Flood damage requires immediate attention so that the losses can be minimized. The longer you wait, the worse the flood damage is going to become because of such secondary issues as mold and icky bacteria that can make its way into the lives of your family. If the flood damage comes from something other than the weather, it is necessary to locate the problem. If you locate it, do what seems reasonable to stop the problem.



If the pipes under your kitchen sink start to leak, shut them off. If you have a toilet leaking, simply turn off the valve to it. This helps to keep the flood damage from progressing. The next step is to contact a plumber and then contact your insurance company. If you need your insurance to cover the flood damage, then you need to let them know. They're probably going to require that you have a plumber take care of the cause of the flood damage anyway. This is because a plumber can also assess the problem and then state how bad the flood damage is. By doing that, the insurance company is going to know exactly what is going on and how much they need to pay out to you to cover the flood damage.

When talking to your insurance company about flood damage, they're going to talk to you about what you need to do. This goes for any type of flood damage that occurs. When you have flood insurance and you receive flood damage that is covered within the confines of your policy, you have to do everything the insurance company tells you in order for it to be covered. If it is going to be a while before the flood damage can be attended to, try to do such things as move your belongings to areas not threatened by the flood. You need to move furniture, photos, knick knacks, and whatever else is in the way. You also want to make sure that you remove important documents because you'll never be able to retrieve or replace those.

Another thing that you need to do when flood damage has occurred is open up windows and doors. Mold will grow when the humidity is above 60% and those conditions have existed for more than 48 hours. If you can keep the humidity down, then you can hold off any mold growth that may occur. If it starts to grow, at least you can slow it down. Mold growth is a secondary issue that insurance won't cover when it comes to flood damage, so make sure you nix that as soon as you can.

In regards to mold, the type of mold is toxic. It is called Stachybotrys and it is deadly. This can be the worst part of flood damage. Actually, it can be worse than the flood damage itself. People have reported scrubbing it off of their walls and then it growing back days later. It's because the spores are there and the conditions are right. Flood damage makes the conditions right, so do what you can to prevent it.