A plumber who was called in to tackle a blocked toilet on a Welsh farm was left stunned to discover a bizarre 'alien' -like fungus growing inside the pan. Steve Ratcliffe shared an image of the peculiar growth on Reddit, sparking a debate between experts, who have conflicting opinions about what the strange substance is, the Daily Star reports.
He wrote: “I replaced a toilet because it wasn't flushing properly. Now I know why... but what the hell it is I've no idea!!! Alien growth right under their bums”.
Steve went on to explain that the customer, who lived on a cattle farm, wasn't connected to the mains and got all his water through a borehole from an underwater pump. He also added that his client had previously had numerous leaks among other plumbing problems in the last few years.
At first Steve had put the cause of the issue down to the system's old age and the fact it was not connected to the sewage system but then he disconnected the U-bend and discovered the freakish fungus. "The toilet age is unknown, but going off the overall state of the house, I guess it's at least 10 years old," he added.
The peculiar brown slime, which has been compared to something out of a science fiction film, was described as a fungus, a biofilm and an alien, leaving some Reddit users with nightmares.
One suggested that the gruesome growth could be the remains of a wax seal, while others speculated that it was a biofilm - which is a sort of colony of bacteria that can be found in all sorts of places, including in our heart valves and on our teeth.
Professor of applied mycology at the University of Cranfield, Angel Medina Vaya, told Newsweek that while it was difficult to correctly identify what the 'alien' substance may be just from looking at an image, he suspected that it was some sort of fungus.
"Fungi are really happy in environments where there is organic matter and high humidity. Hence a toilet that has not been flushed for a long time could be the best place”.
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