A Story from the Field: The Smell Nobody Expected in the Robe Storeroom

Lung Sompong is sixty-three and serves as the lay steward, or waiyawatchakon, of a small forest monastery in Sao Hai district, Saraburi. The monastery sits in a shady grove not far from the Pa Sak River. A dozen low wooden kuti, the simple huts where monks live and meditate, are scattered among the trees. There is a large wooden sala for chanting and meals, and behind it a storeroom where the temple keeps spare robes, blankets, sleeping mats and the many items that lay supporters bring as offerings.

During the 2026 floods, the Pa Sak River overflowed into the grove. Water rose above the space beneath several kuti and covered the storeroom floor for almost a week. The monks and novices moved temporarily to the sala, which stands higher. Lay supporters helped carry what they could to higher ground, but the heavy wooden cabinet holding the spare robes was simply too big to lift.

When the water finally went down, Lung Sompong opened the storeroom for the first time. A damp, musty smell mixed with river mud rolled out immediately. Robes folded in the bottom of the cabinet were spotted with green and black mold. Blankets and mats were damp through. The wooden floors of several kuti were coated in mud, white fuzzy mold was appearing on the lower wall boards, and a few of the monks had started coughing and sneezing during morning chanting.

"The robes are important. Our supporters offered them with great faith. I do not want them ruined, and I do not want to do anything that is inappropriate," Lung Sompong said. Many temples and monasteries along the Pa Sak River in Sao Hai, Mueang Saraburi and nearby districts are facing exactly the same question. This article sets out an approach that is both effective and respectful.

Why Forest Monasteries Are Harder to Restore Than Ordinary Homes

1. Wooden buildings in the forest dry slowly

Kuti and wooden halls under large trees receive little direct sunlight, and the air around them stays humid. Timber that has been soaked releases its moisture much more slowly than a concrete house in town. That gives mold weeks to grow on floorboards, wall panels and the timber beneath the buildings.

2. Fabrics and soft materials hold moisture

Robes, blankets, mats, pillows and sitting cloths all absorb water easily. When they are folded and stacked in a closed wooden cabinet, moisture stays trapped inside them and becomes a source of mold and odor that spreads through the whole room.

3. The health of monks, novices and lay supporters

Monks who meditate and sleep in kuti filled with mold spores may suffer allergies, coughing or asthma flare-ups. Older lay supporters who come to make merit and help around the temple are also at risk. Mud and standing water around the grounds may carry E. coli, which can cause diarrhea, and the bacteria that cause leptospirosis, which can enter the body through cuts in the skin.

4. Questions of propriety

Working inside a temple means respecting the monastic discipline and the customs of the place: how and when to enter a kuti, who may handle a monk's belongings, and which times should not be disturbed, such as chanting, the morning alms round and the meal. A provider who does not understand this can leave the temple community feeling uneasy, however good the technical work.

Common Approaches That Are Not Quite Enough

Temple communities respond to floods with remarkable generosity. Lay supporters arrive with brooms, buckets and their own tools. Their effort matters, but a few common methods leave problems behind.

• Pouring bleach on wooden floors. Bleach can stain and weaken timber, does not reach into the gaps between boards or the space under the building, and its harsh smell disturbs meditation and chanting.
• Relying only on sun-drying the fabrics. Sunlight helps a great deal, but during the rainy season it is unreliable. If robes are folded away while still slightly damp and placed back in a damp cabinet, the mold soon returns.
• Burning incense to cover the smell. This masks the musty odor for a while but does nothing about the mold that causes it, and smoke in a closed room further irritates the airways.
• Painting or oiling the wood straight away. If the timber is still damp, the coating traps moisture inside, which can lead to rot and mold growing beneath the finish.

Cleaning, drying and protecting the wood are all part of a good recovery. On their own, however, they do not deal with germs and spores spread through the air and into hidden corners.

The Solution: Respectful Fogging and Ozone Treatment, Guided by the Temple

World Health Disinfection (WHD) provides a professional disinfection fogging service using CHEMGENE HLD4H, applied with ULV foggers whose fine droplets reach into the gaps between floorboards, the space beneath the kuti and the corners of each room. This is combined with our ozone treatment service, which tackles airborne mold spores and breaks down the musty odor that has soaked into wood and storerooms.

The guiding principle when we work in a temple is simple: the temple decides. Our team does not touch or move Buddha images, robes, alms bowls or any of the monks' requisites ourselves. We ask the lay steward, temple helpers or whoever the abbot appoints to handle these items in the proper way. Throughout our time inside the temple grounds, our team dresses modestly, speaks quietly and behaves with restraint.

