out thing is a myth
Does the air sucking thing vent outdoors? Some just blow the air back into the kitchen.
No, it’s a fact.
Lots of people have asthma and they suffer from it due to mold. You’re lucky you don’t, but you aren’t the center of the universe.
Mold could still damage your home and some molds can hurt you even if you have no problems now.
It’s likely that you simply live in a fairly leaky house that breathes without opening windows or doors much. Again, not everyone’s home is like yours.
Live in Florida. That way it’s never too cold inside even when someone opens the windows.
“This air conditioning is too cold! Open a window.”
I know, nobody could be that stupid, right? But…Florida.
Did that at school a couple of times (we didn’t have access to the thermostat.)