Something similar happened to me.
Managed to find a spray in my nearest home center called たたみ•押入れ用カビ止め
Instruction said to Rub the mold first with alcohol and then spray it. Let it dry afterward.
> たたみ•押入れ用カビ止め
I believe [this product](https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B004JQ1WWQ) is what /u/KnightRunner-6564 is referring to. Amazon themselves seem to be sold out, 3rd parties have it at higher prices if you're unable to find it locally. You might also check Rakuten and other places, now that you know what you're looking for.
Additionally, I don't have tatami but I think you're supposed to flip them every half a year or something (maybe someone else can confirm/deny)
Edit: I'm basically wrong XD please see below
You cannot flip a tatami. The other side of it doesn’t have a mat. The flipping is for a futon you may have on it – to ensure you air it out and prevent mold from growing both on the mattress and the mat.
Sun exposed on tatami is good.
Just like carpet your biggest villain is humidity. Sun hitting your tatami will keep them dry.
So long as you don't have a humid, dirty environment, you'll be fine. Keep them clean at a good frequency and they'll last ages.
Rotation is more a consideration for even lifespan use.
Tatami are often assemetrical, built to measure. They are usually slightly parallelogram in shape since they are often handmade, so rotating them can introduce wrinkles.
Try cleaning using a scrubber, ethanol (and or) baking soda. Don’t use water. Scrub along the lines of the tatami. That’ll probably remove most of the mold. Changing the tatami surface will certainly solve everything, but that will obviously cost money. But it’s not really a big deal because it happens often.
I saw online people talk about ethanol. Thank you for your help. When I wiped some of the mold away with a dry paper towel it came off easily. Hoping that it’s easy to remove 😅
Biologist here. Alcohol won't kill most molds. And even if you do, they're always present in the air and basically everywhere so if you killed all of it the next day there's mold on your tatami again because it simply lands there from the air again.
The trick is to prevent them from growing. You need to find the source of the moisture that allowed this to grow if you want to permanently get rid of it. Maybe you spilled water there recently? In that case you're in luck. It might also be that it's wet underneath, then less so because it will be back in a couple of days
Yeah tatami come right out if you lift them but they are heavier than you might think. Tatami are a nightmare if you spill something on them... The good thing is they come out and you can dry them etc in the sun after trying to dry it with a hair dryer first. The bad point is they are expensive to repair/ replace if they get badly damaged. It's kind of a dying industry I think. Most modern homes don't have tatami or have like a small modern variation of them for a very small guest section for tea etc. I have a lot of damaged tatami in my house from when there used to be dogs here, they'd dig in the tatami lol, we just covered all of it with carpets
Thank you so much for this advice. Honestly I hope 🤞🏽 I can clean it. Luckily it’s not too big of an area. I’m def gonna have to be more careful especially with watering my plants lol
Off topic but is there just a lot more mold in Japan in general??? I never saw mold on ANYTHING in Australia but in Japan if I’m not careful about washing my bathroom often I get mold.
Yes Japan just has a much higher incidence of mold. It’s the humidity. You have to be really careful, it’ll grow on all sorts of things including leather so you have to be diligent about either running dehumidifiers or making sure your closets and drawers have the silica gel packets in them. Bathrooms many people just run the fan 24/7 and you have to clean it very often
Japanese apartments are built like big garden sheds. Awful. Riddled with mould and you have to keep the Aircon running 24/4 half a year to keep it somewhat dry.
Hey, I’m not from Japan, but I live in the UK and here we know everything about mould, unfortunately.
Whatever you spray there (any mould remover from a local shop) is just a temporary fix. Here in London it lasts 2 weeks (on the walls). A more sustainable solution is an anti-mould paint which smells like ass and you need to move out for a week or so for someone to do that job for you. Even then the mould will come back after a few years.
The unfortunate truth is that you’re stuck with this mould, however much you try to treat it. Like others said, there should be an underlying issue. I’d inspect the floor, and ideally the underneath area as well. There’s a source of cold and dampness over there somewhere.
Spray with 70% alcohol water solution (no skin softener oils or perfumes) wipe off with a tissue.
Spray again. Wipe off again
Let dry. Then wipe down with either Salt water or Citric acid water.
