![]() If you close and lock up your place for a 2 week trip during the summer, you will come back to a mildew mess. Ground floors are a huge mildew haven no matter what the building materials. If you live in a wooden building you will probably suffer less mildew above the ground floor than in a concrete building. Aside from very humid summers and lots of steamy baths, I think a fair bit can be blamed on the modern building materials used in constructing "mansions". Mildew of course is not unique to Japan, but Japanese mildew is somehow a much more constant factor than I remember from home. Washing hands and taking off shoes when coming back inside help prevent reintroduction of "dani" into your home, which are brought in via pet paws, shoes or a child's hands that have been touching things on the ground outside. ![]() Instructions on the can ask you not to spray eating utensils, pets or chldren or to use more than once a week. The poison is not considered to be strong, but I plan at least an hour out of the house right after a "treatment". The 300ml yellow, red and white can has illustrations on it of the dani and how to insert the needle in the tatami, so it is fairly easy to find. The most popular weapon against them is an aerosol spray with a small needle that is inserted into the tatami mat 6 (small tatami) or 8 (original "old" tatami") times at evenly spaced points, each point receiving a 15-20 second injection. They are called "dani" which the typical dictionary translates as a tick or mite, a blood-sucking parasitic arachnid. So tiny you will not see them, these bugs deliver a noticeable punch. Even if they don't wake you up, your tossing and turning child will. This requires store-bought chemical interference, which you will gladly pay 1000 yen for because these bites keep you from sleeping. Tatami has an additional problem which can happen any time but tends to occur more often during season changes from dry to humid or humid to dry, the dreaded tatami ticks. Anytime tatami gets wet, you need to make sure it dries if you don't want it to start growing mold. It took me a week to figure this out, but the answer was vinegar, which takes that curdled milk smell right out. The real killer is anything with milk in it, especially vomit. Urine is not a major problem, high in acid a bit of bleach will neutralize it. However poopy diaper messes deserve a shot of bleach added into the solution to kill germs. I start with a sponge moistened in dish washing soap and water which works for basic non-dairy dirt. Before you finally opt for the vinyl, you may have already had some major accidents. A designer brand such as National will cost 20,000 yen for a 3 tatami size one. They come in 2 and 3 tatami mat sizes, and if you look hard you can find a no-name brand for about 10,000 yen and under depending on size. And if you live like many Japanese, your tatami has furniture standing on it that reaches to your ceiling, a hodge-podge of boxes, papers and so on encroaching on the floor space, in short a huge nightmare to move around when it's time to replace the flooring. Well at a minimum of 10,000 yen a piece this is pricey. No problem since tatami mats are turned over after 5 years and replaced after 10. Anything else leaves residues behind that will eventually face you down in mortal combat. With luck it was a clear liquid like green tea, or something solid and easy to sweep up like rice cracker crumbs. When something spills on it you soak it up with a towel that you should always have at arms reach. Once you have kids added to the domestic equation, anything high maintenance is best gotten rid of.Īlthough an 80 year old woman said they used to sprinkle the tatami with used tea leaves and then sweep them up leaving a nice smell while removing all the dust, nowadays tatami is primarily vacuumed. If you don't have any tatami mat flooring in your domicile, skip down a bit to where I start in on mildew, but those of you who do, let me just say that charming as I found tatami when I first arrived, I have grown to dislike it. ![]() Tatami Mat Flooring, Mildew, Water Traps, Washing Machines, Playground Mud, Air Filters, Sawdust WallsĬleaning is not my favorite subject, but after 8 years in Tokyo and a few vacations back in my home-country, I realize that newcomers might want to know some of the tricks I've learned here. ![]() Tatami Mat Flooring, Mildew, Water Traps, Washing Machines, Air Filters, Sawdust Walls Tokyo With Kids - Cleaning Problems Unique to Japan:
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