Nonstop rains bring booming business to Kaohsiung shoe, bag cleaners

Nonstop rains bring booming business to Kaohsiung shoe, bag cleaners

2026-09-10

Weeks of torrential rain in southern Taiwan have been a boon for businesses specializing in cleaning shoes and bags. One shop in Kaohsiung has seen their daily intake increase by over 30%, packing the shop to bursting with moldy leather jackets, shoes, and even expensive designer handbags. The owners have to work into the night every day to keep up, but they appreciate the business this “mold boom” is bringing in.

Nonstop customers file into the shop, asking to wash their bag, their shoes, even piles of leather clothing and hats. Countless items await cleaning, the consequence of weeks of nonstop rain.

Customer
Bags got moldy
I’m dropping off my bag for cleaning. It’s been super humid with all the rain recently. My bags are all moldy. So I came by to get it cleaned.

Customer
Sneakers got smelly
I dropped off my sneakers. They got soaked in the rain and never fully dried, so the inside is smelly now.

A cleaner pulls out luxury handbags, leather jackets, hats, shoes, and more from an intake bag and lines them up in a row. This jacket is in the worst condition. It’s covered in white mold spots, almost like it’s been in the snow. To get through this mountain, he’ll have to stay late into the night.

Hsu Yu-cheng
Cleaner
I stay overtime every day. Moldy items can’t stay untreated for too long, so we try to handle them as quickly as possible. These days, I’ve been staying until 1 or 2 in the morning.

Kaohsiung is known for having sunny weather, but weeks of nonstop rain have triggered a major mold outbreak. The shop has seen twice as many customers as usual, with income soaring 30 to 50%.

Hsu Han-chung
Cleaner
We first clean, sanitize, and disinfect the items. If it’s particularly bad, maybe with mold spots, we recommend re-dyeing it and ask if the customer wants an additional anti-mold treatment.

The owners advise their customers that if they don’t keepthe humidity down in their storage areas, their bags will turn back into “fungal Petri dishes” before long. But it’s good to see that the rains have been good for at least some businesses.

#mold #rain #leathercare #Kaohsiung #moldremoval #cleaning #luxurybags

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
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南部豪雨另類商機 “高雄洗鞋包店"業績強強滾

2026-09-10

南部日前連續豪雨，讓洗鞋包店業績大爆量。高雄有業者單日收件量暴增三成以上，店裡塞滿發霉的皮衣、鞋子，甚至還有價值數十萬的名牌包，讓老闆天天加班洗到凌晨，也意外讓洗鞋包產業迎來一波另類的”發霉商機"。

客人一個接一個上門，這個洗包包，那個洗鞋子，還有大量皮衣、帽子，多到數不清待洗物件，全都是連日大雨狂炸後的後遺症。

[[民眾]]
“送洗包包，前陣子下雨比較潮濕，包包都會發霉，所以就過來做一些清潔、清洗”

[[民眾]]
“送洗球鞋，因為下雨天淋濕了，然後沒有完全乾，裡面會有味道”

業者從收件袋中，拿出多款名牌包、皮衣，帽子、鞋子等商品一字排開。其中這件皮衣狀況最為慘烈，表面布滿白斑，幾乎變成”雪花大衣"。堆積如山的物品，讓業者天天得加班到深夜。

[[洗鞋包店業者許宇承]]
“就是每天都在加班，因為發霉的東西不能拖太久，所以我們就是盡量趕快處理，我現在幾乎都做到凌晨一、兩點”

高雄向來以好天氣聞名，這回碰上連日大雨，潮濕環境讓黴菌大爆發。這波”發霉潮"，讓送洗人數倍增，整體業績更狂飆三到五成。

[[洗鞋包業者許瀚中]]
“會先清潔，會殺菌消毒，如果它比較嚴重，可能有霉斑的話，會建議客人要做染色，會問客人要不要另外再加防霉”

業者也提醒，若民眾保存環境沒有改善濕度，過一陣子包包還是會再度變成”真菌培養皿"。這波大雨過後，讓名牌皮件黴菌大爆發，也意外讓洗鞋包產業迎來一波另類的"發霉商機"。

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民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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