Simply using biocides (suach as Lysol) to try to kill a microbial contamination problem is rarely effective. For one thing, mold spores (even if killed) still cause the same harmful effects. A toxin in a mold spore is still toxic, and an allergenic spore is still allergenic, whether it is capable of reproducing or not.

Get rid of the excessive moisture and make sure it is not going to happen again, or the problem will reoccur.  Once microbial contamination has taken hold in porous materials, they have to be disposed of.

Humidifiers are designed to produce moisture, and so represent a major source of concern for microbial contamination. Some extremely serious disease outbreaks have been traced to humidifiers. It is recommended that humidifiers have their reservoirs emptied daily, that they be cleaned daily, and that they be disinfected every 3 days, at a minimum. Only steam humidifiers should be used, never "cool-mist" or ultrasonic humidifiers.

You start by visually locating what appears to be mold growth, bacterial growth, or water-damaged materials. A sample is then taken from the material and examined under a microscope by an environmental (not clinical) microbiology laboratory. They will confirm the presence of microbial growth and do a partial identification of the type of growth from the appearance of the microorganisms.

Bacteria are microscopic, one-celled organisms which are involved in fermentation, putrefaction, infectious diseases, or nitrogen fixation. Bacteria can grow profusely when there is plenty of moisture present. In general, bacteria which grow in the environment do not grow well in the human body. The reason is the temperature difference. An organism that grows well at human body temperature (98.6 degrees Fahrenheit) probably won't do well at 70 degrees.

Mold is nature's recycling mechanism. Microscopic spores (the reproductive cells of mold) are always floating in the air. When something dies, mold spores landing on it germinate, mold consumes it and recycles its organic materials.

There are hundreds of thousands of different types of mold, which vary in the types of food they prefer to consume, their ideal temperature and moisture conditions, etc. Some types of mold will consume virtually any type of hydrocarbon. That includes any sort of organic material, paints, many types of plastics, etc.

Dust mites are tiny (just barely visible to the naked eye under the right lighting) creatures which live on skin scale (tiny bits of flaked off skin). They live in materials such as carpeting, couches, and bedding where skin scale tends to accumulate. They do not bite people. Their feces is highly allergenic; in fact more people are allergic to dust mite feces than to any other substance (around 30% of the U.S. population). When someone is allergic to "house dust" it is normally a dust mite allergy.