A story from the field: the water is gone, but the novices' sleeping rooms are not ready

A Phra Pariyatti Dhamma school, one of Thailand's Buddhist schools where novice monks study both the Dhamma and the regular national curriculum, sits within the grounds of a riverside temple in Bang Sai district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya. Novices from several provinces live and study there as boarders. When the 2026 floods came, water rose almost half a meter into the ground floor of the novices' dormitory. The ground-floor classrooms and the library flooded too. The temple moved most of the novices to temporary sleeping space on the upper floor of the sala, the temple's main hall, while some went home to stay with their families in other provinces.

Ajarn Wichai, a lay teacher who has taught general subjects at the school for more than ten years, was asked by the senior monk in charge of the dormitory to help coordinate the clean-up. When the water went down and he opened the dormitory door for the first time, a damp, musty smell mixed with the odor of mud rolled out at once. Mattresses and mats that could not be lifted in time were heavy with water. The plastered walls on the ground floor carried a sharp tide line. Under the wooden beds and storage cabinets there were patches of greenish-black mold. Dhamma and Pali textbooks on the lowest library shelves had swollen with water, and some had mold creeping along the edges of their pages.

The youngest novices, who had come back to help carry things out, started sneezing and scratching at their arms. The senior monk said quietly that he hoped the sleeping rooms and classrooms could be made clean enough for lessons to resume with peace of mind, without disturbing the novices' chanting and studies for too long.

Why a novices' dormitory needs more care than an ordinary home

A novices' dormitory is a place where many people sleep in the same room. Most novices are young; some are only twelve or thirteen years old. Their immune systems and their tolerance of a damp environment are not the same as an adult's. Sleeping rooms are often arranged with mattresses or mats laid side by side on the floor, or with bunk beds placed close together. If mold or germs remain after a flood, they spread easily from one sleeping space to the next.

Beyond the sleeping rooms, a Phra Pariyatti Dhamma school has many shared spaces: classrooms, a library holding Dhamma, Pali and general-subject textbooks, communal bathrooms, an area for washing and drying robes, and a dining hall where the novices take their meals together. Every one of these spaces was hit by water and humidity at the same time. Cleaning therefore has to be planned in a sensible order, not done at random.

Robes deserve special mention. Once robes have been soaked and not dried thoroughly, the cloth develops a musty smell and small spots of mold within a few days. Wardrobes standing on the ground floor also hold moisture, so freshly washed robes put back inside can start to smell again almost immediately.

Risks the temple and school should be aware of

The health of novices and their teachers

Floodwater and mud can contain E. coli, which is associated with diarrhea, and Leptospira bacteria, which cause leptospirosis, known in Thailand as rat urine fever. The risk is higher when novices help carry things through the mud without rubber boots. Mold spores in sleeping rooms can trigger allergies, asthma and a blocked nose, and damp, musty cloth easily leads to itchy rashes and other skin problems. If any novice develops a fever, muscle pain or other unusual symptoms after contact with floodwater, he should be taken to see a doctor promptly.

Interrupted studies

Novices study both the Buddhist scriptures and the regular school curriculum. If classrooms and dormitories are not ready, lessons fall behind, and novices crowded together in temporary spaces do not rest properly. A fast, well-organized restoration helps the daily routine return to normal sooner.

Valuable texts and records

The libraries of some monastic schools hold old textbooks, temple record books or scriptures the temple has kept for generations. These need specialist care, and every decision about whether and how to move or treat them belongs to the temple alone.

Why the usual methods are not enough

• Pouring strong bleach throughout the dormitory: the harsh smell disturbs sleep and study, can irritate the novices' airways, and does nothing about the musty odor that has soaked deep into walls and wood.
• Running fans and nothing else: fans dry the surface, but moisture inside plaster walls, under beds and inside cabinets stays put, and the moving air can spread mold spores around the room.
• Burning incense or using air freshener to cover the smell: the musty odor fades only for a while because its source remains, and smoke in a closed room is not good for novices with allergies.
• Putting flood-soaked mattresses straight back into use: mattresses that absorbed floodwater are extremely hard to dry and become a source of germs. Sort them, and discard any that were submerged or show mold.
• Painting over water stains right away: if the wall is still damp, mold grows beneath the new paint and reappears within weeks.

Principles for working respectfully in a monastic school

• The temple moves all sacred objects: Buddha images in classrooms and dormitories, altar tables, scripture cabinets and palm-leaf texts are moved or covered by the temple itself. The team does not touch them.
• Work fits the monastic routine: appointments avoid the morning alms round, the morning and midday meals, morning and evening chanting, and important lesson times. The schedule is agreed with the senior monk or whoever the temple appoints.
• One building at a time: so the novices always have somewhere to sleep and somewhere to study, and nobody has to move everyone at once.
• Areas the temple prefers to keep closed: the team does not enter, spray or ozone-treat them.
• Modest conduct and dress: shoes are removed where the temple asks, speech is polite, and each temple's customs are followed.
• The novices' personal belongings: alms bowls, shoulder bags, robes and personal items are put away by the novices or their teachers before work day.