Should be fine. Browned tatami are basically tough af unless you set fire to them / cut them.
You can of course just buy a commercial solution but they can cost a few hundred yen or more for something you can make for free.
A borax and water mix will kill mold without any bleach/chlorine smell, followed by, as others have said, a complete drying session in the sun.
Don't use borax if you have pets or babies though.
Based on the round mark around the mold it looks as if there was something on top of that tatami that was keeping moisture in. A plant, perhaps?
If that's the case and the source of moisture comes from the top then you'll be lucky. If the source of moisture is below then you have bigger problems than the mold in the tatami.
Use vinegar. Try to get a cleaning vinegar that is stronger than regular consumable vinegar. That will actually kill the mold and not just cause it to retreat like bleach does.
Also, mould doesn’t appear just because you spilled some water. It has just regrown after some shallow cosmetic treatment. This means it was there all along.
Pull it out and put it in the sun to dry. Clean underneath and make sure there is no moisture anywhere, maybe run a dehumidifier in the room if it’s damp under there.
I've gotten mold on other cloth surfaces under plants like this and oddly if you let it dry out, in my experience at least, almost all of the discoloration disappears on its own.
I can help. Use カビトルデス Pro. It's this bottle with pink jelly containing concentrated bleach. Apply it directly on there and leave it for about an hour or two. Should get the mold right up. It's around ¥2800 in stores but it's worth it
I also recommend citric acid. That shit is gold on tatami and antibacterial, antimites, and antimony in my experience.
Experience; didn’t realise apartment tatami had mold underneath. ダニ was so bad the room was filled with dust particles and the under tatami was covered in black and white mold. Scrubbed it with the tatamiya’s recommended stuff (just citric acid and water) and tada! Also had to replace the tatami cause it was wrecked but the under floorings been clean ever since.
Honestly thank you for everyone giving such great advice! I haven’t replied to everyone’s comments but I’m so thankful for the awesome advice!
In a couple of days I’ll give an update!
Hey guys! Thanks for all this ADVICE! Honestly I’m so grateful. You guys are amazing!
Some people asked why the mold is in a circle, it’s cause my pot was there and the mold was found under the pot. 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️I KNOW that was NOT the brightest thing to do. I’ve learned my lesson lol.
I haven’t replied to all the comments but I shall soon.
I will post pictures and give an update in a few days. I’ve so far used 100% alcohol wipes. Plus the citrus acid. Most of it has already come off. Some people have recommended a spray which I think I’ll also get as well. My apartment gets quite hot and humid so I left all sliding doors open and I think I’m gonna get a dehumidifier since this summer will be HELL. 🔥
I am aware that there may be some mold underneath. So people gave some great advice on what to do if there is.
Thank you thank you thank you! THANK YOU! 🥹
This is an unfortunate and hard lesson to learn 🥲
Also any other advice are WELCOME! Thank you again!
Spray watered down bleach. Smell goes after a day and all moukd disappears and doesn't come back for months.
Don't know why we are still walking on grass floors given the middle ages has ended but here we are none the less, better than a dirt floor I guess.
https://preview.redd.it/2izfdqo3itzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57e5d0415bb8028a03ab968f076bf11bc24822db
Hey guys! It’s been a few days! But here’s an update on what it looks like so far.
I used the mold spray, alcohol wipes, AND the citric acid. Again thanks for all the advice. Hopefully it goes away 😅.
I got a tiny spot on my floor and it is good to see the results. I have tons of citric acid and alcohol so I should be good. Just gotta get that mold killer. Mine is meant for bathrooms. XD
Definitely grab that dehumidifier. I have one but I am getting another.
My house is basically like a trailer. Long and skinny but there are two parts to it. The front area with the toilet and shower with a storage room and office. This is hardwood. And my main living area is tatami along with my gym.
There is one at a nearby second hand store I am looking to grab.
I am also going to grab those some dehumidifier packs.
