A Story From the Field: A Sala Waiting for Its Novices in Three Weeks

On the bank of the Lopburi River in Bang Pahan district, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, there is a small temple with a raised wooden sala, the open preaching and merit-making hall that has been the heart of the village for decades. Families hold ordinations there. Neighbors gather on Buddhist holy days to offer food to the monks. Each year the community comes together for the Kathin robe-offering ceremony and the annual merit-making feast. In 2026 the river spilled into the temple grounds and stayed for almost three weeks. The water rose to just below the floorboards of the sala, while the kitchen building and the restrooms behind it were completely submerged.

Uncle Sompong, the lay steward who looks after the temple's practical affairs, was the first person to walk back into the sala once the water receded. The first thing he noticed was the smell: a heavy, damp, musty odor mixed with the earthy stink of river mud, rising from the space beneath the hall. The woven mats rolled up in the corner were speckled with black dots. The curtains carried a tide line where the humidity had crept up the fabric. The sitting cushions laid out for the monks on the lower dais had turned a grey-green color with mold. In the kitchen, where volunteers normally set up a free food stall during every festival, a thick layer of mud covered the floor and the counters.

The timing could hardly have been worse. Two families in the village had already booked dates to ordain their sons in about three weeks, chosen carefully according to auspicious days. The temple had also agreed to host a Kathin ceremony the following month. The abbot shared his concern with Uncle Sompong: he wanted every family who came to sit in the sala with peace of mind, without worrying about germs, especially the elderly relatives and the small children who always come along.

This article walks through how a temple like this one can prepare its sala for merit-making events after a flood, using professional disinfection fogging and controlled ozone treatment as key steps. Most importantly, it explains how every step can be carried out with respect for the sacred space, the sacred objects, and the daily routine of the monastic community.

Why a Temple Sala Needs Special Care After Floodwater Recedes

The health of the people who attend. Ordinations and Kathin ceremonies draw large crowds into a semi-enclosed space. Elderly relatives sit folded on the floor for long periods, and toddlers crawl and play on the mats. Floodwater that has flowed across rice fields, livestock pens and drainage channels can leave bacteria behind on floors and walls, including bacteria associated with diarrheal illness. Mud contaminated by rodent urine raises the risk of leptospirosis, a disease that can enter through cuts and scratches on the skin. In a temple, people customarily walk barefoot, which makes this risk more relevant than in many other buildings. The World Health Organization and Thailand's Department of Disease Control both list waterborne and rodent-borne infections among the main health concerns after flooding.

Mold and allergies. Old timber halls absorb moisture easily. The floorboards, pillars, ceiling panels and fabric hangings can all hold dampness for weeks. Mold spores released into the air can trigger allergies, asthma, itchy eyes and persistent coughing, both in the monks who live with the space every day and in the visitors who come for a single ceremony. Elderly monks and lay supporters with existing respiratory conditions are often the first to feel it.

The kitchen and the food stall. Every merit-making event involves cooking and serving large amounts of food: the meal offered to the monks, plus the free food that volunteers hand out to guests. If the kitchen still carries mud residue and bacteria, the risk of food poisoning rises immediately, and it affects many people at once.

Time, tradition and peace of mind. Ordination dates are chosen by families according to auspicious timing, and the Kathin ceremony must take place within a defined period after the end of the Buddhist Lent. Postponing is rarely simple. And if guests arrive to find a lingering musty smell or visible mold stains, they may feel uneasy, even though the temple has worked hard to prepare. For a community institution that depends on the faith and goodwill of its supporters, that impression matters.

Common Fixes That Are Not Enough for a Flooded Sala

• Scrubbing with bleach alone. Bleach cleans the surface, but it does not reach into the gaps between floorboards, the underside of the hall, or the upper walls and ceiling. Its strong smell is unpleasant in a space where people will sit on the floor for hours, and it can bleach and weaken old timber.
• Opening the windows and running fans for days. Ventilation helps lower humidity, but a riverside sala sits in humid air most of the year. The musty smell that has soaked into wood and fabric often returns as soon as the shutters close for the night.
• Burning incense or using air fresheners to mask the smell. This covers the odor temporarily without removing its source. Layering many scents in a crowded hall can also make elderly guests feel dizzy or nauseous.
• Repainting or oiling the timber straight away. If the wood is still damp and mold is still growing inside it, the new coating will peel and the mold will reappear as dark patches under the finish within a few months.

What a flooded sala really needs is a complete sequence: removing the mud, cleaning, drying, then disinfection that reaches every corner and treatment that deals with odors and airborne mold spores.

