A story from the field: Uncle Sompong's teak house by the river

For more than ten years, Uncle Sompong and Auntie Boonmee have welcomed visitors to their two-storey wooden homestay on the riverbank in Prachantakham district, Prachinburi. The house is old teak, handed down from Sompong's parents. It stands on tall stilts, with a wide veranda that reaches out over the water. Guests love to sit there in the morning with a cup of coffee, listen to the birds, then stroll to the community market. Upstairs, four bedrooms are dressed in hand-woven local cotton, embroidered cushions and soft mattresses that Boonmee has always cared for as if they were her own.

From late September into early October 2026 the river broke its banks. The water rose quickly, swallowed the open space beneath the house and then crept a hand's width above the upper floorboards. The couple spent almost two weeks with relatives in town. When they finally returned, the scene was heartbreaking. Brown mud coated the stilts nearly two meters up. Several upstairs floorboards had swollen and lifted. The woven fabrics hanging on the walls were dotted with grey-green mold. And the smell, heavy, damp and sour, was so strong that Boonmee had to hold a cloth over her nose.

"A wooden house breathes," Sompong said, tapping a post that was still cold and damp. "Right now it has breathed in a whole river of dirty water." For days the two of them scrubbed and rinsed on their own. They opened every window and let the breeze run through. Yet every morning the musty smell drifted back up between the floorboards. Meanwhile, the small groups who had booked rooms for the end of the year began to call, asking gently when they could come.

Boonmee worried most about the little things guests notice first. The cotton blankets she folded at the foot of each bed. The cushions on the veranda where couples took photos at sunset. The woven runner on the dining table where everyone ate breakfast together. Each of them now carried the same faint, sour smell. She washed some of them twice, dried them in the sun and brought them back inside, only to find that by the next morning they smelled of the house again. It was then that the couple's nephew, who lives in Bangkok, suggested calling in a professional team rather than fighting the problem alone.

Wooden houses are the soul of riverside community tourism in Prachinburi. They are also, unfortunately, among the hardest buildings to restore after a flood. Timber absorbs water, holds moisture and locks odors inside for far longer than concrete or tile.

Why a riverside wooden house is harder to restore than a concrete one

A traditional wooden house is made of joints, gaps and layers. There are seams between floorboards, spaces between wall panels, beams and rafters, and a raised under-house area where air moves unevenly. When contaminated floodwater sits in a structure like this, it seeps into the wood grain and pools in places no brush can reach.

• Timber is absorbent. Wood that has been submerged can hold moisture deep inside for weeks, even when the surface looks dry. Mold keeps growing from within.
• Gaps and seams trap dirt. Mud and organic matter lodge between boards and become a breeding ground for bacteria that release odor day after day.
• The space beneath the house. This is where water stays longest and mud lies thickest. It also becomes a refuge for rats, snakes and insects escaping the flood.
• Textiles and handicrafts. Cotton weaves, cushions, mats and woven baskets all hold smells and mold spores very well.

Health risks to watch for

River floodwater that has flowed through villages and farmland usually carries germs. The best known risk is leptospirosis, which can enter the body through cuts and grazes while wading or clearing mud. There is also a risk of diarrhea, skin infections and eye infections, as well as allergy and asthma flare-ups caused by mold spores in damp rooms. Older owners like Sompong and Boonmee, who do the cleaning themselves, are particularly exposed.

The impact on a homestay business

Visitors who choose a riverside homestay are looking for nature, calm and a warm, homely kind of cleanliness. If they walk in to a musty smell or notice mold on a blanket, the magic disappears immediately. Community tourism also relies heavily on word of mouth, and news travels fast among travelers who share tips in online groups.

What homeowners usually try, and why the smell stays

Nobody loves a wooden house more than the family who lives in it, and owners work incredibly hard after a flood. Some popular methods, however, either fall short or end up harming the wood.

• Pouring bleach on the floor. Chlorine bleaches timber to a blotchy white, dries the surface until it is rough, and still cannot reach mold growing inside the wood.
• Blasting everything with a pressure washer. It moves mud, but it also forces more water into the grain and joints, so the wood stays wet for longer.
• Incense, mosquito coils or air fresheners. They only mask the odor. The musty smell returns in the morning or whenever the air turns humid.
• Oiling or staining the wood straight away. If the timber is still damp and moldy, a new coating traps moisture inside and mold spreads beneath the film.
• Washing fabrics and hanging them back in the same room. If spores are still floating in the air, the fabric will smell again within days.

What a wooden house really needs is treatment for both surfaces and air at the same time, using methods that are gentle on the wood.