I mainly want another so I can keep one for the tatami and one for the office where my clothes hang. XD
Did you leave something there for a while? The shape seems circular could it be a potted plant? If so raise all things so that it doesn’t sit in the tatami mat. I don’t think you can remove the color completely but a little bit of diluted bleach may help and also kill the mold. Please take the precautions necessary for bleach use. Japan is going to be extremely humid especially during the rainy season so be sure to get some fresh air and keep things dry and don’t let things sit on the tatami mat as this will trap humidity and make mold grow and also create environment for dust mites to thrive🙈.
Girls don't have an antifungal aura surrounding them to protect their tatami.
To be honest, I've always suspected this, but I'm glad it's finally been confirmed.
Something similar happened to me. Managed to find a spray in my nearest home center called たたみ•押入れ用カビ止め Instruction said to Rub the mold first with alcohol and then spray it. Let it dry afterward.
Omg thank you so much. This is so helpful 😫
> たたみ•押入れ用カビ止め I believe [this product](https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B004JQ1WWQ) is what /u/KnightRunner-6564 is referring to. Amazon themselves seem to be sold out, 3rd parties have it at higher prices if you're unable to find it locally. You might also check Rakuten and other places, now that you know what you're looking for.
Thank you!
Have you checked underneath that tatami?
I had a similar experience before with vinyl flooring. The mold was coming from below the flooring. It is important to check it
The horror of Japanese apartments
No I haven’t. Uhm do you know how I can do that?
You can lift that thing up if you pull it strong enough. Check there before doing anything so that you don’t have to work twice.
Okay I’ll see if I can do that🤔. Thank you for all the advice!
Additionally, I don't have tatami but I think you're supposed to flip them every half a year or something (maybe someone else can confirm/deny) Edit: I'm basically wrong XD please see below
You cannot flip a tatami. The other side of it doesn’t have a mat. The flipping is for a futon you may have on it – to ensure you air it out and prevent mold from growing both on the mattress and the mat.
Ah, sorry I meant flipping like rotating? Something about the sun's effect on them and aeration?
Sun exposed on tatami is good. Just like carpet your biggest villain is humidity. Sun hitting your tatami will keep them dry. So long as you don't have a humid, dirty environment, you'll be fine. Keep them clean at a good frequency and they'll last ages. Rotation is more a consideration for even lifespan use.
Ahh okay, thanks for clearing that up!
Tatami are often assemetrical, built to measure. They are usually slightly parallelogram in shape since they are often handmade, so rotating them can introduce wrinkles.
No. Tatami flooring is one sided and assymetrical. Can’t flip them.
Try cleaning using a scrubber, ethanol (and or) baking soda. Don’t use water. Scrub along the lines of the tatami. That’ll probably remove most of the mold. Changing the tatami surface will certainly solve everything, but that will obviously cost money. But it’s not really a big deal because it happens often.
I saw online people talk about ethanol. Thank you for your help. When I wiped some of the mold away with a dry paper towel it came off easily. Hoping that it’s easy to remove 😅
Biologist here. Alcohol won't kill most molds. And even if you do, they're always present in the air and basically everywhere so if you killed all of it the next day there's mold on your tatami again because it simply lands there from the air again. The trick is to prevent them from growing. You need to find the source of the moisture that allowed this to grow if you want to permanently get rid of it. Maybe you spilled water there recently? In that case you're in luck. It might also be that it's wet underneath, then less so because it will be back in a couple of days
Yeah tatami come right out if you lift them but they are heavier than you might think. Tatami are a nightmare if you spill something on them... The good thing is they come out and you can dry them etc in the sun after trying to dry it with a hair dryer first. The bad point is they are expensive to repair/ replace if they get badly damaged. It's kind of a dying industry I think. Most modern homes don't have tatami or have like a small modern variation of them for a very small guest section for tea etc. I have a lot of damaged tatami in my house from when there used to be dogs here, they'd dig in the tatami lol, we just covered all of it with carpets
I might use a spray and let the sun do some work. Tatami aren't too expensive to replace, but if they don't match it looks a bit funny.
Think it depends on the type you're replacing
Could very well be. I don't know.
Thank you so much for this advice. Honestly I hope 🤞🏽 I can clean it. Luckily it’s not too big of an area. I’m def gonna have to be more careful especially with watering my plants lol
Stop watering your planets! But more seriously, good luck if you have to go for a replacement, those tatami can be quite expensive!
