The first family was chased from their home last month by mold in the air conditioning system, a problem that had caused a year's worth of headaches and sinus problems. Contractors hired to fix the problem said last week that it would take up to 12 weeks to clear the property of the mold.

First lady Jenny Sanford and the couple's sons are staying at the family's Sullivan's Island home for now but may join the governor in the pool house before school starts, Sanford spokesman Will Folks said.

Notoriously thrifty, the governor did not want to fork out money for a "flashy condo" or big house.

"If there is a way he can save the taxpayers money, he's going to do it," Folks said.

The pool house is a modest building off to the side of the mansion that until now has been used primarily as a game room for Sanford's four sons, ages 5š to 12, and a storage space for discarded boxes. It has electricity and two bathrooms.

"We should be able to get a fridge in there without too much trouble, though," Folks said.

When he moves in next week, the governor is bringing an old friend with him: the futon he slept on during his six years in Congress, Folk said. "He said he missed it."During his six years in Washington, D.C., then-Rep. Sanford developed a reputation for sleeping in his office and showering and dressing in the congressional gym. By the time he left Washington in 2000, he had saved $1.5 million from his office budget, part of which came from his sleeping arrangement.

"He just doesn't have much need for creature comforts," Folks said. "It was either this or he was going to move in with Chris Drummond (the governor's communications director) or me."

According to officials with Risk Tech LLC, the Charleston-based company hired to deal with the mold problem, a preliminary investigation of the mansion revealed a "significant fungal reservoir" in the duct system.

Mold also was found in the Lace and Caldwell-Boylston houses, located adjacent to the mansion.

The mansion reopened three years ago after the state spent $5.6 million renovating the downtown Columbia building, which has been home to governors since the 1870s and was built as faculty quarters for Arsenal Military Academy in 1856.

Contractors expect the mansion cleanup to be finished by Sept. 1, with work on the outlying properties taking up to four additional weeks.

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