Our step-by-step process

1. Request permission and survey through the lay steward. We ask the abbot or head of the monastery for permission through the temple's coordinator, then survey the kuti, sala, storeroom, restrooms and kitchen, and agree on the scope of work together.
2. Schedule around the monks' routine. We work in the late morning to afternoon, avoiding morning and evening chanting, the alms round and the meal, or at whatever time the temple finds convenient.
3. The temple handles its important items. People appointed by the temple remove robes, requisites and other important items from the areas to be treated. Moldy robes are washed and sun-dried by the temple in the appropriate way, while our team takes care of the now-empty cabinets and rooms.
4. ULV disinfection fogging. Chemgene HLD4H is fogged inside the storeroom, the emptied wooden cabinets, the floors and walls of the kuti, the space beneath them, the restrooms and the kitchen.
5. Closed-room ozone treatment. No monks, novices, lay people, animals or plants may be in the room during treatment. We use a controlled ozone dose and ask for fans and sensitive electrical items to be moved out first.
6. Ventilation and re-check. Doors and windows are opened to air the rooms fully before anyone uses them again. We then return to check for odor and mold before the temple puts the clean, fully dried robes back into storage.

Advice for Lay Stewards and Temple Supporters

Fabrics must be completely dry before storage. After washing and sun-drying, make sure robes are dry all the way through, including seams and folds, before they are folded and put away. If in doubt, leave them out for another day. Storing cloth that is even slightly damp is the main reason mold comes back.

Help the robe cabinet breathe. Place the cabinet slightly away from the wall, raise it off the floor, put moisture absorbers inside, and open it to air on sunny days. These small changes reduce trapped humidity considerably.

Care for floorboards and the space beneath the kuti. Scrape out as much mud as possible from under the buildings. Let the wood dry before applying any oil or preservative, and watch for signs of termites. If you find them, consult a termite specialist, as that is a separate problem requiring its own expertise.

Keep mosquitoes under control. Forest monasteries often have many jars, containers and hollows where water collects after a flood. Turn containers over, cover water jars, and consider our mosquito spraying service where appropriate.

Protect yourself while helping. Supporters who help shovel mud should wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and a mask, wash their hands before eating, and avoid wading through water if they have wounds on their feet or legs.

Other Areas of the Temple Not to Overlook

Besides the kuti and the robe storeroom, several other places in a forest monastery commonly harbor germs and musty odors after a flood. It helps to include them in the plan from the first survey.

• The kitchen and dishwashing area. Lay supporters prepare food for the monks here every day. If drains and the space under the sink still hold mud, they become a source of germs and insects. Clean and disinfect them before normal use resumes.
• Shared restrooms for lay visitors. These see heavy use and often suffer from wastewater backing up during floods. They need thorough washing and disinfection.
• The Dhamma book room. Books and papers that got wet mold easily. The temple should sort them itself; once the shelves and room are empty, our team can treat them.
• Spare mattresses and sitting cloths. Mattresses that were soaked usually hold moisture deep inside and are very hard to restore. Replacement is generally recommended.
• Walking meditation paths and the area around the sala. Dried mud on paths turns to dust and is carried into the buildings. Wash these areas before normal use.

Planning for all of these from the start means the temple does not need to call our team back several times, and lay supporters can return to make merit with peace of mind.

A Gentle Timeline from Flood to Normal Practice

Every monastery has its own rhythm, but thinking in stages helps the lay steward coordinate supporters and keep the abbot informed.

Stage 1: Safety. Switch off electricity to flooded buildings and have a qualified electrician check wiring and outlets. Look for weakened steps, loose boards and slippery mud. Decide who coordinates volunteers and who speaks with service providers.

Stage 2: Mud removal and sorting. Supporters, wearing protective gear, clear mud from floors and under the kuti. Items belonging to the monks or to the temple's religious life are set aside and handled by those the temple appoints. Photos are taken for records.

Stage 3: Washing and drying fabrics. The temple washes and sun-dries robes, blankets and mats that can be saved, and sets aside items that must be replaced.

Stage 4: Fogging and ozone treatment. With the rooms emptied and the worst of the mud gone, our team fogs and ozone-treats the agreed areas, one zone at a time, so monks always have somewhere to stay.

Stage 5: Ventilation, re-check and return. Rooms are aired thoroughly and checked again. Once the temple is satisfied, the clean, dry robes go back into the refreshed cabinets and the monks return to their kuti.

Stage 6: Repairs and prevention. Wood treatment, repairs and small changes such as raising cabinets off the floor come last, once the timber is dry.

How Our Team Behaves Inside a Temple

Technical skill is only half of the job in a monastery. The other half is conduct. Before every temple visit, our team is reminded of a few simple practices that help the community feel at ease.