Preparing the space before the team arrives

1. Hold a short meeting: the senior monk in charge of the dormitory, the teachers and the temple steward agree which buildings flooded, which rooms are most urgent, and which areas are off limits.
2. Sort mattresses, mats and pillows: anything that was submerged or shows black mold should go; items that are only damp should be dried completely in the sun.
3. Wash the robes: wash and dry them fully in the sun. Robes that are badly damaged are dealt with by the temple according to its customs.
4. Move books off the lowest shelves: lay wet books out in a dry, airy place. For old or valuable texts and manuscripts, the temple should consult a document conservation specialist.
5. Shovel out mud and wash the floors: clean the classroom, dormitory and bathroom floors, then open doors and windows to let air through.
6. Check the electrics: have an electrician inspect sockets, wiring, ceiling fans and the water heaters in the communal bathrooms before anything is switched back on.

The solution: disinfection fogging plus ozone treatment by World Health Disinfection

Our disinfection service uses CHEMGENE HLD4H, applied as an ultra-low-volume (ULV) mist in the sleeping rooms, classrooms, communal bathrooms, corridors and dining hall. The very fine droplets reach under beds, behind cabinets, into tile joints and up into wall corners that a cloth cannot reach, without soaking the floor.

Our ozone treatment service suits rooms that can be closed, such as sleeping rooms, classrooms and robe storerooms. Ozone helps reduce airborne mold spores and breaks down the odor molecules trapped in walls, wooden beds and cabinets, so the room feels fresh to breathe in again.

How the work is done

1. Survey with the temple: walk through the dormitory, classrooms and bathrooms with the person the temple appoints, and mark the areas we may treat and the areas to avoid.
2. Schedule around the routine: choose days and times when the novices are out of the building, for example while they are studying or chanting elsewhere.
3. Advise on preparation: sorting mattresses, cloth, books and personal items as listed above.
4. Disinfection fogging: ULV application of CHEMGENE HLD4H across every permitted area.
5. Ozone shock treatment: treating the rooms that can be closed, with nobody inside.
6. Ventilation and re-check: open doors and windows until the rooms are safe, check odor and damp spots again, and tell the temple exactly when each room can be used.

Ozone safety during treatment

• No monks, novices, teachers, pets or plants may be in the room during ozone treatment. That includes the dogs and cats that live in many temples.
• Buddha images, altar tables and scriptures are always moved or covered by the temple beforehand.
• Computers, projectors and sound equipment in classrooms should be taken out or covered. The team controls the ozone dose and duration to suit the room.
• After treatment, rooms are ventilated until the team confirms they are safe, and only then do the novices go back in.
• Signs on each door show when the room is closed, so a young novice does not open it by mistake.

Caring for the communal bathrooms, robe-washing area and dining hall

The dormitory's communal bathroom is the most heavily used space of all. After the flood, mud often remains in floor drains and grout lines. Clean these thoroughly first, then disinfect. If toilets or drains are sending smells back up, have a plumber check the pipes and septic tank, because fogging and ozone address germs and odor in the room, not a plumbing fault.

The area where robes are washed and dried should be cleared of mud and algae, and rusty drying rails wiped down or replaced. In the dining hall, where the novices eat together, wash every table, bench and dish with clean water before use, throw away any food supplies that touched floodwater, then disinfect the space and ventilate it well before meals resume there.

Mattresses that are still in good condition can be cleaned with our dust mite removal service. Around temple grounds where water still stands after the flood, our mosquito spraying service helps reduce the mosquitoes that can carry dengue fever.

A practical recovery plan that respects the school's rhythm

Every monastic school has its own rhythm, and a good recovery plan follows it rather than fighting it. The outline below is a starting point that the temple can adapt to its own buildings, its number of novices and the time of year.

The first few days after the water recedes

The priority is safety and drying. Shovel out the mud, take soaked mattresses and mats out of the buildings, and open every door and window during the day so air can move through. Keep the novices, especially the youngest, away from deep mud and standing water, and make sure anyone helping with the clean-up wears boots and gloves. This is also the time to have an electrician confirm that sockets, fans and water heaters are safe before they are used again.

The end of the first week

Once the heaviest mud is gone and the floors have been washed, the team can survey the buildings with the temple and agree the order of work. Usually the sleeping rooms come first, because the novices need a healthy place to rest, followed by the communal bathrooms and the dining hall, and then the classrooms and library. Each building is disinfected, ozone-treated if it can be closed, and ventilated before the next one begins.