Why the musty smell comes back every morning

Many owners of wooden houses notice the same pattern. In the afternoon, when the sun is strong, the smell seems to fade. By early morning, or after a shower of rain, it is back as strong as ever. The reason is humidity. At night the air becomes damper, and timber that still holds water inside releases both moisture and odor. At the same time, mold thrives in cool, humid conditions. With windows shut overnight, the smell builds up in the room until someone opens the door at dawn.

The solution therefore has to work in two directions. First, reduce the germs and mold that cause the smell through disinfection fogging. Second, break down the odor molecules already embedded in wood and fabric through ozone treatment. Combine these with natural drying, and the musty smell disappears for good instead of simply fading for a few hours.

A simple seven-day recovery plan (example)

• Days 1–2: Clear mud from under the house and from between floorboards. Remove damaged items and decide what must be thrown away.
• Day 3: Rinse surfaces with clean water, sparingly. Do not blast water into the timber. Open every gap and window to let air through.
• Day 4: The WHD team surveys the house, fogs the whole building with disinfectant and ozone-treats bedrooms and storerooms.
• Days 5–6: Ventilate. Hang washed fabrics and cushions in the sun. Let the timber keep drying.
• Day 7: Check smell and dampness again, rearrange the rooms and prepare for the first guests.

The real timeline depends on how severe the flood was and on the weather, but a step-by-step plan keeps owners from burning out and shows clearly how far along the recovery is.

The WHD solution: Chemgene HLD4H fogging and ozone treatment designed for wooden homes

World Health Disinfection offers disinfection fogging together with ozone treatment, a combination that suits wooden houses and homestays with complex spaces and materials that need careful handling.

Fine-mist fogging with CHEMGENE HLD4H

CHEMGENE HLD4H is applied with a ULV fogger as a very fine mist. It drifts into the seams between floorboards, the joints of wall panels, the corners of the ceiling and the open space beneath the house, without drenching the wood. It helps reduce bacteria, viruses and mold on surfaces throughout the building and, unlike bleach, it does not leave timber blotchy and pale.

Ozone to break down odors in wood and fabric

After fogging, the team closes each room and runs an ozone generator. Ozone gas works its way into the gaps between boards, into woven fabrics, mattresses and pillows. It helps destroy mold spores and breaks down the molecules behind musty, muddy and stagnant-water smells. When the treatment is finished, ozone naturally converts back into oxygen.

Why both steps matter in a wooden house

In a concrete room, surfaces are mostly smooth and sealed, so careful wiping and fogging can achieve a lot. A wooden house is different. Every board has a top, a bottom and two edges, and every edge sits beside a gap. Fogging places disinfectant on the surfaces people touch and walk on, from the stair rail to the bedside table. Ozone, being a gas, follows the air into the gaps, under the boards and through the weave of fabrics, reaching the hidden places where smell is generated. Used together, they treat the house the way it was built: as a structure that breathes. That is why owners who have tried fogging alone or an ozone machine alone often find that the combined approach finally makes the difference.

How the work is done

1. House survey. The team checks how high the water rose, the condition of the timber, the under-house area and which rooms have the most mold.
2. Mud and drying advice. You will be shown how to clear mud from floor seams, which panels to open for airflow, and which items to keep or discard.
3. Whole-house fogging. From the space beneath the house, the stairs and veranda, to bedrooms, bathroom and kitchen.
4. Room-by-room ozone treatment. Each room is closed for a time suited to its size.
5. Ventilation. Doors and windows are opened until no ozone smell remains.
6. Re-check and aftercare advice. For example, when it is safe to oil or stain the timber, and how to control humidity in the long run.

10 reasons riverside wooden homestays choose WHD

1. A method suited to timber. Fine mist, not buckets of chemicals that soak the wood.
2. Reaches floor seams and the under-house space. Places brushes and mops cannot reach, through our disinfection service.
3. No bleach stains. CHEMGENE HLD4H is not a chlorine bleach.
4. Breaks down odors locked in wood and fabric. With our ozone treatment service.
5. Protects treasured textiles. Fewer heirloom weaves and decorations need to be thrown away.
6. Less exposure for older owners. No need to handle harsh chemicals yourself.
7. Fewer allergy triggers. Sensitive guests can sleep more comfortably.
8. Outdoor care too. Mosquito fogging for riverbanks where mosquitoes surge after floods.
9. Experience with homes. Read more about residential ozone disinfection.
10. Reopen with pride. Welcome visitors again and share the story of how your house was brought back.

Before and after restoring a wooden house

A homestay owner's voice (illustrative scenario)

"We scrubbed for a whole week until our backs gave out, and the smell was still there. After the team fogged and ozone-treated the house and we aired it the way they explained, I climbed the stairs the next morning and smelled wood again. I was so happy my mother's old weaving did not have to be thrown away."
— Owner of a riverside wooden homestay, Prachantakham district

For community homestays, getting the house back is not only about income. It is about keeping the stories and memories that make guests want to return.

