Life during university can be a roller coaster, whether it be your party life or your studying, and sometimes life just goes by and we don’t notice things until it’s too late.
That’s when one university student was stunned to witness during their stay a strange growth in their bathroom, one big enough that it raised significant concern and worry.
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The student took to Reddit
The student took a photo of the growth and immediately uploaded it to Reddit, writing: “Found this growing in my university shared bathroom! The growth spans around 4-5 inches. Does anyone know what it is and if I will be dying ???”
But what was this growth?
The picture seemed to show dark-colored mushrooms lining up against the wall. The student and the other Reddit users saw the growth as a mystery.
What brought this growth over there? What does it mean? Could it be dangerous?
People had morbid thoughts
One user wrote: “This is how The Last of Us s*** starts,” while another theorized: “The missing student on campus who was never found 5 years ago.”
A third thought it would be wise to let an expert intervene, saying: “Call the biology department and let them have a first go at it?”
A user gave a not-so-satisfactory answer
“Mycology nerd here. The mushrooms (ink caps) themselves aren’t going to hurt you by being around them, but what this means is that you have severe and extensive water damage in your walls,” the user explained.
What the presence of these mushrooms means
“the mycelium of the fungus (a very fine rootlike structure that actually composes of the majority of the organism, just out of sight) is having a field day eating away at your walls as they rot from the inside,” the user elaborated further.
The aftermath of this is the walls being broken down.
Their walls need help ASAP
“You need to immediately contact whoever is in charge of this building and let them know that you have extensive water damage. Unfortunately, by the time mushrooms fruit, it often means tearing out large sections of wall,” the user finally advised.
Turns out that having mushrooms on your walls means something
According to Advanced Damp, a waterproofing and damp-proof business, having mushrooms on your walls means the presence of excessive moisture.
And what can be having excess moisture do? Well, it eventually weakens wood and drywall, leading to rot, mold, and mildew build-up, which can affect the building’s structural integrity.
A user threw in his speculations
“Best answer. I think either massive flooding, a pipe burst and his wall is shot, or theres no waterproofing in the shower stall closest to this. The wall will have to be ripped out,” the user explained.
“Or something insane I’m not thinking of involving construction by contractors who should be in prison or a fraternity doing something goofy, or some combination thereof. I don’t really get how this could happen,” the user added.
