I so identify with this writer... because I’m a spoiled little American boy who needs every space I occupy to be exactly sixty-nice degrees or else I act like I’ve been shipwrecked... I self-identify as a Princess.

In the past I've had the idea of airing the house like this, once a quarter, maybe once a month, and I recall feeling so avant garde with this thought, but now I think I want to do this every night!

The Dutch do this too! It's said to be about mold and, you know, unhealthy vapours.

Having lived in North America and Germany: Airing your house is not necessary in North America. We use things like rain screens in our construction and so our houses vent themselves. It is absolutely necessary in Germany, because their houses do not vent, they are hermetically sealed. Your walls will mold if you do not do this (don't ask me how I know), and it can be in your rental contract that you have to do this.

That said, I do like fresh air and I do open the windows of my North American house in the spring and fall (have to have them open in the summer, no AC where we live). If you like fresh air, do it. It's just a different reason than why the Germans do it.

I've lived in Germany for over 20 years, not only is this standard practice, "Stoßlüften" is often listed as required in your rental contract, to prevent mold growth. And, since we have a CO2 monitor, I can report it definitely improves air quality.

Honestly, airing out the house a bit seems like a pretty good idea — the main reason why winter is "cold season" is less because of the temperature of the weather, and more because the temperature of the weather means people stay inside together, with worse ventilation (because it's cold out there, after all!).

Even in a house in Japan built with highly visible vents in the walls, opening up the windows even a crack makes a palpable difference in air freshness, especially in summer or winter when there's a strong temptation to keep all the windows closed and run the air conditioner or heater all the time.

i lived in germany and my 2 story flat was not hermetically sealed but hey that was the 1990s :-) it's also good to open the windows to get closer to 6 air changes per hour to get rid of airborne viruses like covid and flu but that's probably impossible indoors. better off installing hepa filters in every room or better yet in the centralized furnace if you have one!