The weeks that follow

Walls and wooden furniture can stay damp longer than people expect. Over the following weeks, teachers and the temple steward can check corners, the backs of cabinets and the undersides of beds for new spots of mold or a returning smell. If the odor comes back in one particular room, that usually points to moisture still trapped somewhere, and a re-check from the team can help find it. Painting and other repair work should wait until the walls are properly dry.

Keeping the novices healthy while the school recovers

Novices who live far from home rely on the temple and their teachers for daily care, so a few simple habits make a real difference during the recovery period. Encourage handwashing with soap before meals and after helping with the clean-up. Make sure drinking water comes from a safe source, especially if the temple's water system was affected by the flood. Keep an eye on small cuts and scratches, clean them well and cover them, because wounds that touch floodwater can become infected.

Novices with allergies or asthma should stay away from rooms that are still being cleaned and should not handle moldy books or cloth. If a novice develops a persistent cough, a rash that does not go away, fever or stomach problems, the teachers can arrange for him to see a doctor and can let his family know. Many families feel reassured simply by hearing how the school is caring for their sons and when normal lessons will resume.

Getting ready for the next rainy season

Riverside temples in Bang Sai know that high water may come again. Once the buildings are restored, the school can take a few steps to make the next recovery quicker. Keep a short written list of which rooms flood first and which items should be lifted early. Store spare mattresses, textbooks and robes on higher shelves or upper floors. Choose cabinets with legs rather than ones that sit directly on the floor, so air can circulate underneath. Keep contact details for an electrician, a plumber and a disinfection team in one place, so that when the water goes down the temple can make three phone calls instead of searching for help.

It also helps to agree in advance where the novices will sleep and study if the ground floor floods again, and who will speak with their families. Preparation like this turns a stressful emergency into a familiar routine, and lets the school return to its real purpose, teaching and caring for its novices, as quickly as possible.

10 reasons monastic schools in Bang Sai choose WHD

1. We work respectfully: the temple defines the work areas and moves all sacred objects itself.
2. Our schedule follows the routine of monks and novices, never interrupting the alms round, meals or chanting.
3. ULV disinfection fogging reaches under beds, behind cabinets and into tile joints.
4. We use CHEMGENE HLD4H, a disinfectant used in professional settings.
5. Ozone treatment for sleeping rooms and classrooms reduces musty odor and airborne mold spores.
6. Our ozone generators allow the dose and time to be controlled.
7. We work one building at a time, so the novices always have a place to sleep and study.
8. We give step-by-step advice on sorting mattresses, cloth and books.
9. Follow-up options include our dust mite removal service and mosquito spraying.
10. Coordination is easy by phone and LINE with the senior monk, a teacher or the temple steward.

Before and after restoring the novices' dormitory

A client's voice (example scenario)

"My biggest worry was whether we would disturb the monks and the novices. The team surveyed with me and the senior monk first, asked which rooms they could enter and which they should not, and timed the work for when the novices were studying in another building. The temple moved the Buddha images and the scripture cabinet itself. They did one building at a time. When we opened the sleeping rooms after ventilation, most of the musty smell was gone, and the novices could move back in with peace of mind."

— Ajarn Wichai, lay teacher at a Phra Pariyatti Dhamma school in Bang Sai (example scenario from the field)

Frequently asked questions

Q: Will your team move Buddha images or scriptures?
A: No. The temple moves or covers all sacred objects and scriptures itself, and the team works only in the areas the temple permits.

Q: How long do the novices need to stay out of a room?
A: It depends on the room size and how strong the odor is. The team gives the times in advance and chooses periods when the novices are in class or at chanting, so their routine is not interrupted.

Q: Can moldy textbooks be ozone-treated?
A: Ordinary textbooks that have dried out can be placed in a treated room on the team's advice. For old texts or valuable scriptures, the temple should consult a document conservation specialist first.

Q: What should be done with moldy robes?
A: Wash them and dry them fully in the sun. Robes that are badly damaged are dealt with by the temple according to its customs. Ozone treatment of the robe storeroom helps remove the musty smell from cabinets and the room itself.

Q: The communal bathroom has smells coming back up the drains. Can you fix that?
A: Fogging deals with germs and odor in the room, but if the pipes or septic tank are at fault, a plumber should repair them first.

Q: Which areas do you serve?
A: Bang Sai, Bang Ban, Phak Hai, Sena, Bang Pa-in and nearby areas. Ask us on LINE @whd268.

Let the novices' sleeping rooms and classrooms be clean and peaceful again

Book a survey of the dormitory and school buildings of your Phra Pariyatti Dhamma school in Bang Sai or nearby.

See our disinfection service

Book ozone treatment

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

Related links

• Ozone disinfection for residential spaces
• Ozone treatment for odors and chemical residue
• Dust mite removal service
• All articles
• External sources: WHO: Floods and health and the Thai Department of Disease Control