The First Principle: Respect for the Sacred Space and the Monks' Routine

Working in a temple is different from working in a house or a shop. The World Health Disinfection team follows these principles on every temple job:

• The temple moves and handles sacred items itself. Buddha images, the preaching seat, scripture cabinets, altar offerings and other sacred objects are moved or covered by the monks or the temple's lay stewards, in the way the temple considers appropriate. Our team does not touch or move these objects.
• Work is scheduled around the monastic routine. Appointments are set outside morning and evening chanting and outside meal times, and holy days can be avoided entirely if the temple prefers.
• Modest dress and respectful conduct. Team members remove shoes in the areas the temple specifies and only use shoe covers where equipment requires it, after informing the temple in advance.
• Clear explanation before anything begins. The abbot and temple committee are told the name of the disinfectant, which areas will be fogged, when ozone will be used, and when it will be safe to return.

Palm-leaf manuscripts, folding books, and antique objects that were soaked should be referred directly to conservation specialists. The WHD team takes care of the building, the usable spaces and the indoor air, not the conservation of historic artifacts.

The Solution: CHEMGENE HLD4H Fogging Plus Controlled Ozone Treatment

The disinfection service from World Health Disinfection uses CHEMGENE HLD4H, applied with ULV (ultra-low volume) fogging equipment. ULV turns the disinfectant into a fine mist of very small droplets that drift into the gaps between floorboards, around the bases of pillars, into the void beneath the hall and up to the ceiling, places a cloth simply cannot reach. That makes it well suited to traditional Thai timber buildings, which have many complex joints and hidden corners.

After fogging, the team uses the ozone treatment service. Ozone is a gas that spreads through an enclosed space, helping to destroy airborne mold spores and break down the odor molecules that have soaked into timber, curtains and mats. Because many salas are partly open-sided, ozone is used only in rooms that can be closed, such as storerooms, monks' rest rooms, or a kitchen with doors and shutters. Open areas rely on thorough fogging and good ventilation instead.

The step-by-step process at a temple

1. Joint site survey. The team walks through the sala, kitchen, restrooms and storerooms with the lay steward or committee members, agrees on which areas to treat, and sets dates and times that do not disturb the monks.
2. Mud removal and cleaning advice. The team advises which mats, cushions and fabrics should be discarded, which can be washed and sun-dried, and how long to wait for the floorboards to dry.
3. The temple moves or covers sacred items. The temple takes care of Buddha images and sacred objects. The team helps cover sound systems, microphones and electronics, or recommends moving them out.
4. ULV disinfection fogging. Floors, pillars, walls, the underside of the hall, the kitchen and the restrooms are fogged while nobody is present in the area.
5. Controlled ozone treatment. Only enclosed rooms are treated, with no people, animals or plants inside. The ozone dose and duration are matched to the size of each room.
6. Ventilation. Doors and windows are opened to clear the air, and the team tells the monks and lay supporters when it is safe to go back in.
7. Re-check before the ceremony. The team checks former mold spots, odor and moisture again. If needed, a follow-up treatment can be scheduled before the ordination or Kathin day.

Ozone safety: during ozone treatment, no monks, visitors, temple animals such as dogs or cats, or plants may remain in the room. The room must be fully ventilated before anyone returns. Electronics, sound equipment, rubber items and delicate materials should be covered or removed, and the team controls the ozone dose to suit the room.

A Three-Week Plan to Get the Sala Ready for an Ordination

Week 1: clear the mud and dry the building. Village volunteers shovel mud out from under the sala and out of the kitchen. Mats, cushions and curtains with heavy mold are separated out. The sala is opened up to let the breeze through, and fans are used to push moisture out of stagnant corners. This is also the time to photograph the damage for the temple's records and for any donors who may help replace items.

Week 2: disinfection and odor control. The fogging team is booked for late morning, after the monks have finished their morning meal. Enclosed rooms are treated with ozone in the afternoon, finishing well before evening chanting. The next day, everything is opened up for full ventilation.

Week 3: re-check and set up. Odor and mold spots are checked again. The temple returns the Buddha images and altar items to their places. New mats are laid, washed curtains are rehung, and the kitchen is prepared for cooking the monks' meal and running the free food stall.

Mosquitoes usually multiply after floods because of the pools of standing water around the grounds. Temples that hold evening events, such as the chanting session the night before an ordination, may want to add a mosquito spraying service as well.

Spots That Are Often Overlooked in a Flooded Temple Sala

• The space beneath the hall. Mud and standing water trapped under a raised floor keep releasing odor upward all day long. It is the single most common reason a sala still smells after the floor itself has been cleaned.
• The monks' seats and sitting cushions. Fabric and foam absorb water deep inside. Cushions with heavy mold should be replaced. Many lay supporters choose to offer new cushions at a merit-making ceremony, which is a fitting opportunity.
• Kitchen cupboards and serving ware. Plates, bowls and tiffin carriers used during festivals must be washed and sanitized before use, and the wooden cupboards that store them must be completely dry.
• Restrooms for visitors. These are used more than any other facility on ceremony day, and they are usually the places that stayed underwater the longest.
• Curtains, banners and decorative cloth. Wash them and dry them in the sun. Pieces with deeply set mold stains are best replaced.
• Sound systems and ceiling fans. Ask a qualified electrician to inspect wiring before switching anything on, for safety.

