The so-called “house burping” is currently making the rounds as a new trend. Germans in particular can only laugh here, because what is only slowly becoming established in the USA has long been deep in our DNA here: shock ventilation.
“New in America, ancient in Germany” refers to the British daily newspaper The Guardian the currently emerging phenomenon of “house burping” in the USA. The neutral observers from England are not entirely wrong. While many Germans have already deeply internalized the principle of “shock ventilation”, it remains a strange concept for American society.
This is not the first time that shock ventilation has tried to establish itself as a practice in the USA. Even in previous years US media had dealt with the topic and experienced corresponding malice in German TikTok posts. With its new title, shock ventilation has once again captivated Americans.
Why does “House Burping” fascinate the USA?
The New York Times raises the logical question of whether the USA should also practice “house burping”. The concept behind the German term “ventilation”, which is also unknown to the NYT author, has been proven to be very beneficial for the indoor climate and your own health.
With shock ventilation, the “used” air in a room or an entire apartment can be effectively replaced with fresh, clean air in just a few minutes. For example, we can reduce the CO₂ concentration, reduce humid breathing air contaminated with aerosols and prevent mold. The cold outside air heats up in the room and absorbs the moisture like a sponge.
This is particularly necessary when laundry is being dried in the apartment, writes that too Federal Environment Agency. Continuous “ventilation on tilt” exchanges the air only slowly compared to shock ventilation promotes mold directly on the window frame. Then it’s better to “cross-ventilate” – i.e. open opposite windows to create a flow of air through the rooms. Experts recommend ventilating for several minutes a day, if not several times a day. Some landlords even include shock ventilation as an obligation in the rental agreement.
While ventilation seems normal for us here, the house culture in the USA is completely different. Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, quoted by the New York Times:
“Part of the problem is that we [in den USA] hermetically seal our houses. We don’t want the conditioned air to escape outside – nor do we want heat from outside to come in. Nobody opens their windows.” -Dr. Joshua Nosanchuk
It remains to be seen whether Americans will get used to “house burping” this time or whether a big wave of astonishment will sweep through social media again next year. However, looking at the last few years, we are betting on the latter.
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