Mold growing on my bogu

[cruzemi]

Hello eveyone, I swear i am not a pig. But my house is very wierd and if i leave anything on the floor that is not plastic or metal it will grow mold(my lovely new shinai had so much mold i had to throw it away). I don't know if its the floor or maybe its just me. I air out my bogu after every practise and when it is done drying i put it in my pack and leave it on the floor. Every thing was fine until I went to class today and saw there was mold growing on my Men and kote. I just wiped it off and kept on practising cause a little mold wasn't going to stop me from practising kendo(do you think the mold will start growing on my face and arms after one day of wearing it?). I was just wondering If I can take it off? and if so what products do i use?

[stealth_monkey]

The best thing to use would be bleach, but that's obviously not an option. Mold is pretty simple to kill, for bogu I'd recommend tea tree oil or surgical alcohol, or vinegar as a last resort. I'd also look at getting your floor steam cleaned, if your house is doing that to your equipment I dread to think what it's doing to your lungs.

[cruzemi]

thank you for your help, Do you know anything else i can use i don't know where to get tea tree oil anywhere in SF.

hmmm i've been thinking that too. My floors sometimes feel wet but i thought it was because it was cold. I contacted my landlord. I want a refund on my shinai and guitar case i lost cause of the mold.

[b8amack]

I use rubbing alchohol which I apply with a toothbrush. So far, it's served me well, through many muggy seasons. Man, I've never seen mould on a shinai before, though.

[jjcruiser]

I got some mold on my kote and what I did to combat it I do with all my bogu: stick it in direct sunlight for an hour or so after practice to dry out. I think I have read somewhere that you shouldn't put your bogu in the sunlight, but I figured I would rather have mold-free bogu than non-faded bogu, and six months after I started doing this, I detect no ill-effects.

[turboyoshi]

Mold is pretty simple to kill, for bogu I'd recommend tea tree oil or surgical alcohol, or vinegar as a last resort.

I don't understand why you think vinegar is a last resort, it's certainly less damaging to your equipment than alcohol would be. I use it regularly on my bogu just as general maintenance and no bad effects from it that I can see. I would consider a bleach solution a last resort for bogu but you can safely use it on the floors. Chlorhexadine would be even better though.

Btw, hydrogen peroxide/baking soda solution is also a good cleaner and deodorizer for bogu. The hydrogen peroxide formula you buy as an antiseptic is only a 3% solution and isn't likely to cause much, if any fading, although you may want to do a spot test anyway. Tea tree oil is ok but tends to be pricey to use as a cleaner.

JJ: Nothing wrong with sunlight and I'd recommend it. I think the only concern people might have is color fading but that's less of an issue for bogu than it is for hakama/kendogi.

[Halcyon]

I recommend direct sunlight as well. Fading shouldn't really be a problem, especially since it's the inside of the men that would be facing the sun. BTW, direct sunlight means DIRECT sunlight, not putting the bogu by the window in the sun. Glass will filter out most of the UV in sunlight, and it's the UV that has the sanitizing effect. Just make sure you don't leave it outside overnight. Depending on the time of year, it'll get pretty soggy because of dew.

[slidercrank]

Forget about bogu. Your floor is the bigger problem.

[MartialArtsGirl]

Hello eveyone, I swear i am not a pig. But my house is very wierd and if i leave anything on the floor that is not plastic or metal it will grow mold(my lovely new shinai had so much mold i had to throw it away). I don't know if its the floor or maybe its just me...

(do you think the mold will start growing on my face and arms after one day of wearing it?).

No, but I think that mold will start growing on your face and arms if you start laying on the floor.

[xvikingx]

Sunlight. I put my kit out in the sun all the time and there is no trouble. More importantly there is no mold.

I would personally be worried about the ammount of mold spores floating around. You are at risk for a serious lung infection.

[stealth_monkey]

I don't understand why you think vinegar is a last resort, it's certainly less damaging to your equipment than alcohol would be

would you enjoy doing keiko in a men that smelt of vinegar?

[Scotty Allen]

Never mind the bogu, you have to think of your health first! If stuff goes mouldy just laying on the floor overnight, there is a problem. You need to go after your landlord to have the place PROFESSIONALLY cleaned and a dehumidifier installed. Now!

[MartialArtsGirl]

No, but I think that mold will start growing on your face and arms if you start laying on the floor.

Oops, apparantly, grammatically, it should be:

No, I think that mold will start growing on your face and arms if you start lying on the floor.

[rainmaker]

okay... this is really frustrate me.. when you watch monster movie, if you see a sign of any monster in the house, get the f&*k outa there... Otherwise, this monster will kill you in the end...

Now, you have seen a sign of mold. You have to either move out or you will need to take care of that problem ASAP. That means your house is full of mold. Somewhere your house has water leak problem.

"According to a 1999 Mayo Clinic Study, nearly all chronic sinus infections (afflicting 37 million Americans) are a result of molds. A 300% increase in the asthma rate over the past 20 years has been linked to molds. (according to 1999 USA Today Cover Story). This type of disease is uncommon. It is an opportunistic infection caused by exposure to microorganisms that don't normally produce disease in healthy individuals, but affects those persons with abnormally functioning immune systems"

[cruzemi]

thanks everyone for your help.

I contacted my land lord and he went out to buy a humidifier. He said there was no leakage cause the floor is cement with carpet on top. I'm going to try to see if it works. I don't think He seems like a nice guy after i told him about the mold the next day he went to buy a humidifier and checked out he room. it is really bad just the humidity. It was 75% hum and he said it was suppose to be from 40-45. Hopefully i don't get sick.