A Story From the Field: Opening the Shutter for the First Time After the Water Went Down

Phum has run a gaming shop and internet café in a two-unit shophouse in the Rangsit area of Thanyaburi district, Pathum Thani, for several years. His regulars are university students from the campuses nearby, high-school kids who drop in after class, and a couple of amateur e-sport teams who book the glass-walled, air-conditioned team room every weekend to practise for tournaments. The shop is laid out in three zones: standard PCs near the entrance, a gaming zone with black-and-red faux-leather gaming chairs, and the team room at the back, which has interlocking carpet tiles on the floor and acoustic foam panels on the walls.

On the night the water from the Rangsit canal spilled into the soi, Phum and his staff unplugged everything they could, lifted the PC towers onto the desks and carried some of the monitors up to the mezzanine. But the water came in to almost mid-shin and stayed for several days. Gaming chairs that could not be moved in time sat half-submerged. The carpet tiles in the team room soaked up the water like a sponge. Power strips and cable trays under the desks spent days in murky water.

When the water finally receded, Phum rolled up the front shutter. The first thing that hit him was the smell: damp and stale, mixed with mud and wet foam. The air-conditioned room that used to feel crisp and cool had become stuffy and heavy. Along the seams of the gaming chair backrests, small grey-green spots had appeared. The foam ear cushions on the headsets left on the desks smelled sour. The lower part of the acoustic panels on the walls carried a sharp, clear waterline.

What worried Phum most was not the repair bill. It was the messages from his regulars in the shop's group chat: "When are you reopening? Is it going to smell?" People who sit in a closed room playing for three or four hours notice smells far more than someone walking past the front door. If the shop still smells musty on reopening day, the teams who used to book the room could move to another shop and never come back.

This article is for owners like Phum: gaming shops, internet cafés, LAN centres and e-sport rooms in Thanyaburi, Rangsit and the surrounding parts of Pathum Thani that are now trying to reopen after the 2026 floods.

Why Gaming Shops Are Harder to Recover Than Ordinary Shops

Gaming shops and internet cafés have a few characteristics that make moisture and mold build up quickly, and that make recovery more delicate than in a typical retail space.

• They are closed rooms that normally run air conditioning all day. When the power goes out and the AC stops for days, humidity inside climbs very high and has nowhere to escape. A sealed room full of wet materials is a perfect incubator for mold.
• They are full of absorbent materials. Foam inside gaming chairs, carpet tiles, acoustic panels, bean bags and headset ear cushions all hold moisture deep inside long after the surface feels dry.
• They are packed with electronics. You cannot hose the place down or soak surfaces with liquid cleaners, and any ozone treatment must be planned carefully so it does not harm the equipment that is the core asset of the business.
• Many customers touch the same surfaces. Keyboards, mice, headsets and armrests are handled by dozens of people a day. Cleanliness is something customers notice immediately, often within the first minute of sitting down.
• The space under the desks is a dead zone. Cables, power strips and dust that has bonded with flood mud make the area under every desk a hidden reservoir of odor that is very hard to reach with a mop.
• Ventilation is usually limited. Many shops are designed to be dark and enclosed so screens look better, which means fewer windows and less natural airflow to help the space dry out.

What the Owner Is Really Facing: Health, Revenue, Reputation and Time

Health of customers and staff

Floodwater that has flowed across roads and through drains is usually contaminated with sewage-related germs such as E. coli. In areas with rats, it may also carry the bacteria that cause leptospirosis. Dried mud stuck under desks or on chair legs is therefore not just dirt; it is a reservoir of germs that can be stirred up into the air every time someone walks past or drags a chair. Mold growing on seats and walls releases spores into the air. People with allergies, asthma or sinus problems may start sneezing, get a blocked nose, itchy eyes or a cough after sitting for long periods in a closed, air-conditioned room. Skin that rests against a seat or armrest that has not been properly cleaned can develop rashes or itching. The World Health Organization notes that floods raise the risk of water-borne and other infections, which is exactly why cleaning and disinfection matter before people come back.

Revenue

A gaming shop earns money from hours of play. Every day the shop is closed is income that never comes back, while rent, internet contracts and staff salaries keep running. And if the shop reopens too early while it still smells, customers may leave after a short session, which cuts the average hours per visit. In practice that can hurt revenue almost as much as staying closed.

Reputation

Gaming shop customers live in group chats and on social media. One post saying "that shop smells musty and the chairs are moldy" can spread through student groups and team communities in an afternoon. Winning back trust after that takes many times longer than getting the shop properly clean before reopening.

Time

Owners are juggling a dozen things at once: sending machines for inspection, dealing with insurance, calling the electrician, ordering replacement chairs and peripherals. If they also have to experiment on their own with odor and mold problems, they lose even more days, and the trial-and-error often makes things worse.

