Frequently Asked Questions

We dispatch same-day, 24/7. In most markets a crew is on-site within hours of your call. Call us — the sooner we arrive, the less damage compounds.

Yes. A live dispatcher answers every call, every hour of every day. No voicemail, no call-back promise, no phone tree.

Stop the source if you can do so safely — turn off the water main for a leak, evacuate for a fire. Don't enter flooded rooms with active electricity. We'll walk you through it on the phone.

Usually yes, once we've assessed the scope. We document everything photographically and keep you updated throughout the job.

Stop the source if you safely can — shut off the water, kill power to a wet area — but hold off on tearing anything out or hauling things away. Premature cleanup can spread contamination, hide what the adjuster needs to see, and occasionally make the damage worse. Mopping up standing water is fine; demolition can wait for us.

Everything, while it's still at its worst: wide shots of each affected room, close-ups of damaged walls, floors, and ceilings, the source if you can see it, and any damaged belongings. Timestamped photos and a quick video before cleanup are some of the strongest evidence you can give your insurer.

Hold on to damaged items — soaked carpet, ruined furniture, scorched belongings — until they've been documented, even if they're clearly unsalvageable. Adjusters often want to see them or have you list them for the claim. If something has to move for safety, photograph it first and set it aside rather than discarding it.

Lift what you can off wet floors, get furniture legs onto foil or blocks, move dry belongings to another room, and open windows if the weather helps rather than hurts. Don't run a wet vacuum on standing water near outlets, and don't use the HVAC if smoke or mold is in play — it just moves the problem around. We'll handle the rest on arrival.

Usually, yes. A stain means water has already been somewhere it shouldn't, and what you can see is rarely the whole picture — the materials behind it may still be wet. Catching it now is far cheaper than waiting for it to spread or for mold to start. Call us and we'll help you figure out whether it needs a crew or just an eye on it.

Often, yes. Even a contained fire pushes smoke and soot into rooms that never saw flames, and the residue is acidic — it keeps etching surfaces until it's cleaned. The lingering smell is the same story. The sooner it's addressed, the less permanent the damage becomes.

A musty smell almost always means moisture is feeding growth somewhere you can't see — inside a wall, under flooring, above a ceiling. We follow IICRC S520: find the moisture source, contain the area, remove the growth, HEPA-filter the air, and verify it's gone before we close anything back up.

Maybe not. Drywall, framing, and insulation hold water long after a surface feels dry to the touch, and that hidden moisture is exactly what leads to mold and warping weeks later. We use moisture meters to read what's actually behind the surface, not just what you can feel.

Sudden, accidental damage — a burst pipe, a fire, a storm — is covered under most homeowner policies. Gradual problems like a slow leak left unaddressed are the common exception. Whether yours is covered comes down to your specific policy, but we work with insurance claims every day and can tell you early on what to expect.

In most covered claims we bill your insurer directly for the mitigation work, and you're responsible for your deductible. We document everything the adjuster needs — photos, moisture readings, an itemized scope — so the claim moves and you're not stuck fronting the cost.

Call us first, especially while damage is active. Your policy expects you to take reasonable steps to stop the loss from getting worse, and that's exactly what we do on arrival. We'll stabilize the situation and document it from the start, which actually strengthens your claim when you file.

It happens, and good documentation is your best protection. Because we record the damage thoroughly from day one — photos, readings, a detailed scope — you have the evidence to push back. We can speak directly with your adjuster about the work that was needed and why.

It depends on what happened and where. A contained kitchen leak rarely means leaving; significant fire, sewage, or whole-home flooding usually does. When you call, describe what you're seeing and we'll give you a straight answer about whether to stay, which rooms to avoid, and what to keep kids and pets away from.

Be careful. Standing water near outlets, appliances, or a breaker panel can be an electrocution risk, and floodwater can carry contaminants. If you can shut off power to that area safely, do it. If you can't reach the panel without stepping into water, stay out and tell us when you call — we'll handle it on arrival.

Lingering smoke odor means soot residue is still present on surfaces and in the air, and it won't simply air out on its own. We address it at the source with cleaning, HEPA filtration, and odor treatment rather than masking it. If anyone in the home has breathing concerns, your doctor is the right call — our part is removing what's causing the smell.

The most useful thing to know: mold needs moisture to grow, so the priority is finding and drying the source. We follow IICRC S520 — containment so spores don't spread to clean areas, removal, HEPA filtration, and verification that it's gone. For specific health questions, your doctor is the right person; our job is removing the growth and the dampness feeding it.

Drying typically runs three to five days, depending on how much water there was and what got wet. Fire and mold work varies more with the scope. We give you a realistic timeline after we assess in person — not a number designed to sound good on the phone — and we keep you updated as it changes.

Often, yes — especially when we get to it quickly, before moisture and soot have time to set in. We sort salvageable from non-salvageable, clean and dry what can be recovered, and document everything for your claim. We'll tell you honestly what's worth saving and what isn't.

Usually not. For most jobs we can set up containment and work around your daily life, sealing off the affected area so the rest of the house stays livable. When the damage is extensive enough that staying isn't practical, we'll tell you early so you can plan.

That's the point of full restoration — we take it from mitigation through final repairs with one crew, so you're not juggling handoffs between a cleanup company and a contractor. We document the work photographically so you can see exactly what was done and what was put back.