Australian woman ‘creeped out’ after mysterious red growth appears in rental

“My whole window frame had to get replaced — glass was nearly falling out when the builder checked it because you could push your finger right through the wood.”

Alexandra Feiam

2 min read

October 9, 2023 - 1:28PM

Family Life

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An Australian woman was cleaning the windows in her rental home when she spotted something she’d never seen before.

In the corner of her windowsill was a fire-red growth, sticking outwards and bulging at all sides.

At first glance, you may confuse it for a rogue Twistie, but the woman was confused by its unwanted presence and in need of answers.

The unusual orange growth stunned the Australian woman. Source: Yahoo Australia

Mysterious orange fungi appears in woman’s home

Taking to a Facebook group, she asked the members if they had any experience with the unusual growth.

“I was going around cleaning all windows and window sills and came across this. I've never seen this before.”

At first, she was concerned she’d entered the Upside Down, as seen in the Netflix hit show Stranger Things.

“It's what I thought too when I first saw it... but please not in my house,” she laughed.

The unusual growth “creeped out” others in the group, but it wasn't long before the mystery was solved.

“I had this recently, it means water has got in and the wood is rotting basically,” a Facebook user responded.

“My whole window frame had to get replaced — glass was nearly falling out when the builder checked it because you could push your finger right through the wood. It was that bad.”

Moisture is the main culprit for mould outbreaks. Source: iStock

“The higher the moisture, the quicker something can spore”

“When we see these kinds of growths, it's generally when there is a good chance of moisture,” said MouldMen special projects operational manager Karl Coppen per Yahoo Australia.

According to the mould expert, the fungus may have started developing in the timber during construction but was spurred on by exposure to moisture.

“The higher the moisture, the quicker something can spore like this,” he said.

Due to condensations collected on the glass at the windowsill, moisture may have pooled at the bottom and, depending on the condition of the silicone seal, could have accelerated the fungus growth.

“We would want a solution, not a prescription, so we would want to identify the moisture source,” he said.

As there are more than 100,000 different species of mould, it is difficult to know if the mould is toxic without lab analysis.

He added the levels of toxicity were on a “spectrum”.

“There is a lot of noise about black mould being particularly toxic, and some of the dark moulds are more of a risk to health,” he said.

According to Asthma Australia, half of Australian homes have experienced mould or dampness in the last 12 months.

Karl Coppen recommends people keep their homes dry and free from moisture. He also suggested keeping plenty of sunlight in the house and maintaining good ventilation to keep mould and fungi at bay.