Do you leave windows open when you aren't home?

[devonpow]

We do. Not it we are gone overnight though. I also leave doors unlocked all the time. During the beginning of Covid I actually lost my house keys for 6 months and didn’t even notice for a while. It’s not a good habit, I know.

[gummybear]

Nov 6, 2022 22:03:40 GMT -5 devonpow said:

We do. Not it we are gone overnight though. I also leave doors unlocked all the time. During the beginning of Covid I actually lost my house keys for 6 months and didn’t even notice for a while. It’s not a good habit, I know.

And then there’s me who locks my car when I park
In the driveway of our friends to pick up my kid from a play date and I’m out of the car for 2 minutes 🤣

[devonpow]

Nov 6, 2022 22:07:28 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Nov 6, 2022 22:03:40 GMT -5 devonpow said:

We do. Not it we are gone overnight though. I also leave doors unlocked all the time. During the beginning of Covid I actually lost my house keys for 6 months and didn’t even notice for a while. It’s not a good habit, I know.

And then there’s me who locks my car when I park
In the driveway of our friends to pick up my kid from a play date and I’m out of the car for 2 minutes 🤣

see, we would NEVER not lock our car lol. Around where I live the most common crimes are super easy crimes of oppprtunity - almost always people having things stolen from unlocked cars in their driveway. It’s so easy to see an empty car, casually try to open it, and grab something from that small space. Breaking into a house obviously happens but it’s a different level of finding a way in, people might be home, there might be a dog, finding stuff etc etc. Getting your car broken into or bag stolen when you hand it on the back of your chair is so much more likely - I’m hyper aware about that kind of stuff.

[joy]

This is complicated to answer because it depends on house layout and location.

My summary answer is: I have done it but only on windows that it would be difficult to access for a break in.

[kadams767]

Nov 6, 2022 22:07:28 GMT -5 gummybear said:

Nov 6, 2022 22:03:40 GMT -5 devonpow said:

We do. Not it we are gone overnight though. I also leave doors unlocked all the time. During the beginning of Covid I actually lost my house keys for 6 months and didn’t even notice for a while. It’s not a good habit, I know.

And then there’s me who locks my car when I park
In the driveway of our friends to pick up my kid from a play date and I’m out of the car for 2 minutes 🤣

I think we all have levels of rationality with these kinds of things.  I’m one of the people who leaves the windows open when I’m not home, and I also forget to lock the doors frequently.  But for whatever reason, I NEVER leave my car unlocked, no matter where it is or how long I’m running in somewhere.  Obviously, not a lot of rhyme or reason for me, because I have way more valuable stuff in my house than in my car.  :shrug:  

[ally]

All the time.  We have about 30 windows (ranch house) I think two may be locked and have no plan to lock others any time soon.  Our doors are typically locked, but we often leave our garage door open during the day without concern (it is shut overnight).  Thankfully DH has no issue with this, as I would have a hard time agreeing to closing them every time we left the house or when we went to bed. As a person with GAD I have plenty of other things I worry about!

[minzy]

No way and I’m kind of surprised how breezy (get it?) many seem to be about it.

[tacokick]

I can’t see ever leaving them open when I’m not home. I leave the backdoor open during the day but close it when I leave even if my husband is upstairs working.

I’m a little surprised so many people do! I guess I thought most people have air conditioning or heat running most of the year so not a lot of open window time. We don’t have air conditioning but I don’t think leaving our windows open while we’re gone would make much of a difference temperature-wise.

[icedcoffee]

All the time for all windows except the front of the house on the main level. Upstairs? Without a thought. Main level on the back we have a glass break sensor that would be tripped if someone messed around with the windows. Basement we never open those so it’s moot.

As for rain we have enough of an overhand and only tend to crack the windows on the top half:

[InBetweenDays]

Second floor yes, first floor no. We have sturdy double pane windows so it would take a pretty good effort to break them to get in. I don't want to make the process any easier.

