Woodworm treatment in District 2 — timber furniture, doors and floors in riverside homes

The city replaced its districts with wards, its local administrative units, on 1 July 2025. Under Resolution 1685/NQ-UBTVQH15 the former District 2 is now An Khanh, Binh Trung and Cat Lai wards, and the old An Phu area was shared between the first two. With your photos of the holes, the name of your development or street is all we need.

We work from 72 Nguyen Co Thach, in Sala, which is part of An Khanh ward. All three wards are covered for woodworm surveys, any day between 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM, and we confirm the hour after the technicians' schedule is set.

An Khanh ward

Thao Dien, Thu Thiem, An Loi Dong, the former An Khanh ward and a share of An Phu: the garden villas of Nguyen Van Huong and Quoc Huong streets, the compounds of Thao Dien, Saroma and SariTown in Sala, and the towers of Empire City, The Metropole Thu Thiem and Masteri Thao Dien.

Binh Trung ward

The land east of Mai Chi Tho: Lakeview City and Palm City with their townhouses and terraced villas, The Global City and its SOHO townhouses, Estella Heights, and Diamond Island on the river.

Cat Lai ward

The old Thanh My Loi and Cat Lai wards beside the river: Vista Verde, Feliz en Vista, and streets of townhouses and garden homes.

Woodworm is the everyday name for several small beetles whose larvae live and feed inside timber. It favours wood kept somewhere damp, bare wood with no paint or varnish, and rattan and bamboo, and it often arrives in second-hand furniture, pallets and wooden crates.

District 2 offers all of that. The city government portal puts average relative humidity at about 79.5% and the rainy season from May to November. Apartments in Thu Thiem, Thao Dien and Sala usually face the Saigon River through large glass walls and stay shut for hours with the aircon running, and wooden cupboards, their backs and dark corners above all, are where damp shows first. Many Thao Dien villas are furnished in natural timber, and the streets of Quoc Huong, Nguyen Van Huong and Thao Dien sit on low ground: Tuoi Tre (June 2025) reports that when a high tide coincides with heavy rain, water can stand there at a depth of 0.15–0.3 m for an hour or two, which leaves many garages and basements damp.

Many rental apartments around Thao Dien and An Phu also come furnished, so used wooden furniture is worth inspecting before it comes in. Send us photos if you see:

• Pinhole-sized round holes in a wardrobe, a bed leg, a door frame or a stair tread.
• Small heaps of wood dust as fine as flour under a piece of furniture or inside a drawer.
• Timber that gives or crumbles when pressed.

They are different insects that live differently and need different treatment, so telling them apart is the first job of the survey. It matters most in a Thao Dien garden villa, where pool decking, pergolas and timber fences touch damp soil and termites are a real concern. If it turns out to be termites, we advise you under our separate termite service.

Everything involving products is done by UpClean's technicians, with products validly registered in Vietnam and used as their labels require. Preparation, covering and cleaning are your Up specialist's part, and they change with the home. The specialist always asks first about the finish and value of the piece, photographs it as found and moves it only with your consent.

Villas in Thao Dien and Saroma

Clothes, books and papers go into sealed bags and the floor round each piece is covered. Backs and undersides are checked, since timber there is usually left bare. Near doors and staircases, the walls, stone floors and handrails are covered, and holes in treads and door faces are recorded.

Antiques, lacquerware and altar pieces

The method that disturbs the surface least is preferred, and the risks to the finish are explained before you decide.

Townhouses and villas in Sala and The Global City

Newer buildings, yet with timber floors, wooden kitchen cabinets and timber-clad stairs. On a floor, the technicians mark out the area with fresh dust and any weakened boards; boards are lifted only with your written agreement.

High-rise apartments: Thu Thiem, Diamond Island, Vista Verde

Many managed developments ask for contractors to be registered, tools and products declared and working hours kept; we prepare the details for building management. During treatment the front door is kept closed, and the corridor and lift are left clean.

This service has no price list: a picture frame with a few holes and a staircase weakened across several treads are far apart. After the free survey, the all-inclusive written quote lists each item, the method, the re-entry time (how long to stay out of the treated area), the follow-up checks and the warranty terms, and after you have approved it nothing changes without your written agreement. The price depends on:

• The number and size of the pieces, and the area of timber floor and doors to be treated.
• How far it has gone: a few new holes, or timber already weakened.
• The method: in place, or separately for a heavily infested piece.
• Finish and value: lacquer, antique timber and altar pieces call for more care.
• Whether floorboards or door leaves must come off, or bulky furniture be moved.
• How much emptying, vacuuming and wiping your Up specialist has to do.

Before the appointment you are sent a note, in English if you wish, setting out which areas are to be treated, the time to stay out of them and anything particular to your household. Instructions on keeping away, ventilation and when the furniture can be used again all come from UpClean's technicians.

• Put away food, dishes and children's toys, cover the aquarium, and move pets to another part of the home for the period given.
• Babies, pregnant women, older relatives and anyone with a respiratory condition leave the area for as long as the technicians ask.
• Leave treated spots unwashed until you are told otherwise; your Up specialist cleans at the right time.
• Tell your housekeeper and gardener the date and which pieces are not to be wiped or moved afterwards.

English works for every step: the enquiry, the written plan, the quote, the booking confirmation and the Up Report. If you would like an English speaker in the home, add a note when you book; where we cannot arrange one, we let you know beforehand and help by phone or message.

Compounds and managed buildings

The names and photos of the Up specialist and the technicians are sent ahead for the gate office or building management; inside a compound the team parks and walks where security directs.

If you are abroad

The gap between two leases is a convenient time for a survey. Leave the key with reception, building management or a relative: it is handled by the assigned specialist alone, hand-over times are logged and it is never copied.

Payment

By bank transfer or cash once the walk-through is done; invoices are issued on request, to individuals and companies.

Woodworm lives inside the timber, so the result takes time to show. Existing holes are marked and photographed; if no new holes or fresh dust appear afterwards, the woodworm is no longer active. The dates of the follow-up checks are in your quote, and a reminder goes out ahead of each.

• Keep timber furniture dry and aired, away from damp walls and leaks, and look at wooden cupboards again in the middle of the rainy season. Avoid storing furniture for long in a damp garage or basement.
• Paint or varnish bare timber, and keep an affected piece apart from sound ones.
• To arrange a survey, send close-up photos of the holes and the dust to 0968 726 135 on WhatsApp or Zalo, and tell us the development or the street.
• A booking can be moved or cancelled at no charge up to 24 hours before; inside 24 hours the cancellation fee is 30%.

Guide: woodworm in furniture

The signs, how to check whether it is still active and what you can do yourself for a small item.