Have a mold problem? It may not be obvious, but almost every apartment or dorm has mold growing.

Mold needs some type of moisture or humidity to begin to grow. Growth can happen in as little as 24 hours. Different molds can adapt to most any temperature, high or low. Likewise, it can grow on any surface, as long as it has some type of organic material to feed off of, such as dirt, oil and skin cells, which are mostly found in dust.

Mold reproduces by producing and spreading airborne spores. Those spores can be and are inhaled by humans, but usually do not result in health problems.

"When anyone comes in with complaints of allergies, we always ask if they have recently moved into a new apartment or house," said Edward Rosick, physician for University Health Services. "Mold could have been left over from the previous tenants."

Mold is not necessarily a health risk and only some people are affected by typical exposure to it.

"Typical symptoms are runny nose, cough, even wheezing; sometimes the symptoms can be almost asthma-like, like when exposed," Rosick said. "Some people are very allergic and likewise others are not affected at all."

Rosick recommends finding and eliminating the source of the mold.

"If a carpet got wet and began to grow mold, get rid of it," Rosick said. "There are a lot of cleaners out there specifically for mold. It's a growing organism so it [can] be killed."

While health risks are not serious issues when dealing with mold, cleaning it can be annoying, especially for college students who by nature stray from cleaning.

"I think that I have a mold problem in my apartment. It is growing on the vents of our air conditioner," said Lisa Prestileo (sophomore-business). "It looks like blue-green dust. I think that either I am just going to clean it off with something or I might just call maintenance."

When leases end, mold becomes the problem of the landlord. CitiClean Inc., 2173 E. College Ave., employees have firsthand experience with student cleaning habits. CitiClean professionally cleans apartments managed by Associated Reality Property Management.

"[Students] do need to clean regularly. The biggest problem has to do with it being damp all the time," said Kendra Saphore, office manager at CitiClean Inc. She also cleans and inspects apartments. "Four people living in an apartment with one bathroom gives the bathroom little time to dry, increasing the chance of mold. Also, I don't think [most apartment] fans are big enough to fully exhaust the steam."

Those students who let mold go could be faced with an out-of-control problem.

"There was one person, I don't know if he was upset with the landlord or what. He apparently left a hot water leak unattended, closed everything up and left for about six months," Saphore said. "The bathroom, bedroom and half the living room were covered in mold and mildew. It was also a basement apartment, which is damp to begin with. We had to wash down the walls and ceiling with bleach. We then repainted with paint mixed with an anti-mildew product."

Saphore said mold is most often found in the bathroom, unless there was a leak in another area of the apartment. Leftover food in the kitchen also attracts mold, especially bread products. To clean and kill mold, CitiClean uses bleach on hard surfaces and fabric-friendly products for carpet and furniture.

This season, CitiClean and students may find themselves faced with an increased amount of mold.