Ultimate Cleaning Guide

Cleaning your home regularly is even more important in Japan than it might be at home, because your successor will likely take over your apartment. Please be a responsible adult and keep your home as clean as possible during your time on the JET Programme.

MOLD AND HUMIDITY

The high humidity in Nagasaki constantly creates the risk of a mold explosion in your home. It can grow on your clothes, your furniture, your mattress, and even on your walls and ceilings. It is crucial for you to prevent and clean mold as much as possible, for your own health and for the sake of your successor and apartment manager, who will inherit any problems in your home after you leave.

The best way to keep mold from growing is to keep the humidity down in your house. Run your air conditioner often in both winter and summer to keep temperatures even and lower the moisture content in the air. Some air conditioners have a “dry” setting to dehumidify your room. This setting may not be very powerful, so you might have to first cool down your house using the normal cooling setting and then run the dry setting, or purchase a dehumidifier.

You can purchase a dehumidifier from Amazon or a local electronics/home goods store like Best. Small units can be as low as 5000 yen, with the most powerful units running up to 40,000 yen. Buying a 10,000-20,000 yen dehumidifier might actually save you money in the long run, because they often use less energy than running your AC 24/7, so you can keep your home mold free without losing thousands of yen on your energy bill.

湿気取り (shikke tori) There are cheap disposable dehumidifiers sold at drug stores, grocery stores, and hundred yen stores that can help prevent mold in your cabinets and cupboards. These are not designed for wide spaces like a room, though, so they won’t be very effective at reducing the overall humidity level in your house. They are very useful to put some around in small spaces, however, especially your shoe cabinet in the genkan and closets. Remember to replace them when they get full. To dispose of them, simply toss the plastic or cardboard lid in burnable waste, then cut off the paper and drain the water down your sink. Make sure you have a drain net to catch any undissolved balls, and promptly dispose of them. Usually you can toss the containers into burnable waste too, but if your town has strict plastic recycling rules, please dispose in accordance with them.

Preventing mold in closets and drawers

There are many different humidity catchers designed for closets, drawers, and bins to make sure your clothes don’t get moldy. You can find them at drug stores, grocery stores, and 100 yen stores. They are basically like big versions of the silica packets you find in bags of sembe crackers or shoe boxes. You can even buy pads to go under your futon or mattress pad. Some are reusable (you can reset them by putting them in the sun for a few hours), and some are disposable. If you ever store linens, or put away winter sweaters during the summer, it is highly recommended to pop some humidity catcher packets in with the clothes and store them in vacuum bags (also widely available at 100 yen stores etc., or online). Most importantly, make sure all linens and clothes are clean when you put them away (especially for long-term storage). If you were used to wearing clothes twice or more before washing, be careful, because in Japan, clothes that are even a little bit damp or dirty when you put them away might mold very quickly.

Cleaning mold

There are five main methods of killing mold: heat, UV, bleach, vinegar, and alcohol. The sun can kill mold spores using heat and UV, but it does not remove the mold from the material. Bleach can strip coloring from things and degrade certain materials, so exercise caution when using it and always ventilate the room to avoid breathing in the fumes. Kabi Killer, pictured below, is a great bleach-based cleaner. Vinegar kills about 80% of mold spores and is non-toxic and (generally) non-damaging. You can add it to your laundry machine to get mold out of clothes and fabrics. Alcohol can kill some mold strains and is generally non-staining.

If you find mold inside a closet, drawer, or clothes bin, you should wash everything inside and wipe out the inside of the closet/drawer with a bleach-based or vinegar-based cleaner. Wash all the clothes with bleach (chlorine is okay for white fabrics, oxi-clean or another oxygen-based bleach is safe for all colors and almost all fabrics. Oxi-clean is available at most places that sell cleaning supplies, online, or at Village Vanguard, weirdly) or white vinegar (available on amazon). Wash at the highest temperature possible given the material type and washing machine capability, then dry in full sunlight or in a dryer (hopefully you have a laundromat nearby).

You may find mold on your walls, floors, ceilings, furniture, kitchen appliances, bathroom, shoes, clothes–it can be a real nightmare. But with proper prevention and an arsenal of cleaning supplies, you can defeat the mold scourge and breathe freely, both figuratively and literally.

