Value Village ／ Clothing
This answer is a draft. It stays unpublished until legal review and source verification are complete.
Koromogae (衣替え) is the Japanese custom of swapping the wardrobe over between seasons. It is usually thought of as a swapping job. In practice it is a job of preparing clothes for storage — and in a climate as humid as Japan's, that preparation decides what you find when you open the box.
| Step | Stage | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wash everything you are putting away | Invisible sebum and sweat cause yellowing and odour during storage |
| 2 | Dry completely | Sealed away damp, bacteria start to multiply in about 5 hours (findings on the bacteria behind the "indoor-drying smell", 部屋干し臭, of laundry dried indoors) |
| 3 | Check for damage and fit; decide what to let go | Saves storage space |
| 4 | Put away on a low-humidity day, with air able to circulate | Do not seal moisture in with the clothes |
For washing, follow the care label (Japan uses the international JIS L0001 symbols, in force since December 2016; the August 2024 revision brought the set to 43 symbols).
[Verify] The care-label system is from Consumer Affairs Agency material. Check before publication.
Invisible sebum and sweat remain. They are generally described as the cause of yellowing and odour during storage.
Seal things up on a humid day and you seal in the moisture too. Choose a dry day.
Some materials lose their shape. Check the care label.
Some moth repellents (防虫剤, bōchūzai) cannot be used together. Check the label and keep to the stated amount.
The climate is changing. There is no need to fix the number of times or the timing.
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https://www.caa.go.jp/policies/policy/representation/household_goods/laundry_symbols.html
https://www.kokusen.go.jp/
https://www.gov-online.go.jp/article/201812/entry-9307.html
⚠️ Editorial note: the source URLs above were identified by search. Our working environment cannot reach go.jp domains, so the contents have not been checked against the text. Verify every source before publication and record who checked it and when.
What we share here are ideas and everyday practices passed down among people living in Japan, together with general information drawn from public sources. They are not official recommendations, and they are not professional instruction. Practices vary between households and regions.
This is general information. Results vary from person to person and depend on your own conditions and surroundings.
Please decide for yourself, using your own judgement, whether any of this suits your situation. We cannot accept responsibility for any damage, loss or injury arising from following this article.
Follow the care label and the maker's instructions for any garment, shoe or bag. For expensive or sentimental items, ask a specialist cleaner or repairer.
Always follow the garment's care label when washing and storing. Follow the label on moth repellents, and do not combine different types.
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