The bathroom is often a prime location for mold growth. It’s the exact kind of habitat that mold seeks out: humid and warm. And especially in summer, it can become a nightmare to deal with. Taking care of your apartment while you’re in Japan is an important step in creating a comfortable and healthy living environment for you to thrive in. That damp, earthy smell of mold or mildew isn’t just unpleasant, a clean home helps to keep us relaxed and de-stressed.
Lately I’ve been on the hunt for cleaning products to share with our blog readers so that we can all work towards keeping our apartments clean. In this article I’ll go over おふろの防カビくん煙剤 (ofuro no boukabi kunenzai, Bath Antimold Fogger). With the rainy season upon us and the full brunt of summer looming on the horizon, I figure it’s a good time to start trying products that will help me maintain a neat and tidy apartment. Especially since I’m still working from home for the time being, it’s pretty nice to make sure my apartment stays clean.
This is the Boukabi packaging. It uses the antibacterial and antimicrobial properties of silver to prevent mold from growing in your bathroom. It does this by creating a mist of particles that coats the room from ceiling to floor. Since this product is not a cleaning product itself, you’ll have to make sure your bathroom is all scrubbed and sparkling before benefitting from this product.
Inside the packaging is this small metallic can with holes in the top and bottom. I like how smiley and energetic the mascot is.
There are more detailed instructions inside the packaging, but the general gist of it is: fill the plastic container with water to the dotted line, insert the can, wait until it starts emitting smoke, then close the door to your bathroom.
The instructions state to make sure that bathroom windows are closed an the ventilation system is off when you start the reaction. After placing the can in the plastic container, it should take about 10 seconds before you see smoke. Close the bathroom door, and wait 90 minutes. Once the smoke has cleared, open you bathroom windows or turn on your ventilation system for 30 minutes, and then you should be good to go!
Here’s the plastic container on my bathroom floor. It’s hard to see but there is water filled up to the dotted line.
A few seconds after inserting the can into the container you’ll hear some noise as the water is absorbed through the holes in the bottom and reacts with the chemicals inside.
And around 10-15 seconds later you’ll see smoke being emitted out of the top. This is when it’s time to close the bathroom door and just wait until the process is complete.
The mold prevention coating should last around 2 months according to the manufacturer. It hasn’t been that long since I’ve used this product, but I’m looking forward to seeing what the outcome is!
You may also be interested in:
- Dealing with laundry and mold during the rainy season in Japan
- Cleaning your air conditioning unit
- How to clean tatami mats in a Japanese apartment
- Preparing for the typhoon season in Japan
Lead photo: Scott Kouchi