Sources and more information:

https://jpninfo.com/27145

https://blog.gaijinpot.com/moisture-mold-japan-winters/

https://bestlivingjapan.com/japan-house-mold-fighting-products/

https://morethanrelo.com/en/dealing-with-humidity-and-mold-in-japan/

BUGS

Mukade (centipedes), huntsman spiders, flying cockroaches-Japan has many house bugs that range from harmless to annoying to extremely dangerous. Read this article to learn how to deal with bugs in your house. And if you find some, especially dani or drugstore beetles, make sure you deal with them immediately to avoid getting a serious infestation.

https://japancheapo.com/living/japanese-bugs-house-wildlife/

AIR CONDITIONER

Your air conditioner will be your best friend in both winter or summer. It can dry out the air in your house too, which is important for preventing mold from growing.

Here is a guide to the buttons you might see: http://www.survivingnjapan.com/2012/07/use-air-conditioner-japan.html

Cleaning your air conditioner is very easy and will make it work a lot more efficiently, saving you money. If you are sensitive to mold, dust, or pollen, it will also prevent the air conditioner from circulating irritants to some extent. There are two types of air conditioners: mold-prevention spray, which you spray into the machine itself, and a foaming type, which you spray into the fins.

Make sure to read all directions so you don’t break your 60,000-200,000￥ machine.

Guide to the spray type: https://okinawahai.com/how-to-clean-your-japanese-air-conditioner/

The frequency with which you should clean your AC depends on the area around your home, the age of the unit, and how much you use it. I recommend once every 2-6 months. The spray type cleaner is cheap and easy to use, and the benefits of better air quality and lower energy bills are well worth it. However, be very careful to not damage your air conditioner by getting cleaning spray into the mechanical components or breaking the fins/filters/etc. if you remove them during cleaning.

WASHING MACHINE

Japanese washers are usually fairly simple to use once you figure out all the buttons, but they can also cause a variety of issues.

Check out these guides for how to use your machine; each one only has a partial list of kanji you might see on your machine, so look through multiple if you can’t figure out what your buttons say:

CLEANING YOUR WASHING MACHINE

It is very important to clean your washing machine regularly in Japan. Not sure why, but they grow mold inside the tank very regularly and surprisingly quickly. If your home is particularly humid, you may have to clean it every month in the summer. Luckily, cleaning it is cheap (100-200 yen) and easy.

Here’s how to solve some common laundry machine problems.

Clothes smell bad or aren’t completely clean: try washing smaller loads. If that doesn’t work, clean your washing machine. If that doesn’t work, try changing your laundry detergent.

Lines of white dusty stuff appear on my dark clothes after washing/lines of dark dusty stuff appear on my light colored clothing: Two things might cause this issue. The first is mold in your washing machine, which can be fixed by cleaning it as described above. The second might be that your load was too big or too small and the clothes didn’t agitate (rub against each other) properly to get clean. Adjust the size of your next load and see if helps.

My washing machine overflowed: You may have overloaded your washing machine. Check to see that all the pipes are connected properly, and see if you can tell if there are any clogs in the pipes. Call a professional if you can’t figure out what went wrong yourself.

My washing machine smells bad: Washing machine cleaner.

TATAMI

Tatami floors are delicate and very expensive. One tatami mat can cost 10,000￥ or more to replace. So make sure you take as good care of them as possible! DO NOT WALK ON TATAMI WITH SHOES. Even slippers may damage them if you are not careful.

Key information:

“It is suggested that you vacuum, use a floor roll cleaner, and wipe the mats with a slightly damp cloth following the grain weekly (at least during summer). Well, I say weekly just to be safe and to prevent any further problems. It is important to remember to never walk on it with shoes or even house slippers, as the mats are easily damaged. Make sure to keep them dry and well-ventilated; moisture can lead to permanent damage, which may require replacement. If you spill anything on it, wipe it immediately! A few drops of gentle dish soap mixed with water can be used to clean stains and spills. Do not use harsh chemicals to clean the mats because it can cause permanent damage. Tatami cleaning wipes can be purchased to clean surface dirt, but do not mistake these with hardwood floor wipes. I often vacuum first, then use the floor roll cleaner, and wipe the mats last. Using the floor roll cleaner is really convenient and practical to use maybe more than once a week. Also, be aware that tatami mats occasionally need direct sunlight for durability. It’s important also to keep your house well ventilated to avoid any moisture. Occasionally leave all your windows open! And it is recommended to not have any heavy furniture on your tatami as mold can grow on that spot. It’s good to move your furniture every once in a while so it won’t leave a mark and so the tatami can breathe.”

