ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Dry rot

Dry rot is when something made out of wood like a wooden toy or a wooden house, gets very sick and starts to break down. Just like when we get sick with a bad cold, our body feels weak and sometimes we can't do anything all day. Well, dry rot is like that for wood.

It happens when a specific type of fungus grows on the wood and eats it up. This fungus is like a tiny little bug that lives on the wood and chews on it, making it weak and making holes. It's called "dry rot" because the wood becomes dry and brittle, causing it to break easily.

If left untreated, dry rot can be very dangerous. Wood structures can collapse and cause harm to people. But the good news is that there are ways to cure dry rot! You can scrape off the rotten parts of the wood and replace it with new wood, or you can use special chemicals to kill the fungus and strengthen the wood.

So, dry rot is when wood gets really sick and weak because of a tiny fungus that eats it up. It can be dangerous, but there are ways to fix the problem and make the wood healthy again.
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