[kadams767]

Nov 6, 2022 22:18:13 GMT -5 tacokick said:

I can’t see ever leaving them open when I’m not home. I leave the backdoor open during the day but close it when I leave even if my husband is upstairs working.

I’m a little surprised so many people do! I guess I thought most people have air conditioning or heat running most of the year so not a lot of open window time. We don’t have air conditioning but I don’t think leaving our windows open while we’re gone would make much of a difference temperature-wise.

I don’t do it when I have the heat on more than a couple degrees, and not when the AC is running.  But I only run the AC for the hottest of the summer, so really only a few weeks per year where I live.  And I am pretty judicious about turning the heat up when it isn’t winter, so while it’s “on” now (because it was cold a couple weeks ago), it hasn’t kicked on for the past 5 days or so because it’s in the 70s again.  I love that I have windows open in November!  I just prefer the fresh air, it isn’t always a temperature thing for me.

[lilac05]

Second floor, absolutely. First floor, yes, in the back. I frequently just don’t open the windows in the front, so that’s a non-issue. I certainly have left them open, though.

We’ve got side-lights on our front door, so if anyone ever wanted to get in, they’d just break one of those and reach inside to invoice and open the door…so I don’t worry too much about the windows!

Home burglaries just aren’t very common in my city. Cars are a different story, though! I always lock my car in my driveway. I also wouldn’t leave a bike out in the front yard.

[dochas]

No. Never.

[kadams767]

Nov 6, 2022 22:18:04 GMT -5 minzy said:

No way and I’m kind of surprised how breezy (get it?) many seem to be about it.

I live in a city neighborhood and houses are really close together, there is just about always foot traffic out front, and I know all of my neighbors.  I just don’t really worry about someone climbing in one of my windows during the middle of the day, I guess.  It seems very unlikely to happen without drawing a lot of attention to the person.  I do close the first floor ones at night, but car break-ins are the crime around here usually, or, unfortunately, retail establishments.  

[sadlebred]

No, and the alarm and cameras are always set if I'm not home.

[shopgirl07]

All the time, both upstairs and downstairs.

[InBetweenDays]

Nov 6, 2022 22:32:30 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Nov 6, 2022 22:18:04 GMT -5 minzy said:

No way and I’m kind of surprised how breezy (get it?) many seem to be about it.

I live in a city neighborhood and houses are really close together, there is just about always foot traffic out front, and I know all of my neighbors.  I just don’t really worry about someone climbing in one of my windows during the middle of the day, I guess.  It seems very unlikely to happen without drawing a lot of attention to the person.  I do close the first floor ones at night, but car break-ins are the crime around here usually, or, unfortunately, retail establishments.  

We live in a very similar setting - urban neighborhood, lots of foot traffic, know our neighbors, sometimes feels like we live in a fishbowl. Plus we have a fence with a difficult gate and a 75lb dog. So that had always made us feel like less of a target.

We have often left the front and back door open when we're home and on the main floor. Both to get fresh air through the house and let the dog go in and out. A few weeks ago H and I were at work but the kids (13 and 16) were home. Someone opened the gate, came up the steps and and came just into our front door. He must have heard the kids talking (they were basically in the only part of the main floor that doesn't have a view of the door) because he turned around and walked out. Grabbed a single croc from our front porch which he dropped just outside the fence. Kids didn't know he was there until they heard the gate close on his way out and our dog went running out. Then they checked the Ring camera. The guy was definitely high on something. Was a wake up call for sure.

[wanderingback]

Nov 6, 2022 22:32:30 GMT -5 kadams767 said:

Nov 6, 2022 22:18:04 GMT -5 minzy said:

No way and I’m kind of surprised how breezy (get it?) many seem to be about it.

I live in a city neighborhood and houses are really close together, there is just about always foot traffic out front, and I know all of my neighbors.  I just don’t really worry about someone climbing in one of my windows during the middle of the day, I guess.  It seems very unlikely to happen without drawing a lot of attention to the person.  I do close the first floor ones at night, but car break-ins are the crime around here usually, or, unfortunately, retail establishments.  

