Mystery liquid

[Susco]

The other day I went into my garden shed, and in the middle on the tiled floor there is a puddle of some brown liquid.

 

Very sticky stuff, so sticky that you can't remove it with a cloth, and it doesn't dry out either.

 

First I think about is some of the garden chemicals that have leaked, but on inspection that is a negative.

 

At one point I look up, and on the roof steel frame right above the puddle, there are hanging some drips of a dark red liquid.

 

I can notice it comes from the top of the frame, and it may be the red oxide paint that has coloured the liquid dark red.

 

Anyway it is the same sticky substance as which is on the floor.

 

The only thing stored above the roof frame is HDPE tubing, and they are unused.

 

Any idea what that liquid may be and where it may come from?

[Why Me]

Sounds like blood. Have you checked if there is a corpse on the roof?

[Susco]

1 minute ago, Why Me said:

Sounds like blood. Have you checked if there is a corpse on the roof?

Blood was also my first thought, but blood isn't that sticky that you can't wipe it of the floor.

 

Also the liquid on the floor is light brown.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Susco

[Why Me]

2 minutes ago, Susco said:

Blood was also my first thought, but blood isn't that sticky that you can't wipe it of the floor.

 

Also the liquid on the floor is light brown.

I was kidding. But seriously my guess would be the tubing has deteriorated/melted into the thick ambient liquid which has been colored red by the paint and also iron oxide from the roof material.

[Susco]

Just now, Why Me said:

I was kidding. But seriously my guess would be the tubing has deteriorated/melted into the thick ambient liquid which has been colored red by the paint and also iron oxide from the roof material.

 

Of course I wasn't thinking about human blood, but in a garden shed in a rural environment, all kind of animals can enter.

 

I have several tokays that house in the shed, so I thought maybe one was attacked by a snake or other predator, but there is no animal carcass either.

 

The tubing is intact, and I think one of the main advantages of HDPE is that it doesn't deteriorate.

[KC 71]

paint oxidising

[Susco]

1 minute ago, KC 71 said:

paint oxidising

The puddle is about 30 x 30 cm, and is light brown in colour.

 

Red oxide oxidising remains dark red I guess.

 

Paint is also not sticky.

 

I think you can compare the color and stickiness to chainsaw oil

[Why Me]

8 minutes ago, Susco said:

The tubing is intact, and I think one of the main advantages of HDPE is that it doesn't deteriorate.

There you go. Now you know how good a chemist I am. But then why would it be sticky I am curious. Rainwater mixed with red oxide would be red and watery, right?

 

All this makes me glad I rent in a building with a maintenance crew. Total klutz I am. I envy DIY types who live in their own house, take care of their own repairs and do their own building projects.

Edited July 26, 2020 by Why Me

[tgw]

3 hours ago, Susco said:

The puddle is about 30 x 30 cm, and is light brown in colour.

 

Red oxide oxidising remains dark red I guess.

 

Paint is also not sticky.

 

I think you can compare the color and stickiness to chainsaw oil

can you post a photo of the roof, inside and outside?

 

what is it made of?

[Susco]

6 hours ago, tgw said:

can you post a photo of the roof, inside and outside?

 

what is it made of?

I don't have pictures, but the construction is a simple rectangle shed of 4 x 2 meter with a saddle roof.

 

The whole shed including the roof is done in Shera planks, painted and overlapping each other, and is rainproof.

 

Roof construction is in box steel, painted with red oxide paint, and is rust free

[Rimmer]

I will move this to DIY forum,  Maybe they have some more ideas what it could be.

[bankruatsteve]

Red-oxide primer can deteriorate over time if not painted.  Usually doesn't end up a sticky puddle, but whose know.

[johng]

My guess is honey.

[Susco]

14 minutes ago, johng said:

My guess is honey.

 

That's also something I took in consideration, but I can't find a bee nest anywhere in the shed