Restoration Doctor of Miami — frequently asked questions

Restoration Doctor of Miami dispatches 24/7 from our Brickell office in Miami, and for an active water emergency a crew is typically on-site within 60 minutes in Miami-Dade. Broward and Palm Beach dispatches take somewhat longer depending on traffic and time of day. A live person answers the emergency line at 786-213-9489 at any hour.

Stop the water if you safely can — the unit shut-off valve, the appliance angle stop, or the main at the meter — then call us. Keep people away from wet areas near outlets, move small valuables off wet floors, and photograph what you see. Do not run the AC fan to 'dry it out'; uncontrolled airflow can spread moisture and spores.

Yes. We operate through hurricane season and surge staffing for named storms. Immediately after landfall, response is triaged: making structures safe (board-up, tarping) first, then extraction and drying. Calling early puts you in the queue sooner — after a major storm every restoration company in South Florida is at capacity, and drying delayed is damage multiplied.

Call us and your building management at the same time. Management can shut risers and reach the neighbor; we begin extraction and drying in your unit and document the migration path from the source unit down. That documentation matters later, because responsibility in condo losses often splits between unit owners and the association depending on where the failed component sits.

It depends on how the water entered, and policies vary. Wind-driven rain entering through a storm-created opening is generally handled under a homeowners or wind policy, while rising water — storm surge or street flooding — is typically excluded and falls under a separate flood policy such as NFIP coverage. After hurricanes, wind-versus-water disputes are common, which is why we document the entry path and damage pattern carefully. We can't guarantee any coverage outcome; only your policy and carrier determine that.

Many South Florida homeowners carry one, and in mapped flood zones like much of Key Biscayne and coastal Fort Lauderdale, mortgage lenders often require it. Standard homeowners policies generally exclude rising water. Whether NFIP or private flood coverage makes sense for you is a question for your insurance professional — our role is to document the loss accurately whichever policy responds.

No. Florida homeowners choose their own contractor. A carrier may offer names from its network, but the choice of who works on your property is yours, and your policy's coverage terms are what trigger payment for covered work. We work for you, and we document every phase — source, category, moisture readings, photos — so your claim file reflects exactly what happened and what it took to fix.

Most residential mitigation projects fall somewhere between the low four figures for a contained single-room loss and the mid five figures for a multi-room or multi-story loss involving Category 3 water — the honest answer is a range, because size, water category, materials, and dry-out duration drive the number. We provide a documented scope before work beyond emergency stabilization, so you are never guessing.

Condo losses often involve two policies — the association's master policy for common elements and your HO-6 for the unit interior — and the split depends on the association's documents. We coordinate access and scope with building management, keep the moisture and photo record separated by area, and give both you and the association the documentation each needs. We are a restoration contractor, not an adjuster, so policy interpretation stays with you, your carrier, and the association.

Typically three to five days for the structure around it, but the honest answer for tile-on-slab is that the tile itself often traps moisture underneath, and the assembly may need targeted demolition or specialized drying mats rather than airflow alone. We meter through to the slab and track readings daily, so 'dry' is a measured condition, not a guess.

Substantially. Wood framing and drywall absorb water and release it predictably under airflow and dehumidification, while concrete and CBS construction dry slowly and hold moisture deep in the slab and block cells. In high-rises we also manage drying within one unit's envelope while monitoring adjacent units. The equipment mix, drying time, and demolition decisions all differ, which is why the plan starts with what the building is made of.

Sometimes — the deciding factors are how long they stayed wet, the water category, and Florida humidity working against you. Solid hardwood caught early can often be dried in place with panel systems; engineered floors and swollen particle-board cabinets usually cannot. Clean-water losses give contents the best odds; sewage-contaminated porous items are generally disposed of for health reasons. We assess item by item and document the call either way.

Because water wicks upward inside wall assemblies from slab level, and stucco or drywall can read dry at eye level while the base plate and lower framing stay saturated. We open only what the moisture map justifies — typically a controlled flood cut above the wet line — and every cut is supported by meter readings in the record.

Visible colonization can begin within 24 to 48 hours, and South Florida's year-round humidity shortens that window compared to drier climates. That accelerated mold clock is why we start drying on the first visit rather than 'letting it air out' — in this climate, unmanaged wet materials essentially never dry on their own.

Yes, and it is one of the most common Florida mold pathways: condensate drain line clogs, oversized systems that cool without dehumidifying, and thermostats set high while owners are away all create sustained interior humidity that feeds growth on supply registers, in closets, and on furniture. Remediation addresses the growth; solving the humidity source is what keeps it from returning.

We follow ANSI/IICRC S520 practice: containment with negative air pressure, HEPA air filtration, removal of colonized porous materials, HEPA vacuuming and damp-wiping of remaining surfaces, and drying the moisture source that caused the growth. Verification is measurable — the contained area passes visual inspection and moisture targets before containment comes down, and third-party clearance testing can be arranged when required.

Securing the structure comes first — board-up, roof tarping, and safety assessment — then the loss is really two losses: fire and smoke damage, plus the water used to suppress it. We handle both tracks together — ANSI/IICRC S700 governing the fire and smoke work, S500 the suppression water: extraction and drying begin immediately while soot-affected surfaces are stabilized, because acidic soot residue keeps etching metals and finishes for days if untreated.

It can be removed, but only by removing the source. That means cleaning or removing soot-laden materials, cleaning ductwork where smoke circulated, and then treating remaining odor with methods appropriate to the material. Sprays that perfume the air without source removal fail within weeks — especially in Florida humidity, which re-activates odor trapped in porous surfaces.

We are the South Florida operation of Restoration Doctor, a multi-state restoration brand headquartered in Vienna, Virginia, with operations in the Washington, D.C. metro and South Florida. The Miami office at 1200 Brickell Ave serves Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach Counties with the same IICRC-aligned standards and documentation discipline the brand runs everywhere.

Yes — sewage is Category 3 water and gets a fundamentally different protocol: full PPE, containment, removal and disposal of contaminated porous materials, disinfection, and verification. Older Miami buildings with original cast-iron drain stacks see these losses regularly, and backflow during king tides and heavy rain events adds a South Florida twist. Never handle Category 3 water without protection.

We coordinate with building management from the first hour: engineering access, riser shut-offs, freight elevator scheduling, protection of common corridors, and insurance-certificate requirements the building imposes on contractors. Unit-to-unit water migration means several stakeholders share one loss; our documentation keeps each party's scope distinct so the project moves instead of stalling in disputes.

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We serve South Florida's tri-county core: Miami-Dade (Miami, Miami Beach, Brickell, Coral Gables, Coconut Grove, Key Biscayne, Pinecrest, Aventura), Broward (Fort Lauderdale, Hollywood), and Palm Beach County (Boca Raton, West Palm Beach) — plus surrounding communities. Crews dispatch from our Brickell office 24/7.

Our Miami office is at 1200 Brickell Ave Suite 1950 #1007, Miami, FL 33131 — in the Brickell financial district, minutes from I-95 and the Rickenbacker Causeway, which is exactly where you want a dispatch point when the call is a tower on Brickell Bay Drive or a home on Key Biscayne. Reach us any time at (786) 213-9489 or office@restorationdoctors.com.