Flood damage is serious business because it damages your carpet, your furniture, your walls, and so much more. If you have a leak in the upstairs pipes, then you're going to have flood issues in your ceiling. The possibilities are endless when it comes to flood damage because it can occur due to natural disasters, leaky pipes, and leaky ceilings. It is amazing how many people encounter flood damage on the second story of their homes because a part of their roof was missing and they had no idea. Sounds funny I know, but that's the truth and you should be aware of it.

With this flood damage come hazards that you need to know about. These hazards include:

* Mold growth - If you watched the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina back in 2005, you saw that there were homes with mold growing on the walls in the 9th Ward. This is because individuals were not able to tend to the flood damage. The 9th Ward was off limits. As a result, the conditions were just right for mold growth. The humidity hit 60% and all it took was up to 48 hours for that mold growth to begin. This is a secondary effect of flood damage that cannot be avoided if flood damage isn't attended to immediately.

* Mildew growth - Mildew growth can be nasty and it doesn't have a very good smell. This is another secondary effect of flood damage Secondary effects are not covered by insurance because the idea is to try to take care of flood damage before these secondary issues even have a chance to develop.

* Poor air quality - It is common sense that flood damage is going to interfere with the quality of the air. It is either going to be harmful or it is going to be totally unpleasant. There's so much stuff in the water that causes water damage that it's no wonder it doesn't do good things for the air.

* Micro-organism growth - Certain organisms thrive off of damp environments such as those environments in which flood damage occurs. These organisms can be harmful as well. People can become ill and the flood damage to the home can become even more extensive depending on the micro-organisms that exist at the time.

Again, these are all secondary to flood damage, which can be a bit problematic when it comes to insurance. Flood insurance will cover the flood in most cases, but it will not cover mold, mildew, causes of poor air quality, and the growth of micro-organisms. Keep that in mind when you are working to fix flood damage. Make sure you attend to it before things get even worse. You'll be glad you did because you'll see that dealing with flood damage is a lot more bearable than if you were going into it all at once. You don't want to have to deal with the flood damage and all of the secondary effects at the same time. Unfortunately, some individuals have had to.