Since we had stripped the floors during our renovation work, we decided to lay down charcoal underneath. Charcoal is known for its ability to combat humidity, and we thought it would be a difficult project to do at any other time.
Humid winds blow in from the sea near where our house is located. It is so close that from the window you can see ships nearby passing the Ondo no Seto Straight that stretches out in front of your eyes, and sometimes you can even feel vibrations from the sound of their engines. On the other hand, right behind our house is a cliff covered in green with a temple on top, making our location poorly ventilated and causing high humidity.
Seeking a charcoal for a fix.
Without doing anything about the humidity, the wood would have been easily damaged and could have become a breeding ground for termites if we were not careful, so we decided to lay charcoal under the floor.
We ended up using charcoal made from locally produced bamboo. There are actually a lot of unattended bamboo forests on Kurahashi Island that will only spread further if left alone, so ways to make use of the forests were being looked into. A local non-profit had been experimenting with making bamboo charcoal, and since we happened to know one of the members, we bought some that had been merchandised. The reason given for it being cheaper than regular charcoal sold by other companies online was that the quality is not yet up to par. Our plan was just to lay it under the floor, not use it as a deodorizer or for any other purpose, so it did not matter how it looked. We needed a lot and were grateful for the cheaper price.
