November 29, 2013

Our Moldy Summer

Late summer got a little interesting for us because we had to have most of our upstairs re-wallpapered within a three-week window.  Why?  Well, I believe I've been clear about our issues with heating and cooling our house.  In the summertime it gets really hot and humid here so we run our air conditioners a lot.  This summer we ran the one in Cora's bedroom basically all the time.  It's where she sleeps and naps, you know?  And personally I believe that it wastes less energy to just leave it on all the time than it does to turn it on and off frequently.

So, anyway, there we are, running her air con constantly during really humid weather and uh....not really airing out her room much.

And then one day I was moving things around in her room and saw this.....



Now, Chad had already noticed that the wallpaper was bubbling so we weren't that surprised to find it (although I did shriek and pull my hair a little....wouldn't you?).  We had even already notified the maintenance people.  But after I found this we called them back and told them to step on it.

So Cora spent a few nights in the guest room and a dude came and re-wallpapered her room.  Everyone always asks me how he got rid of the mold.  After some lengthy and confused conversations with maintenance men, I finally learned that he sanded it off.

While he was working in her room we found a little mold in our room and ended up having it redone too.  And then we did the guest room because by that point we figured it was only a matter of time.  (For the record the guest room had no mold because we don't run the air con in it all the time.)

So, for anyone thinking about moving to Japan, or moving to a house with air conditioning difficulties, let the following be a public service announcement to you.   Don't be like us! 

1. Invest in dehumidifiers for the summertime!  They help a lot.
2. Air out your rooms regularly!
3. Give the air cons a break occasionally!


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