This great advice is from KumamotoJET’s cleaning supplies article, where you can find more information on tatami:

https://kumamotojet.com/reiwa/documents/documents/Housekeeping%20in%20Japan%20(Website%20Version).pdf

If you are allergic or sensitive to mold, be aware that there might be mold growing in the spaces underneath the tatami mats. It is possible to clean these yourself, but be careful about it. Use white vinegar (available from amazon) rather than harsh chemicals to avoid damaging the tatami. You can also hire a professional.

If you damage your tatami beyond normal wear and tear, you may be expected to pay for it to be replaced when you move out. You may be required to pay for it anyway, regardless of the condition you received it in, in rare cases. However, if it seems unreasonable because it was in terrible condition when you moved in or because you did not damage it, you can try to fight back about having to pay for it to be replaced.

FUTON

If you have a futon, fold it and put it away every morning, or risk a lot of nasty mold appearing underneath. The most important thing to do is air it out as often as possible in direct sunlight (at least once a month, preferably once a week). This kills bacteria and mold spores, and helps prevent a tatami mite (dani) infestation. You can hit them with a tatami whacker to get the dust out. It is possible to wash them, or have them dry cleaned, if they get very dirty, but this is expensive and inconvenient, so it’s better to do the daily and weekly preventative care tasks to avoid having to get your mats cleaned. Make sure you are using enough layers of sheets and padding so that your sweat isn’t seeping into your futon itself, and wash your sheets and other bedding frequently. Futons are not cheap to replace, and if your futon or the tatami underneath get moldy because you don’t wash your bedding or air your futon enough, it could impact your health and cost big bucks to replace.

SINK AND KITCHEN

KEEP YOUR DRAIN CLEAN. Don’t put food down your drain, because it will rot and clog the pipes. It’s best to catch any solids in a drain net. This makes it much easier to keep your drain filter, drain area, and pipes clean. You can purchase drain nets easily from most grocery and 100 yen stores, and sometimes convenience stores. Try not to pour oil down your drain. Soak it up with oil catching pads (available at 100 yen stores or grocery stores) and throw the pads away with burnable waste. If your drain gets funky, clean it with drain cleaning powder.

Make sure to keep your refrigerator, microwave, and stove clean. If you don’t know how to do that, there are many tips on YouTube on how to make it fast and easy. Here’s a cleaning product to get tough grime off of your stove or other kitchen areas:

If you have an electric kettle, you can purchase kettle cleaner powder:

Here’s a tip for cleaning your microwave: put a cup or so of water into a microwave-safe bowl or mug and microwave it for about a minute. The steam will coat the sides of the microwave, making them a lot easier to wipe down.

BATHROOM

Your bathroom might start growing mold very quickly. There are a number of products that can clean up the mold: Kabi Killer, white vinegar, and so on. If you want to avoid all that cleanup in the first place though, here are some mold prevention tips.

Shower/bath: If possible, run your bathroom fan as much as possible. If your house tends to be humid, you may have to run it 24/7. After a shower, rinse the walls with cold water to increase the speed that the shower dries. You can also squeegee the walls (squeegees are available at most 100 yen shops).

Try Magiclean (マジックリーン）mold prevention spray. This does not kill black mold, so if you have a severe problem, go for something stronger to clean it. Once your shower is clean, you can use this spray to help prevent mold from growing.

Toilet: There are a variety of toilet cleaning products available, from sprays to the sticky gels you can slap into the bowl to keep your toilet clean automatically. Also, check your toilet tank occasionally; mold and mildew can grow unnoticed inside.

If you have a septic tank, make sure to pick appropriate cleaning products.

SHOJI

These paper screens are very delicate! Be careful not to rip the paper by accidentally elbowing them. But, if you do need to repair the paper, it’s not as difficult as you might think. Supplies are available at Daiso (convenient because they almost always have English instructions and explanations on the package), online, or at local stores wherever home goods are sold. If possible, double check with your landlord or whoever controls your apartment about what type of shoji supplies you should buy (there are typically two options, glue or iron-on).

OTHER CLEANING SUPPLY RECOMMENDATIONS