Experts say it's almost a certainty that there's some mold in your house, since mold spores can be found almost everywhere. The key is to keep mold from growing so much it can damage your home and your health.

        If you can see or smell mold, you know it's there. The little bit growing in the shower or around the window air-conditioner isn't harmful. The black fuzz eating away your attic could be.

        If your house has suffered water damage from a flood, burst pipe or leaky roof, it's at risk for mold intrusion. If you or your family — especially your children — suffer allergy symptoms (runny nose, congestion, itchy eyes), cough, headaches or repeated colds and upper respiratory infections only at home, that could be a sign there's a mold problem.

        And if you can see a significant amount of mold — more than several inches in diameter — it's time to call a professional to find out how bad things might be. A little mold isn't a problem. But when it starts taking over carpets and walls and adds up to square feet, it could reach toxic levels.

        To keep mold from running rampant in your home or office, follow these steps:

        • Keep water out of the building. Look for leaks from pipes, foundations, basements, roofs and attics. Plug the leaks and clean up any standing water.

        • Clean up visible mold. If it's the stuff turning the grout in the bathroom black, a household cleaner, or a sponge soaked in liquid bleach and water, will do it.

        • Control the humidity. Try to keep the humidity at or below 50 percent, and consider installing a humidity gauge in the basement, which tends to be damper than other parts of the house.

        • Remove water- or mold-damaged materials, including carpet and other floor coverings, wallpaper, drywall, wood, sheetrock, paper, yard waste and plants.

        • Get it where it lives: Check mold-friendly areas regularly for intrusion: Potting soil, piles of old newspapers, laundry rooms, the sills and molding around window air-conditioning units, insulation and carpet.

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