For cushions and pillows that can still be used, a dust mite removal service extracts dust and debris from deep within the fabric far more effectively than beating and brushing.

Practical Notes for the Temple Committee and the Ordaining Families

Tell the families early. Families who have booked an ordination will want to know whether their date is still realistic. A short message from the temple committee explaining the recovery plan, including the day of disinfection and the day of the re-check, helps them plan with confidence, invite relatives and arrange catering.

Coordinate volunteers by task. Village volunteers are generous, but they work best with clear jobs: one group for mud removal under the hall, one for washing mats and curtains, one for the kitchen. Ask volunteers to wear boots and gloves while handling mud, to wash their hands well afterwards, and to cover any cuts or scratches on their feet and hands.

Keep a simple checklist on the notice board. List each area of the temple, who is responsible for it, and its status: mud cleared, dried, disinfected, ozone treated, re-checked, ready. This makes it easy for the abbot and the committee to see progress at a glance and avoids duplicated effort.

Plan for the offerings. Replacement mats, cushions, curtains and kitchen equipment are natural items for lay supporters to offer during the ceremony itself. A list of what is needed allows donors to give in a way that directly helps the temple recover.

Inform guests on the day. A small sign near the entrance that the hall has been cleaned and disinfected after the flood reassures elderly guests and parents of young children, and shows the care the temple has taken.

10 Reasons Temples in Flood-Affected Areas Choose the WHD Team

1. We work respectfully: the temple handles its own sacred objects, and we never touch them.
2. We schedule around chanting times, meal times and Buddhist holy days.
3. We use CHEMGENE HLD4H disinfectant, a clearly named product the temple committee can look up for itself.
4. ULV mist reaches the floor gaps, pillars and the underside of traditional timber halls.
5. Ozone treatment tackles musty odors in storerooms and monks' rooms that can be closed.
6. We control the ozone dose and cover sound equipment and electronics before treatment.
7. We give practical advice on mud removal and on sorting mats, cushions and fabric before disinfection begins.
8. We look after the kitchen and restrooms, the two highest-risk areas on a ceremony day.
9. We offer add-ons such as mosquito spraying and dust mite removal to round out event preparation.
10. We are easy to reach by phone and LINE, so the lay steward or committee can coordinate without hassle.

Before and After: A Sala Ready to Welcome the Community

In the Words of a Temple Steward

"At first I worried about how we would move the Buddha images. On the survey day the team told us straight away that the temple should handle that however it saw fit, and that they would only look after the building and the air. They came after the monks had finished their midday meal and never got in the way of chanting. On the ordination day, people sat in the sala and nobody mentioned any musty smell. The abbot was at ease."

— Lay steward of a riverside temple, Bang Pahan, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya (a story from the field)

Frequently Asked Questions

Will your team move Buddha images or sacred objects?
No. The temple moves or covers its sacred objects itself, as it considers appropriate. Our team only takes care of the building, the usable spaces and the indoor air.

Can you work on holy days or during chanting?
We schedule around the monastic routine, for example after the morning meal or after the midday meal, and we avoid holy days if the temple prefers.

How long before an ordination should the sala be disinfected?
We recommend treating the sala once the mud is cleared and the floorboards are reasonably dry, leaving at least one week before the ceremony. That gives time for ventilation, a re-check and setting up the hall.

Can an open-sided sala be treated with ozone?
Ozone works best in rooms that can be closed. In an open sala, the focus is on ULV disinfection fogging and ventilation. Storerooms, monks' rooms and kitchens that can be shut are the best candidates for ozone treatment.

How long do the monks need to stay out of the area?
It depends on the size of the room and how well it ventilates. The team will tell you when it is safe to return. During ozone treatment, no people or animals may remain in that room.

What should we do with palm-leaf manuscripts or Dhamma books that got wet?
Consult conservation specialists for historic documents directly. Do not put them in strong sunlight or apply chemicals yourself. The WHD team takes care of the rooms and buildings where they are kept.

What should the temple prepare before the team arrives?
Clear out the mud, separate items to be discarded, move or cover sacred objects, take the temple's animals out of the work area, and let lay supporters know which times they should not enter the sala.

Get Your Temple Sala Ready for the Next Merit-Making Ceremony

Temples in Bang Pahan and across Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya can contact us for a site survey and an appointment that fits the monks' routine.

View Disinfection Service – Click Here

Book Ozone Treatment – Click Here

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

Related Articles and Resources

• Ozone treatment for odors and chemical residue
• Master Ozone Generator
• CHEMGENE HLD4H 750 ml spray for frequently touched surfaces
• All articles
• External sources: WHO: Floods and health and Thailand Department of Disease Control

#PostFloodDisinfection #TempleSalaDisinfection #OzoneTreatment #MustyOdorRemoval #MoldRemoval #Disinfectant #OrdinationPreparation #TempleFloodRecovery

Keywords: temple sala disinfection after flood, ozone treatment temple hall, ordination ceremony preparation, Kathin ceremony after flood, mold removal temple, Bang Pahan, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya 2026