Off topic but is there just a lot more mold in Japan in general??? I never saw mold on ANYTHING in Australia but in Japan if I’m not careful about washing my bathroom often I get mold.
Yes Japan just has a much higher incidence of mold. It’s the humidity. You have to be really careful, it’ll grow on all sorts of things including leather so you have to be diligent about either running dehumidifiers or making sure your closets and drawers have the silica gel packets in them. Bathrooms many people just run the fan 24/7 and you have to clean it very often
I think I’m gonna have to get a dehumidifier because my apartment does get really hot inside and humid. 😔
I guess that’s why my bathroom fan literally doesn’t have an off button, only a temporary pause. Been wondering why that was since forever.
Not sure about Australia but here the humidity is high. So it’s very easy for things to get moldy if you don’t air them out properly.
Japanese apartments are built like big garden sheds. Awful. Riddled with mould and you have to keep the Aircon running 24/4 half a year to keep it somewhat dry.
Hey, I’m not from Japan, but I live in the UK and here we know everything about mould, unfortunately. Whatever you spray there (any mould remover from a local shop) is just a temporary fix. Here in London it lasts 2 weeks (on the walls). A more sustainable solution is an anti-mould paint which smells like ass and you need to move out for a week or so for someone to do that job for you. Even then the mould will come back after a few years. The unfortunate truth is that you’re stuck with this mould, however much you try to treat it. Like others said, there should be an underlying issue. I’d inspect the floor, and ideally the underneath area as well. There’s a source of cold and dampness over there somewhere.
I think it happens when buildings get water in the bricks. Sadly many are not maintained as well as they should be.
Go to Daiso and buy the mold remover spray. It might help.
Thank you so much! Heading to daiso! I don’t think the mold has been there for long. Hoping it will disappear
UR housing charges like 6000 yen for one tatami mat, so it's not a big loss even if u can't fix it. But, yeah, beat try to fix it
Spray with 70% alcohol water solution (no skin softener oils or perfumes) wipe off with a tissue. Spray again. Wipe off again Let dry. Then wipe down with either Salt water or Citric acid water. Should be fine. Browned tatami are basically tough af unless you set fire to them / cut them. You can of course just buy a commercial solution but they can cost a few hundred yen or more for something you can make for free.
Thank you for this!
A borax and water mix will kill mold without any bleach/chlorine smell, followed by, as others have said, a complete drying session in the sun. Don't use borax if you have pets or babies though.
Based on the round mark around the mold it looks as if there was something on top of that tatami that was keeping moisture in. A plant, perhaps? If that's the case and the source of moisture comes from the top then you'll be lucky. If the source of moisture is below then you have bigger problems than the mold in the tatami.
Let’s hope for the best! It was under the plant 🪴
Use vinegar. Try to get a cleaning vinegar that is stronger than regular consumable vinegar. That will actually kill the mold and not just cause it to retreat like bleach does.
Also, mould doesn’t appear just because you spilled some water. It has just regrown after some shallow cosmetic treatment. This means it was there all along.
Fire is the only sure fire way to get rid of mold.
Hope
Pull it out and put it in the sun to dry. Clean underneath and make sure there is no moisture anywhere, maybe run a dehumidifier in the room if it’s damp under there.
I've gotten mold on other cloth surfaces under plants like this and oddly if you let it dry out, in my experience at least, almost all of the discoloration disappears on its own.
This exactly what happened. The mold was under the pot. Let’s hope for the best 😅that it goes away. Positive vibes!
OXYCLEAN TIME!!!!
I can help. Use カビトルデス Pro. It's this bottle with pink jelly containing concentrated bleach. Apply it directly on there and leave it for about an hour or two. Should get the mold right up. It's around ¥2800 in stores but it's worth it
I also recommend citric acid. That shit is gold on tatami and antibacterial, antimites, and antimony in my experience. Experience; didn’t realise apartment tatami had mold underneath. ダニ was so bad the room was filled with dust particles and the under tatami was covered in black and white mold. Scrubbed it with the tatamiya’s recommended stuff (just citric acid and water) and tada! Also had to replace the tatami cause it was wrecked but the under floorings been clean ever since.
