The heat continues, and the rainy season is delayed in the Kanto-Koshin region, including Tokyo. Have you already taken measures against mold for the rainy season?
In a typical year, the rainy season sees a lot of rainfall and high humidity. It's best to take mold prevention measures as early as possible to ensure a comfortable rainy season.
Last week, we introduced mold prevention tips for the "kitchen," and this week, we'll continue with mold prevention tips for the "bathroom."
When it comes to mold prevention, daily cleaning is paramount!
First and foremost, to prevent mold, it's crucial to keep the entire bathroom consistently clean. Regularly clean with your usual bathroom cleaner to remove dirt that mold thrives on, and try to keep it dry. However, since this is a special rainy season care guide, we'll be introducing comprehensive bathroom cleaning methods that tend to be neglected.
Soak small items in a baking soda bath overnight.
First, start with small items in the bathroom, such as chairs and washbasins. While scrubbing each one vigorously with a sponge is an option, there's an easier way to remove dirt. Add one cup of baking soda (available at 100-yen shops) to the remaining hot water in the bathtub and dissolve it, then immerse the small items. You can also include the bathtub lid and showerhead. Leave them overnight. This will loosen the dirt, and then you just need to lightly scrub them with a sponge to make them clean.
First, a quick clean of the entire bathroom.
We're going to clean the entire bathroom. First, use the shower to quickly rinse the entire bathroom. Then, clean the bathtub as usual with bathroom cleaner and a sponge. Next is cleaning the walls and floor. Using a dedicated sponge or brush soaked in hot water with bathroom cleaner, scrub each wall from top to bottom in an S-shape, and finally, thoroughly scrub and rinse the entire floor.
And finally, tackle the drain area. First, remove any visible large debris like hair, then scrub and rinse with bathroom cleaner and a sponge or brush.
How to get rid of stubborn mold stains that won't go away!
By now, about 90% of your bathroom should be clean. However, stubborn stains like mold are likely still lingering in the corners of the bathroom and around the drain. Bathroom mold is generally one of two types: black mold or red mold. Here's how to eliminate each.
Black mold
As you look around your bathroom, do you notice anything black in the grout lines of the tiles? That's black mold. Black mold puts down roots and will quickly grow back even if you scrub it a little. When you find it, eliminate it from the root! There are various ways to eliminate black mold, but we recommend chlorine bleach, especially the gel type. Apply chlorine bleach to the black mold and leave it for about two hours to eradicate the mold completely. Finally, scrub it with a brush and rinse it off.
Red mold
Often called red mold or pink mold, it's actually not mold but a proliferation of a red yeast called "Rhodotorula." It's that disgusting pink slime that appears in slimy areas of the bathroom. This can be easily removed with regular bathroom cleaner, but for this special care, let's try a more effective chlorine bleach. Apply or spray chlorine bleach to the red mold, leave it for 30 minutes, then rinse it off.
Caution! When using chlorine bleach, ensure proper ventilation and be very careful not to use it simultaneously with acidic cleaners.
Mold prevention after cleaning
Once your bathroom is clean, it's important to clean it regularly to prevent mold growth, of course. But also, avoid leaving hot water in the bathtub, and make sure to ventilate after bathing to keep it as dry as possible.
However, thorough bathroom cleaning can be quite a hassle. In such cases, it might be a good idea to leave it to a house cleaning service.
