Apartments in Japan are usually small. However, this does not mean that they are easy to clean! Apartments in Japan often have deep cupboards and all sorts of corners in hard-to-reach places that make house cleaning a stressful activity. However, fear not, plan well and with a few cleaning tips from us, house cleaning will be easier than ever before. Soon, you will have a lovely clean apartment.

House cleaning Basics

Let’s get the basics over with first. Why should you clean? The question seems obvious, but for someone who is putting off house cleaning, this is something you need to hear!

A clean apartment is a safe apartment. After a worldwide pandemic, we shouldn’t have to warn you about the dangers of bacteria growing in an unclean space. This makes house cleaning a necessity.

If you were born in the northern hemisphere, you may have gotten away with a small degree of uncleanliness. Why? Because living spaces in the northern hemisphere tend to be a fair bit colder than in Japan.

For most of the year, Japan is warm enough for bacteria to thrive. The warmer it gets, the more bacteria will grow. Apartments in Japan are a perfect environment for bacteria: warm, humid, without much ventilation.

Therefore, house cleaning is more important in Japan than perhaps you are used to. No wonder the Japanese are known for being clean and tidy! Once again, a clean apartment is a safe apartment.  

Even if somewhere looks clean, this does not guarantee that it is clean. Most harmful bacteria are invisible to the human eye, so be sure to zap every space with one of many Japanese cleaning products.

Japanese cleaning products of all price ranges can be found in most shopping districts. Whilst supermarkets in Japan do not always stock Japanese cleaning products, there is always a health foods shop near a supermarket. These health shops always stock up on masses on more Japanese cleaning products than you could ever imagine!

You can find products for practically every room in your apartment. Sprays for bathrooms, for Japanese shower rooms, for sinks and flooring. Stock up on one for each, you’re sure to need them after reading our cleaning tips!     

Of course, 100 Yen shops like Daiso also stock cleaning products. However, be warned, these products can often be subpar than more expensive, branded versions – especially their scented products! We recommend sticking to health shops if you want to be super clean.

Where to start? We recommend a thorough house cleaning at least once a fortnight throughout most of the year, and once a week in the summer months (June – September.) Why more in summer? Because of the heat. Along with bacteria growing all over your apartment – (don’t worry, you can’t help that! It’s only natural) – the summer will bring plenty of bugs.

Beetles. Earwigs. And, perhaps worst of all, flying cockroaches. Yuck! Aside from being gross, they also bring some amount of danger. Cockroaches can carry many harmful diseases, so you want them out of your apartment as soon as you see them.

The same health shop that you’ll buy most Japanese cleaning products will also stock bug killers. From sprays and tapes to more humane variations like traps. These will get rid of bugs in no time. House cleaning can be easy if you plan ahead!

Bugs are unavoidable in Apartments in Japan. They are part of the ecosystem, you are bound to see them. HOWEVER, this doesn’t mean that you can’t significantly lower your chances of having these nasty little visitors. Bugs navigate using their sense of smell, and they hate the smell of cleaning products. What does that mean? Regular house cleaning means they should stay away. 

Cleaning tips

So – we said that apartments in Japan need a thorough clean, once a week and twice a week in the summer. But what do we mean by a thorough clean? This means every room, every cupboard, under every mattress, behind every bookshelf. Everywhere. Wipe it. Dust it. Spray it. Avoiding it will only cause you more problems in the future.

But I don’t have the time. I’m sure you’re saying that as you read this. Japan is a country known for its workaholics, and work does need to come first. However, house cleaning does not have to be done in one sitting.

Why not make yourself a rota? That way, you can still have time in the day whilst knowing that you have a clean apartment.

Devote a room to a day of the week. Monday for the kitchen, Tuesdays for the bathroom, etc. This means you will be on top of house cleaning, and you will still have plenty of time in the day for other things.

It may only take between half an hour and an hour to clean a room. The more often you clean, the less time it will take to clean the room. You are only creating more time by leaving dirt and bacteria to grow!

 House cleaning really can be that simple. Do it often, do it thoroughly and you are saving time in the long run. Do not let something become a problem by putting it off or leaving it till another time. A small mess soon becomes a big mess, and a big mess takes a lot of time to clean.

So, if you take one caveat from our cleaning tips, let it be this.  House cleaning is easy if you plan ahead. Keep to a routine, keep safe. Remember, a clean apartment is a safe apartment.