Caring for a wooden house after the water recedes

• Always wear protection. Boots, rubber gloves and a mask when clearing mud beneath the house reduce the risk of leptospirosis and infected cuts.
• Watch for venomous animals. Snakes and centipedes often shelter in woodpiles and under houses after a flood. Prod with a long stick before lifting anything.
• Check the electrics. If water reached sockets or wiring, have an electrician inspect them before switching the power on.
• Open panels and vents to dry the wood. On sunny days, open every gap to speed up evaporation.
• Wait for the timber to dry fully before oiling or painting. Coating too early traps moisture inside.
• Clean water jars, tanks and containers used for drinking and household water before using them again.
• Empty standing water around the house to cut mosquito breeding sites, which can spread dengue fever.
• Keep a simple log. Note what was cleaned, treated and replaced in each room; it helps when guests ask and when planning future flood preparation.

For more health guidance, see the Department of Health and the World Health Organization.

Prachantakham's riverside tourism and why fast, careful recovery matters

Prachantakham has built a gentle kind of tourism around its rivers, forests and village life. Visitors come for slow mornings, local food, handicrafts and the feeling of staying in a real family home rather than a hotel. Many of the homestays that serve these visitors are small operations run by one family, often by people in their fifties, sixties or older. They have limited savings, limited help and a strong emotional attachment to houses that have stood for generations.

That combination makes flood recovery especially stressful. Owners want to reopen quickly because the cool season is the best time of year for bookings, yet they also know that a rushed reopening could leave guests with a poor impression. Some are tempted to tear out and replace everything; others are tempted to do nothing and hope the smell will fade on its own. Neither extreme is ideal. The best path is a planned, step-by-step recovery that keeps as much of the original house as possible while making sure it is truly clean and safe.

Professional fogging and ozone treatment fit naturally into that path. They do not replace drying, cleaning and basic repairs, but they handle the invisible part of the job, the germs, spores and odor molecules, so that the owners' hard work on the visible part finally pays off.

A room-by-room guide for homestay owners

• Bedrooms: strip beds, wash all linen, set aside mattresses that soaked in floodwater for assessment, and move wardrobes slightly away from walls so air and mist can circulate behind them.
• Veranda and stairs: sweep off dried mud, check for loose or swollen boards that could trip guests, and leave them uncovered to dry in the sun.
• Kitchen: throw away any food, spices or dry goods touched by floodwater, wash pots and plates in hot water, and clean shelves before restocking.
• Bathroom: flush drains with clean water, clean around the toilet and floor drain, and check the septic tank for overflow or backflow.
• Storeroom: sort baskets, mats and handicrafts; dry what can be saved and keep it out of the house until after ozone treatment.
• Under the house: remove mud and debris, clear away anything that could shelter snakes, and leave the area open for fogging.

Talking to guests after you reopen

Guests who love community tourism are usually understanding, and many will want to support local hosts after a disaster. Be open with them. A short message explaining that the house was flooded, has been cleaned, professionally disinfected and ozone-treated, and is now ready to welcome visitors again builds trust. Recent photos of the bright, dry rooms and the veranda over the river say more than any promise. Many hosts find that sharing the recovery story actually strengthens their relationship with returning guests.

Frequently asked questions

Can an old wooden house, decades old, be fogged and ozone-treated?
Yes. The team uses fine mist that does not soak the wood and always surveys the timber first. If any part is rotten or badly damaged, you will be told.

Do we need to wait until the wood is completely dry?
Remove mud and standing water first. The wood does not need to be fully dry. Treating while it dries helps keep mold from spreading during that period.

Should woven fabrics and cushions be taken out?
Wash anything with mud on it first. Clean fabrics can then hang in the room during ozone treatment to help remove odors. The team will advise on placement.

Do pets have to leave?
Yes. Pets and plants must be removed during ozone treatment and may return once the area has been ventilated.

Can the open area under the house be ozone-treated?
Open areas are better suited to disinfection fogging. Ozone treatment focuses on rooms that can be closed. The team chooses the right method for each part of the house.

What if we want our own ozone machine for the homestay?
Take a look at the Master Ozone Generator and the CHEMGENE 750 ml spray for care between guest stays.

Bring the scent of wood back to your riverside home

Let the World Health Disinfection team restore your wooden house or homestay after the flood, correctly and safely.

Book Ozone Treatment – Click Here

See Disinfection Service – Click Here

Call 065-556-6294 · LINE @whd268 · Email worldhealthdisinfection@gmail.com

Related links

• Residential ozone disinfection
• Ozone odor and chemical residue removal
• Mosquito fogging service
• All articles
• External source: WHO – Floods and health

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