NORTH FORT MYERS, Fla. - Only a year ago David and Sally Pilgrim bought a condo and all the furniture inside. So on Saturday when they returned home from Illinois after almost 8 months, they knew something didn't smell right.

"We opened the door of our condo unit and we were hit with the smell of mold," said David Pilgrim.

Everything in their North Fort Myers condo is covered in mold. The ceiling, dishes, cabinets, walls, kids toys, and furniture.

"Everything in the house has to go," said Sally.

The mold is so bad, it's affecting their health. Two of the Pilgrim's adopted children have asthma. Currently, they're staying at a hotel until their home is repaired, which could take up to six weeks.

"It can be very dangerous if you have any respiratory problems," said Shannon O'Neill from SERVPRO.

SERVPRO is a fire, water and mold restoration company. The company is in charge of cleaning the Pilgrim's house.

It's still unclear how the house became infested with mold because someone was checking on it every month.

But O'Neill says it can happen easily and it spreads quickly.

The good news is even in a situation like this, the house can be restored.

"It's never a loss. We can always clean it," O'Neill said.

The U.S. EPA says it's nearly impossible to get rid all of the mold in your home, but using a professional cleaning company like SERVPRO is a good way to clean it up and keep it from spreading.

Here are some tips from SERVPRO to clean mold and/or protect your house from mold:

1. Repair leaks quickly to prevent mold growth:
Periodically inspect your home for water leaks. Leaks in plumbing, roofs or through cracks in the foundation can cause mold to grow. Inspect any areas of dampness as soon as possible to determine the source of the leak and repair the leak right away.

2. Check your home for existing mold growth:
Mold grows where there is a source of moisture. Common places for mold growth are rooms where water may be present, such as laundry rooms, bathrooms and kitchens, or rooms without good air circulation, such as bedrooms, bathrooms and closets. Mold can grow in piles of laundry, wet carpets and damp walls. Mold can also grow around window frames where moisture accumulates when cool air hits warm windows.

3. Use caution when removing mold:
If you find patches of mold in your home, act quickly to kill and clean it up. Large mold problems should be handled by a professional disaster recovery firm like SERVPRO. Wearing gloves and a face mask, scrub mold off of non-porous surfaces with a stiff brush, a non-ammonia detergent and hot water. Dry completely. Absorbent materials that become moldy, such as furniture, should be replaced. Mold spores that have penetrated inside the item will not be eliminated by a surface cleaning. Do not vacuum moldy carpets or upholstery. Vacuuming cannot effective remove mold spores, and will further scatter them about the room. Anyone with asthma or other breathing conditions should not do the cleaning and should be kept away from the area until after the area has dried.

4. Maintain indoor humidity between 30-50%:
Mold loves humidity and we have plenty of it in Southwest Florida. You can monitor your home's humidity level with a hygrometer, which is inexpensive and can be purchased at hardware stores. And if the humidity rises take measures to keep it down. Use air conditioners and dehumidifiers to reduce moisture in the air. Check your air conditioner at least once every year for mold and have coils cleaned as needed. Remember to empty drip pans regularly as well so mold doesn't build up there either. Clothes dryers should be vented to the outside. Dryers generate a lot of moisture, which can quickly build up indoors if not properly vented.

5. Keep air flowing:
Good ventilation keeps moisture from accumulating in air-tight rooms. Use exhaust fans or open windows in kitchens and bathrooms when showering, cooking, using the dishwasher, or cleaning. Keep the doors between rooms and closets open. Airtight rooms and closets trap moisture, increasing the chances that mold and dust mites will grow. Keep doors open to keep air circulating.

6. Use caution when storing items that attract mold:
Do not store dirty or damp laundry in closed closets. Dirty or damp laundry can quickly become moldy or mildewy, especially in humid climates like Southwest Florida. Do not store firewood indoors. Wood often has mold spores on it. Try to keep it outdoors, in a covered area, until you are ready to use it. Eliminate piles of leaves and decaying debris in your yard, especially near your house. Mold naturally occurs in disintegrating leaves and plant material. If near your house, any disturbance could bring them indoors. Locate compost piles away from the home as well.


HOW THE PROFESSIONALS AT SERVPRO DEAL WITH MOLD SERVPRO

Franchise professionals handle water damages every day. Prompt action is required to prevent new mold growth. If your property has sustained a recent water damage, it is vital to have the water removed and the structure dried promptly. When excessive mold contaminates a building, remediators follow five principles in dealing with the mold:

Principle 1: Provide for health and safety.
Since moldy buildings are associated with health problems, remediators protect the health of workers and occupants. Some work practices prevent workers from exposure as they disturb the mold during cleanup. Other work practices prevent mold from spreading to occupied areas of the building.

Principle 2: Document conditions and processes.
Remediators record conditions in the building such as the extent of the contamination and the amount of moisture saturation. Once remediation is completed, an independent indoor environmental professional may record that mold in the building is returned to normal conditions.

Principle 3: Control the mold contaminant at its source.
Work practices aim at keeping mold contamination from becoming airborne and then spreading from the source to clean areas. This reduces the amount of airborne mold that workers are exposed to. It also makes the process of removing mold more efficient.

Principle 4: Remove contamination.
Once mold has grown beyond normal levels, the most effective solution is to remove the excess mold contamination. This may be accomplished by physically removing materials damaged by growing mold, by vacuuming excessive mold spores into HEPA filters, and by damp wiping soiled surfaces with detergent cleaning products.

Principle 5: Correct the moisture problem.
This is the key to dealing with mold. Stop the source of moisture that initially contributed to mold growth. Even the best cleanup efforts will not keep mold from returning if a building continues to have moisture problems.