Def had 2 row houses in cities broken in to during my adulthood. One of them was actually caught and were def professional criminals that did it all the time in well-trafficked city neighborhoods. I know they def watched the house too cause I lived with 2 other roommates all the time and we all had very different schedules. They did break in in the back where there weren’t really that many people that would see them.

Anyway, to answer the question, nope, don’t leave any windows open when gone from home. I see no real benefits and there could be risks (even if small).

[agnes]

Only if I forget. There’s actually quite a few break-ins that happen in the nicer neighborhood a couple blocks away. Lots of porch pirates everywhere.

[sonrisa]

No. Nor at night. I don't want to wake up or come home to a house full of smoke (and then have it stay for weeks).

It's happened twice - first time overnight and the second time after leaving a small bathroom window open for school pick up.

[sofamonkey]

Yes, we do. I mean, it’s glass. If someone wants in, it’s pretty easy to get in.

One time, we accidentally left our garage door open while we gone for a few days. Whoops! Everything was still here when we got home! Lol. I was embarrassed though. Haha.

[sdlaura]

Nov 6, 2022 22:00:06 GMT -5 SusanBAnthony said:

Yes, all the time. Which has come in handy when locked out and I climbed in through a window.

I figure it would be just as easy to break a window as climb in through an open window, and I'm not willing to have them closed all the time. I'm sure I would feel differently if I had ever experienced a robbery.

This is us. And I think half the neighborhood/every babysitter we’ve ever had knows the keypad code to our garage We don’t have AC or heat on most of the year/concerns about rain because coastal SoCal. We keep the doors locked at night so we don’t have a toddler sleepwalk around the neighborhood, but only check that windows are locked if we’re going out of town.

[puppyluv]

Our main living area is on the second floor so yes we leave the windows and screen patio door open 24/7. If we had first floor living space, I would keep those windows closed when not home.

[basilosaurus]

It truly depends on where I live and what animals I have.

Currently no. I need them open b/c no other airflow. And with the building the way it is, my security risk is not from windows. I'm also the person to lock the front door immediately upon entry as I was trained since latchkey kid days. I've had roommates complain

But, generally speaking, in a house, no windows open when gone. Everything gets locked up.

Where I currently live, an open window is how I ended up with a pregnant stray and her 2 eventual kittens. On the 2nd floor. She just made herself at home. Gave birth 2 weeks later. Not a terrible robbery story, but why invite that?

[mrsukyankee]

We have locks on our ground floor back window and upstairs back windows that allow them to only open a very, very small bit and they are impossible to undo from the outside, regardless of tools. We will leave these open for a short-while when gone, but not any of the others, as I live in a city where burglaries take place often (opportunistic). Our back area is much more secure than the front. I might leave our Velux windows open a bit in the front as someone would have to do some serious work to get in on the very top floor.

[puppylove64]

I typically only open the windows in the back of the house. 2 nd floor leave them open, first floor I will leave them open in the basement because they are fenced in. Either the dog is in the basement or in the fence and I doubt anyone is coming past her. I would not leave road facing front of house windows on the main floor open when I’m gone

[Wallflower]

My upstairs windows are open all summer, all day and all night. I might close them up during a really bad storm, but not usually. I have a cape with no a/c, so the windows are filled with fans, usually blowing air out (creating a suction to draw all the hot air out), so rain coming in isn't really a problem.

My downstairs has several windows that are small, so those are often open all summer, too. And the front of my house has an overhang that protects those windows from rain, so that wouldn't even push me to close those ones. And on really, really hot nights, sometimes I have the larger windows downstairs open all night, with fans, but I'll admit that I'm less comfortable with that.

[Bad Dingo]

We leave our windows (upstairs and downstairs, front and back) open whenever the weather is appropriate. If someone was going to break into our house a closed window wouldn't stop them so I'd rather be comfortable and save energy when possible.

[cville]

No.

[Deleted]

It never even crossed my mind to close the windows when I leave the house. Heck, I hardly ever even lock my front door. And if I'm being honest, I never lock my car when it's parked in my driveway, only when I go out somewhere.