• We dress modestly in clean, plain work clothes, and remove shoes where the temple expects it.
• We speak quietly and keep machinery switched off whenever monks are chanting or meditating nearby.
• We do not hand items directly to monks or touch their belongings. Anything that needs to pass between us goes through the lay steward or a temple helper.
• We never enter a kuti without permission, and only when the monk who lives there has left and the temple has agreed.
• We do not step over or place equipment on sitting cloths, mats or anything used in religious practice.
• We ask before taking any photographs, and only photograph the areas the temple agrees to.

These may seem like small details, but they matter a great deal to the monks and the lay community. They are also part of why temples are comfortable inviting us back for follow-up checks.

Why Fogging and Ozone Work Better Together

People sometimes ask whether they need both services or whether one is enough. In a flooded wooden monastery, the two steps do different jobs. ULV fogging with Chemgene HLD4H puts disinfectant onto surfaces: floorboards, the inside of cabinets, the timber under the kuti, restroom walls and kitchen counters. It is the step that deals with germs left behind by floodwater on the things people touch and walk on.

Ozone, on the other hand, is a gas. It spreads through the whole closed room, including the air itself and the tiny pores of wood and fabric that a mist cannot fully reach. That is why it is so useful against airborne mold spores and the stubborn musty smell that lingers in a storeroom even after everything has been cleaned. Because ozone is a strong oxidizer, it must only be used in an empty room, and the room must be ventilated properly afterwards. Used one after the other, the two steps give a much more complete result than either one alone.

10 Reasons Temples and Monasteries in Sao Hai Choose WHD

1. The temple decides; sacred items and requisites are handled only by people the temple appoints.
2. Work is timed to avoid chanting, the alms round and the meal.
3. Our team behaves with restraint and modesty inside the temple grounds.
4. We use CHEMGENE HLD4H for high-level disinfection.
5. ULV droplets reach the gaps between floorboards, the space beneath the kuti and hidden corners.
6. Ozone treatment tackles musty odor in the storeroom and wooden cabinets.
7. It helps reduce airborne mold spores for the health of monks, novices and lay supporters.
8. Clear ozone safety and ventilation steps are followed every time.
9. We share practical advice on storing robes so mold does not return.
10. Our dust mite removal service can follow up on mattresses and cushions that were not submerged.

Before and After: The Kuti and Robe Storeroom

A Word from the Lay Steward

"The team asked permission from the head of our monastery first, then arranged to work in the afternoon after the monks had finished their meal. The temple helpers and I took the robes out to wash and dry them ourselves; the team looked after the empty cabinets and rooms. After airing everything and putting the robes back, the room no longer smelled damp. Supporters who came to make merit said the sala felt fresher too."

— Lung Sompong, lay steward of a monastery in Sao Hai (a representative scenario based on field experience)

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Can robes be put through ozone treatment directly?
A: We recommend that the temple first washes and sun-dries moldy robes in the appropriate way, while our team treats the emptied rooms and cabinets. If the temple would like help removing odor from robes that are already fully dry, please discuss it with us case by case so we can choose a suitable method and dose.

Q: Who moves Buddha images and the monks' requisites?
A: The lay steward, temple helpers or someone appointed by the temple handles them according to custom. Our team does not move them ourselves.

Q: How long do monks need to stay out of their kuti?
A: Nobody may be inside during ozone treatment, and the kuti must be ventilated according to our team's guidance before it is used again. We plan the work one kuti or one zone at a time so the monks and novices always have a place to stay.

Q: Will the disinfectant affect old timber?
A: We apply a fine mist in a suitable amount; we do not pour or soak. If the timber is old or historically valuable, please tell us during the survey so we can consider a particularly gentle approach.

Q: What about thick mud under the kuti?
A: Scrape and remove as much mud as possible first, because mud holds germs and odor. Fogging comes after that. We will advise on the order of work during the survey.

Q: Our temple has a limited budget. Where should we start?
A: Start with the robe storeroom and the kuti where monks sleep, followed by the kitchen and restrooms, then other areas. We are glad to help set priorities that fit the temple's budget.

Q: Can lay supporters stay in the temple while you work?
A: Yes, in areas that are not being treated. During fogging and ozone treatment, the treated building must be empty, and we mark it clearly so nobody walks in by mistake. Supporters can continue to help in other parts of the temple, and we will let the lay steward know as soon as each building has been ventilated and is ready to use again.

Let the Kuti and Robe Storeroom Be Clean, Fresh and Fit for Practice Again

Contact the WHD team to arrange a survey of temples and monasteries in Sao Hai, Mueang Saraburi, Chaloem Phra Kiat and along the Pa Sak River, with a schedule that respects the monks' routine.

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

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Health reference: World Health Organization (WHO): Floods fact sheet · Department of Disease Control, Thailand