Is Hidden Mold at Home Making You Sick?

"In 44 states, mold is excluded, unless it is the direct result of a peril that is covered," Stewart said. For example, some insurance companies do not cover mold, but do cover water leakage, which can cause mold to grow.

Meanwhile, articles about mold — like one in the magazine Redbook headlined "It's Invisible. It's Deadly. And It's in your home" — have made many homeowners nervous. With unanswered health questions, the looming risk of litigation, prospects of nose-diving property values and no insurance safety net, what's a homeowner to do?

Experts agree on one thing: If you've got mold you need to get rid of it. More importantly, you need eliminate the cause.

"We say: 'Find the moisture, eliminate the moisture, clean up the mold,' " Kelly said. "Come back a month later, make sure it's still gone."

It is possible to have mold and not know it. If you can't find it yourself, a "mold dog" may be able to help. Jason Earl, a mold inspector works with a mold dog named Oreo. In the same way dogs can be trained to detect drugs and explosives, Oreo can find mold, he says.

Tracking Mold in Your Home

How does mold get into houses?

Mold is everywhere, in the air indoors and out. To reproduce, mold generates spores (seeds) that become airborne. These spores can remain dormant for 50 years or more.