Why the Usual Quick Fixes Do Not Work

• Pouring bleach and mopping. Bleach can disinfect smooth, hard surfaces to some extent, but in a closed room the harsh fumes irritate the nose and eyes, can corrode metal desk legs, and do nothing for the odor buried in foam, carpet and acoustic panels.
• Running fans all night. Fans help surfaces dry faster, but if mold spores are present, fans simply blow them all over the room, including into the open vents of PC cases.
• Air fresheners and scented diffusers. These only mask the smell for a while. Once the AC is running and the room is closed again, the musty odor comes back and mixes with the perfume, which many customers find nauseating during a long session.
• Repainting over stains. If the wall is still damp inside, the new paint bubbles and the mold stains return within a few weeks.
• Wiping keyboards and mice with a wet cloth. This cleans the top layer of the peripherals, but it does not address the air or the surrounding surfaces that are the real source of the smell.
• Just switching the AC back on. If the coils, drain pan and ducts are holding moisture and mold, the AC becomes a machine that circulates musty air around the room every few minutes.

The bottom line: after a flood, the problem in a gaming shop lives both on surfaces and in the air. A real fix has to tackle both at the same time, and it has to do so without damaging the electronics that make up most of the shop's value.

The Solution: Surface Disinfection Plus Controlled Ozone Treatment, With Your Computers Protected

World Health Disinfection (WHD) combines two services to bring gaming shops back after a flood: our disinfection fogging service and our ozone treatment service.

Disinfection fogging uses CHEMGENE HLD4H applied through a ULV (ultra-low volume) fogger, which turns the disinfectant into a very fine mist. The mist reaches under desks, around chair bases, along the lower parts of walls and into the areas the water touched. Our team controls the direction of the fogging and avoids spraying directly into PC cases, monitors or power outlets. For high-touch surfaces such as keyboards, mice and armrests, we wipe with a cloth lightly dampened with disinfectant instead of fogging, so no liquid pools on or seeps into the equipment.

Ozone treatment uses ozone gas, a strong oxidizer that spreads throughout the room. It helps destroy mold spores floating in the air and sitting in gaps that hands and cloths cannot reach, and it breaks down the odor molecules trapped in foam, carpet and fabric. For gaming shops, WHD uses a controlled ozone approach: the concentration and duration are set according to the size of the room and the type of equipment inside. Sensitive electronics are covered with plastic sheeting or moved out before treatment begins, and rubber parts or materials that are sensitive to ozone are separated as appropriate.

Ozone safety first: during ozone treatment there must be no people, pets or plants in the space. Our team posts "do not enter" signs, and after treatment the doors and windows are opened and fans run to ventilate the area until the ozone has broken down, before staff or customers go back in.

Electricity comes before everything: before switching on any computer after a flood, have a qualified electrician inspect the shop's wiring, breakers, outlets and cables, and have a computer technician check every machine that was exposed to water or very high humidity. Disinfection and ozone treatment restore hygiene and remove odors; they are not a repair service for electronic equipment.

Preparing the Shop Before the Team Arrives: Keep, Replace or Cover?

A little preparation makes the treatment faster and more effective, and it helps you decide early what to reorder.

• PC towers that were submerged. Set them aside for a technician. Do not plug them in to "test" them yourself.
• Monitors, keyboards, mice and headsets that stayed dry. Gather them on desks or high shelves so our team can cover them quickly.
• Gaming chairs that were submerged up to the seat. The foam inside often holds contaminated water. In most cases, replacing the seat cushion is the sensible option. Chairs that were only exposed to humidity can be cleaned and treated together with the room.
• Carpet tiles that were underwater. Lift them out to dry or replace them, because a thin layer of mud is usually hiding underneath.
• Headset ear cushions. They are small, inexpensive and touch customers' faces directly. Replacing them with fresh sets is the simplest way to show customers you have taken hygiene seriously.
• Acoustic foam panels. Panels with obvious water lines should come down. Upper panels that stayed dry can be treated with the room.
• Snacks and drinks in the sales fridge. Anything that touched floodwater should be thrown away. Unaffected stock should be moved out of the room before ozone treatment.
• Bean bags, cushions and fabric décor. If they were submerged, discard them. If they were only damp, wash them separately where the care label allows and let them dry fully.

How the WHD Team Works in a Gaming Shop or Internet Café

1. Site survey. We check how high the water reached, where mold is visible, the size of each zone, the AC system and how much equipment needs covering or moving.
2. Mud and clean-up advice. We advise what should be washed, scrubbed or removed first, especially under desks, in cable trays and along the base of walls where mud tends to cling.
3. Covering and protecting equipment. Monitors, PC towers and peripherals are covered with plastic sheeting. Ozone-sensitive items are separated, and we confirm that power to the working zone is switched off.
4. Disinfection fogging. CHEMGENE HLD4H is applied by ULV fogger to floors, walls, desk legs, chairs and dead corners, and high-touch surfaces are wiped by hand.
5. Controlled ozone treatment. The area is sealed, machines are set according to room size, the duration is controlled, and nobody stays inside during treatment.
6. Ventilation. When the treatment time is up, doors are opened and fans run to clear the air. We wait until the air is safe before anyone re-enters.
7. Re-check. We check odor and stains again. If a specific spot such as the carpeted team room still smells, we recommend further action or schedule a targeted repeat treatment.

