The maintenance team in her apartment building simply kept painting over the stains (Picture: Reddit)
A mum has had her worst fears confirmed after turning to the internet for help identifying the strange marks on her ceiling.
Often if dark marks or stains appear on walls or ceilings it would be safe to assume it is mould – but that’s not always the cause.
Mould is extremely common during the colder months in the UK, as it’s often a struggle to keep homes well ventilated and warm, especially during the current cost of living crisis where families may be limiting how often they turn up the thermostat.
But for one renter, posting anonymously on Reddit, it’s almost certain that her problem isn’t caused by mould.
Sharing a picture of strange brown stains on her ceiling, she explained: ‘I am a renter so I cant tear out the ceiling or anything. The person above me says her floor isn’t wet and she hasn’t noticed any water getting in.
Unfortunately, this mum’s ceiling could be home to some furry visitors (Picture: Getty Images)
‘Maintenance just sprays ceiling paint over them each time. The spots originally were more in the corner but have moved. Always two spots about the same size.
‘I saw a similar post about rodent pee being one cause. Is there a non-invasive way to test for that?
‘I want my apartment complex to actually find and fix the issue not just keep “fixing” the spots with paint! Help!’
Hundreds rushed to the comments section to give advice, with many suggesting the problem is being caused by mice urine – a fairly unpleasant prospect.
‘I had these before. Thought it was reappearing stains. Found out it was mice p*****g in my attic,’ one person wrote.
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Another agreed, commenting ‘brown stains that appear in different places is rodent pee,’ while a third added ‘it’s rat pee soaking through’.
The woman says her son has ‘smelled’ the area and confirm it had a similar scent to his ‘hamster cage’ – poor kid!
But hopefully addressing the rodent problem should be a relatively easy fix – unlike this mum whose home was in such poor condition she ended up falling through the ceiling.
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