Honestly thank you for everyone giving such great advice! I haven’t replied to everyone’s comments but I’m so thankful for the awesome advice! In a couple of days I’ll give an update!
Thank you! 🥹.
Spray some vodka on it and put in the sun..
You need a dehumidifier, obviously the apartment is too humid. Almost looks like someone has spilt something and not cleaned it up
Hey guys! Thanks for all this ADVICE! Honestly I’m so grateful. You guys are amazing! Some people asked why the mold is in a circle, it’s cause my pot was there and the mold was found under the pot. 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️I KNOW that was NOT the brightest thing to do. I’ve learned my lesson lol. I haven’t replied to all the comments but I shall soon. I will post pictures and give an update in a few days. I’ve so far used 100% alcohol wipes. Plus the citrus acid. Most of it has already come off. Some people have recommended a spray which I think I’ll also get as well. My apartment gets quite hot and humid so I left all sliding doors open and I think I’m gonna get a dehumidifier since this summer will be HELL. 🔥 I am aware that there may be some mold underneath. So people gave some great advice on what to do if there is. Thank you thank you thank you! THANK YOU! 🥹 This is an unfortunate and hard lesson to learn 🥲 Also any other advice are WELCOME! Thank you again!
What is this
After you've solved your issue make sure to get a dehumidifier (in case that wasn't mentioned before)
Definitely am! Gonna go to the second hand store and get one. Especially before this hell of a summer arrives 🥲
https://www.tori-matsu.jp/wordpress/?p=214 Maybe can help. Translate the page, obviously.
Kabi Kira.
Spray watered down bleach. Smell goes after a day and all moukd disappears and doesn't come back for months. Don't know why we are still walking on grass floors given the middle ages has ended but here we are none the less, better than a dirt floor I guess.
https://preview.redd.it/2izfdqo3itzc1.jpeg?width=3024&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=57e5d0415bb8028a03ab968f076bf11bc24822db Hey guys! It’s been a few days! But here’s an update on what it looks like so far. I used the mold spray, alcohol wipes, AND the citric acid. Again thanks for all the advice. Hopefully it goes away 😅.
I got a tiny spot on my floor and it is good to see the results. I have tons of citric acid and alcohol so I should be good. Just gotta get that mold killer. Mine is meant for bathrooms. XD Definitely grab that dehumidifier. I have one but I am getting another.
I’m also gonna get these things from Amazon that absorb all the moisture in the summer. Damn and you’re getting another! Are you going to Don Quijote?
My house is basically like a trailer. Long and skinny but there are two parts to it. The front area with the toilet and shower with a storage room and office. This is hardwood. And my main living area is tatami along with my gym. There is one at a nearby second hand store I am looking to grab. I am also going to grab those some dehumidifier packs. I mainly want another so I can keep one for the tatami and one for the office where my clothes hang. XD
Did you leave something there for a while? The shape seems circular could it be a potted plant? If so raise all things so that it doesn’t sit in the tatami mat. I don’t think you can remove the color completely but a little bit of diluted bleach may help and also kill the mold. Please take the precautions necessary for bleach use. Japan is going to be extremely humid especially during the rainy season so be sure to get some fresh air and keep things dry and don’t let things sit on the tatami mat as this will trap humidity and make mold grow and also create environment for dust mites to thrive🙈.
It was just a pot plant. But I definitely have learned my lesson with this one. I think I’ll have to get dehumidifier to help with the moisture.
I did wipe some of it away and it doesn’t look as bad as the photo. But HELP A GIRL OUT. I’m just a girl😂
I'm sorry for the responses you got. Japan subs are something else.
It’s all good hey. 😅 thank you for defending me lol and getting the joke!😂
What does gender have to do with it 🙄
Girls don't have an antifungal aura surrounding them to protect their tatami. To be honest, I've always suspected this, but I'm glad it's finally been confirmed.
The phrase is a trending meme
It’s a joke 👀
It's just a meme you annoying human
Well not everyone understand the “trending” jokes on social medial, that comment was not appropiate. Period.
There is nothing inappropriate about it. Grow up.
I never said it's trending. It's common sense. Stop being so sensitive.
Technical, you're responsible for the cleaning according to your gender narrative