For owners who need to reopen fast, the work can be planned zone by zone. For example, the front area can be completed first so the shop can welcome some customers, while the e-sport team room is treated in a later round. The plan always depends on site conditions and the owner's decision.

Don't Forget the Air Conditioning

In a gaming shop, the AC system is often the hidden source of a smell that "comes back" a few days after cleaning. When the power is out and the room is wet, moisture and mold settle on the evaporator coil, the drain pan and the inside of the fan housing. As soon as the unit runs again, it pushes that musty air straight into the room.

We recommend having an AC technician clean the coils, drain pan and drain line before or alongside the disinfection and ozone work. Once the AC is clean, the room treatment can deal with the odor that remains in the air and in the surrounding materials, and the result lasts much longer. It is also worth replacing or washing the AC filters, since they will have trapped spores and dust during the days the shop was closed.

10 Reasons Gaming Shops in Rangsit Choose WHD for Flood Recovery

1. We treat both surfaces and air, combining disinfection fogging with ozone treatment.
2. We use CHEMGENE HLD4H, a disinfectant designed for high-level disinfection work.
3. Our controlled ozone approach takes into account the electronic equipment that is your shop's main investment.
4. We cover or move sensitive equipment before every job, without exception.
5. Our ULV foggers produce a fine mist that reaches under desks and into dead corners that a mop never touches.
6. We reduce the musty smell trapped in chairs, carpet and acoustic panels instead of hiding it under perfume.
7. We can plan the work zone by zone so you can reopen as soon as practical.
8. We give honest advice on what should be replaced, such as headset cushions and submerged chair seats.
9. We follow clear safety steps: no people or pets in the area during ozone treatment, and full ventilation before re-entry.
10. We offer related services such as dust mite removal for fabric seating and mosquito spraying for standing water around the shop.

Before and After: A Gaming Shop Recovery

Customer Voice (Example Scenario)

"My biggest fear was the machines, because the computers are basically the whole business. From the survey day the team explained what they would cover, what they would move, and told me to get an electrician in first. On reopening day, one of the guys from the e-sport team walked into the room and said it didn't smell the way he'd feared. For me, that alone made it worth it."

— Phum, gaming shop owner, Rangsit (an illustrative scenario based on typical site situations)

Tips for Reopening Day

• Tell your customers what you did. A short post in your group chat explaining that the shop has been cleaned, disinfected and ozone-treated, and that headset cushions and damaged seats have been replaced, reassures people far more than "we're open again".
• Keep a disinfectant spray such as CHEMGENE HLD4H spray at the counter and wipe keyboards, mice and armrests between sessions, using a cloth rather than spraying directly onto equipment.
• Run the AC with a short period of fresh-air exchange each morning before customers arrive, so the room does not trap humidity overnight.
• Watch the lower parts of the walls and the space under desks for the first few weeks. If a stain or smell returns, act early rather than waiting.
• Keep the drain outside the shop clear and check for standing water nearby, which can attract mosquitoes in the weeks after a flood.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: Will ozone treatment damage the computers in my shop?
A: WHD uses a controlled ozone approach, setting the concentration and duration to suit the room, and sensitive electronics are covered or moved out first. Machines that were submerged are a separate matter and need inspection and repair by a technician.

Q: How long will the shop need to stay closed?
A: It depends on the size of the shop, the number of zones and how damp the space is. Our team will estimate the time after the survey, and we can plan zone by zone to shorten the closure.

Q: Can a gaming chair that was half-submerged still be used after ozone treatment?
A: Ozone helps with odor and surface mold, but foam that absorbed contaminated water usually remains a problem inside. For chairs that were submerged, we recommend replacing the seat.

Q: Will the disinfectant spray wet my keyboards or monitors?
A: Our team avoids spraying directly at equipment. Keyboards, mice and other high-touch surfaces are wiped with a cloth lightly dampened with disinfectant.

Q: Can my staff stay in the shop during ozone treatment?
A: No. There must be no people, pets or plants in the space, and the area must be fully ventilated before anyone goes back in.

Q: The AC in my shop smells musty. What else should I do?
A: Have an AC technician clean the coils and drain pan, where moisture tends to collect. After that, ozone treatment of the room helps reduce the odor that remains in the air and surrounding materials.

Q: Do you only work in Thanyaburi?
A: We serve Rangsit, Thanyaburi and other parts of Pathum Thani, as well as Bangkok and nearby provinces. Contact us to check scheduling for your area.

Make Your Gaming Shop a Place Customers Want to Stay Again

Talk to the WHD team about a disinfection and controlled ozone plan for your gaming shop, internet café or e-sport room in Thanyaburi and nearby areas.

Book Ozone Treatment — Click Here

See Disinfection Service — Click Here

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

Related Links

• Ozone treatment for odors and chemical residue
• Master Ozone Generator
• CHEMGENE HLD4H disinfectant spray
• All articles

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