This intruder may unexpectedly enter your home or warehouse in late summer or fall. He prefers to live in wooden houses, especially in old houses without basements. Who to blame? A fungus, Merulius lacrymans, which often causes dry rot.
Without chlorophyll, this sponge must feed on other materials, such as wood, plywood, cork mats, linoleum, among others.
The body of this fungus consists of very finely branched cells, which are collectively called "mycelium". Please alone, the body forms films and threads. These ropes allow the fungus to pass through mortar and cracked concrete. You can quickly form a head or a "fruit body" in a suitable open space: under the floor, on an interior wall or in the ceiling. This "fruit body" can have a diameter of up to 0.3 meters (12 inches). Brown or reddish spores form in the pores on its surface.
Each square millimeter of the area covered by the pores can produce up to 75 spores per minute. Each track has the ability to turn into a different fungal plant and in turn can destroy unlimited amounts of wood. The spores are sticky and can get stuck anywhere. If there is enough moisture and heat, they will grow very quickly. However, spores can not attack fresh, dry wood.
This fungus can not live outdoors, it is very dry there. The high humidity that this fungus needs to develop is only found in a humid place with insufficient ventilation. The fungus stops growing when it gets too dry, but it can start again as soon as it gets wet. After growing enough, you can release the moisture needed for further growth. The growth rate of this fungus is affected by the temperature. To be longer, it should be at least 38 Fahrenheit (3 degrees Celsius), but 65 to 73 Fahrenheit (18 to 23 degrees Celsius) is best. When the temperature rises above 26 degrees Celsius, growth is slow. At 20 degrees Celsius, the growth rate is three times faster than at 10 degrees Celsius.
How do you know if this fungus is rooted in your home? You can see a spore-producing "flower" somewhere: in the basement ceiling, under the sink, on the floor. You can see the pink mycelium on the ground or on an inner wall. Or it smells like mushrooms. In that case, you may need professional help. It may be necessary to tear down a floor or wall and remove anything that the fungus has deposited or exhaled. Then it may be necessary to spray everything with a toxic liquid to kill the spores and any remnants of the fungus.
In order for this fungus not to establish itself, it is necessary to have good ventilation under the house throughout the year. Moving dry air is fatal to the fungus. It often dies at a temperature of -6 degrees Celsius. Another thing to watch out for is roof leaks. Water should not run down the wall to the ground near the foundation. If water has flooded a room, dry the floor and insulation completely before replacing a thick carpet to prevent it from drying out. The pipes under the sink, toilet and bathtub must be airtight to prevent water from seeping down to the floor.
If you suspect that the base plate support beams are rotten or that the environment smells of mold, you can spray a rotting liquid under the floor. Some homeowners use garden sprinklers and extension hoses for this purpose. others use plastic sprinklers that can be pressurized after being filled with liquid. Pass the hose through a ventilation opening and spray the floor in a room below. Thus, they emit a new odor throughout the house and protect the floor from rotting. To protect against fungus, the walls and ceiling in the basement can also be plastered with lime.
Although Merulius lacrymans is an unwanted intruder, there are ways to prevent this fungus from spreading throughout your home.
