What the fuckety fuck is this thing growing behind my pipe?

[trashpony]

Last winter, I had some broken tiles on the roof of a little old extension which is my kitchen larder and downstairs toilet. The water that got in blew some of the bricks in the toilet which used to be an outside toilet and the walls are just brick with a layer of paint, no plaster. Once the roof was repaired, as the main body of the bricks seem sound and as they’re not exposed to the the elements, I thought I’d give them time to dry out thoroughly and then seal and repaint.

But the other day I noticed this THING behind the pipe. I assume it’s a kind of fungus but what? Do I need to be worried? I’ve just left it there for the moment as it’s grossing me out a bit

It’s about 7cm high. That’s a cold water pipe to the sink incidentally but the toilet is really warm generally as it has a massive radiator for the size of the room which I‘ve left warmer than I normally would to dry out the bricks.

 

[JimW]

Looks like a bracket fungus rather than mould. Which is probably better. Complete guess!

 

[DaveCinzano]

Tastes like chicken

 

[StoneRoad]

I don't know.
But the worst case scenario would be a fruiting body from dry rot.

I would treat the whole area with a generic version of cuprinol.

 

[Artaxerxes]

 

[trashpony]

I don't know.
But the worst case scenario would be a fruiting body from dry rot.

I would treat the whole area with a generic version of cuprinol.

Don’t you need wood for dry rot? There’s a wood window frame and door but they’re both sound

 

[tommers]

Get it out and eat it.

Be fine.

 

[Aladdin]

Some kind of fungus

 

[FabricLiveBaby!]

Get us a picture of the underside if you can. Will.be a little easier to identify.

 

[shifting gears]

Looks like a bracket fungus rather than mould. Which is probably better. Complete guess!

I for one welcome our new bracket fungal overlords

 

[Saunders]

Yeah it looks a bit too firm/ solid/ gummy gelatinous to be a fruiting body from dry rot from what I remember. Given the conditions you say it’s in, I’d just pull it off and tip a bit of bleach over it.

 

[5t3IIa]

I’m interested in the answer to this for similar reasons

 

[mojo pixy]

It's a clicker climbing through the wall head first. You probably need to burn down the house and run away to the mountains.

 

[cupid_stunt]

Yeah it looks a bit too firm/ solid/ gummy gelatinous to be a fruiting body from dry rot from what I remember. Given the conditions you say it’s in, I’d just pull it off and tip a bit of bleach over it.

That would be my advice.

Certainly do not eat it, as tommers suggested!

 

[WouldBe]

Don’t you need wood for dry rot? There’s a wood window frame and door but they’re both sound

Quite often a bit of wood was used as a wall plug for fastening things to. Might be something like that that's causing it but doesn't look like wet/dry rot to me but maybe wrong.

 

[Saffy]

Is it the same as this?

 

[StoneRoad]

Dry rot can spread for long distances over bricks, iirc.

 

[spitfire]

Dunno but it's been cooked more than Orang Utan's mushrooms.

 

[Saunders]

I would add, though, if that cold water pipe is in the corner of a wall that’s external, you might want to cut down or remove any outside plants and maybe re coat or point the outside, more for your larder than the loo. I’ve been performing the ostrich manoeuvre with my larder which is inside a wall with heavily overgrown couple of scrambling roses and all the sorts of overgrown vegetation that creatures like to nest in and keeps the wall damp and disguises any cracks in the pointing, and I can’t keep a cardboard tub if salt in there for longer than a couple of months

 

[trashpony]

Is it the same as this?
View attachment 408518

What is that?

Not an external wall Saunders

ETA wall on left is external, RH wall is internal and backs onto larder

 

[Brainaddict]

Looks a bit like an auricularia fungus, but they usually grow on wood.

 

[Saffy]

What is that?

Not an external wall Saunders

ETA wall on left is external, RH wall is internal and backs onto larder

I asked my mum when I found it growing at the bottom of my garden and she called it cup fungi. Not sure if it's proper name.
This stuff was growing on ground where there was a rotting tree.

 

[Saunders]

In that case, and if your larder doesn’t have any damp problems, I’d go with pull it off and slosh a bit of bleach on it for now. teuchter is often quite useful for house fabric issues, as well as WouldBe and others I can’t think of just now

 

[trashpony]

Get us a picture of the underside if you can. Will.be a little easier to identify.

There’s not really an underside. It’s all close to the wall. The pipe is maybe 250mm in diameter.

It likes a bit of putty or dried up old leather

 

[Callie]

Pezzia sp.


Misremembered...it's Peziza sp.

 

[Callie]

Don’t you need wood for dry rot? There’s a wood window frame and door but they’re both sound

Pretty sure this would need wood....are you sure there isn't any in the wall somewhere? The fruiting body of the fungus could be growing from mycelia which have spread along the damp bricks/mortar and it's popping out there

 

[Callie]

Get us a picture of the underside if you can. Will.be a little easier to identify.

I don't think that type of fungi have an underside per se

 

[trashpony]

Pretty sure this would need wood....are you sure there isn't any in the wall somewhere? The fruiting body of the fungus could be growing from mycelia which have spread along the damp bricks/mortar and it's popping out there

I’m pretty certain. I’ll go and have a look at the outside tomorrow. Maybe there’s something growing up the outside wall?

 

[trashpony]

Pezzia sp.


Misremembered...it's Peziza sp.

Yes! I think it’s this Peziza domiciliana - Wikipedia

Not serious once the damp has been resolved apparently but obviously I need to keep the rad on longer and hotter than I have been

 

[Callie]

I’m pretty certain. I’ll go and have a look at the outside tomorrow. Maybe there’s something growing up the outside wall?

As WouldBe says it could be quite a small piece that has gotten damp and grown the mushroom. Maybe there's a bit of wood with the pipe fixings?