There is a lot more thought being given today about the damage that mold can cause in a home, due to the fact that more and more Americans are dealing with this problem. Mold can grow where moisture has been for long periods of time. Some surfaces are a lot more vulnerable to mold growth than others are. When surfaces like wood, cloth, sheetrock, and carpeting become wet, they become the perfect breeding ground for the development of mold and mildew.

There are many homes and businesses that have sustained substantial water damage due to flooding caused by either a bad plumbing job or Mother Nature herself. These floods can cause a lot of damage just due to the fact that your home or business has suffered water damage. This damage is even more severe when some of the surfaces in a building are left to dry without proper ventilation or demolition thus causing the advancement of mold and mildew.

In conditions where excessive flooding has occurred from a catastrophic event like hurricanes, tornadoes, and/or heavy rainfall, streams and rivers overflow their banks. There have been many times where the ground floor of a home can get covered in water levels ranging anywhere from a couple of inches to numerous feet. In situations like the Hurricane Katrina flooded residences, homes had been inundated by so much water that even the second floors had substantial water damage.

A lot of these residents were not able to rescue their homes or any of their belongings at all! By the time water levels receded enough to allow the residents access, the water had been standing for so long that it was impossible to recover anything left behind.

For those homeowners who endured less damage and only had a few inches of water, most of their homes were saved. If pursued, it was an ambitious task. They had to restore destroyed flooring, sheetrock and wood. The homeowners had to rid their homes of mold as well. Special clothing and masks were worn at all times to protect these people from specific and dangerous types of mold.

When flooding happens in a home on a smaller scale, like situations caused by plumbing breaks, the damage that is suffered is usually not be nearly as bad. If done quickly and efficiently, the walls and flooring can be saved. Mold growth is delayed if all the areas affected by water are dried out thoroughly. Many times homeowners can clean up minor flooding themselves for the situations listed above. In addition, it is important that if a surface develops any kind of mold, it be dealt with by using chlorine bleach if possible or by removing the affected surface area altogether. Mold on surfaces like sheetrock or wood will sometimes need removal because it is hard to keep the mold from coming back and eventually spreading to an even larger area once it's on sheetrock or wood.