Frequently Asked Questions

DKI Restotech provides 24/7 water, fire, smoke, mold, storm, and biohazard damage restoration, plus full reconstruction, for homes and businesses across Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside. As a licensed general contractor we handle the entire job — from emergency mitigation through complete rebuild — with one accountable team.

We serve Los Angeles County, Orange County, and Riverside, including Irvine, Anaheim, Santa Ana, Newport Beach, Huntington Beach, Fullerton, and surrounding cities. Our crews are stationed across the region and are typically on-site within 60 minutes.

Yes. DKI Restotech is a licensed general contractor, fully insured, and IICRC-certified — the industry standard for water, fire, and mold restoration.

Yes. Inspections and estimates are free and carry no obligation. You'll get a clear assessment and a straight answer on exactly what's needed.

DKI Restotech has served Los Angeles and Orange County for over 40 years, since 1980. We're a locally owned member of the Disaster Kleenup International (DKI) network — the largest property restoration contractor network in North America — which backs our local crews with national resources and standards.

Our technicians are IICRC-certified — the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification, the industry's leading credentialing body. That means water, fire, and mold work is performed to recognized standards (IICRC S500 for water and S520 for mold), and we're fully licensed and insured in California.

We're available 24/7 and are typically on-site within 60 minutes across Los Angeles, Orange County, and Riverside. A fast response dramatically reduces both the damage and the cost of repairs.

Get everyone to safety first. For water damage, shut off your main water valve and, if it's safe, turn off electricity to affected areas. Then call us right away — we'll walk you through the next steps and dispatch a crew immediately.

Yes — day, night, weekends, and holidays. A real person answers your call and a crew is dispatched right away.

Yes — if you can safely reach your breaker panel without standing in water, shut off power to the affected area. Water and electricity are a dangerous combination. If the panel is wet or you'd have to wade to it, stay out of the room and call an electrician or the fire department instead.

Often yes, for contained water losses. For larger jobs, sewage (Category 3) contamination, significant mold, or fire and smoke damage, it may be safer to relocate temporarily. We'll tell you honestly after inspecting, and your insurance may cover additional living expenses if you can't stay.

Yes. We're a preferred vendor for most major carriers. We document the full claim, communicate with your adjuster, and bill your insurer directly, so your out-of-pocket cost is usually just your deductible.

It depends on the type and extent of the damage. We provide a free, no-obligation inspection and a clear written estimate before any work begins — no surprises. For covered claims, we bill your insurance directly.

Most sudden, accidental damage — burst pipes, fire, storm — is covered. Gradual damage or neglect may not be. We help document the cause and scope so your claim has the best chance of approval.

Sometimes, and often with limits. If mold results directly from a sudden, covered water loss (like a burst pipe) that was addressed promptly, remediation may be covered — but many California policies cap mold coverage or exclude it if it stems from a gradual, unaddressed leak. Fast drying is the best way to prevent mold and avoid the coverage question entirely.

Mitigation is the emergency work that stops further damage — water extraction, drying, and stabilizing the property. Restoration (or reconstruction) is putting your property back to its pre-loss condition, such as new drywall, paint, and flooring. Many claims include both as separate phases.

Mold can begin growing within 24–48 hours of water exposure, which is why fast extraction and thorough structural drying are critical. We dry the structure completely and apply antimicrobial treatment to prevent mold.

Yes. We handle burst pipes, slab leaks, appliance and roof leaks, sewage backups, and flooding — extracting the water, drying the structure, and repairing the damage, then coordinating any needed plumbing repairs.

Most residential water losses dry in 3–5 days with professional air movers and dehumidifiers, though the timeline depends on how much water was involved, which materials got wet, and how quickly extraction began. We monitor moisture daily and dry to a documented target rather than guessing.

A slab leak is a water-line leak beneath your home's concrete foundation — common in older Southern California homes. Signs include a spike in your water bill, warm spots on the floor, the sound of running water, or unexplained damp flooring. We locate them with moisture meters, thermal imaging, and acoustic detection before starting repairs.

Yes — and it usually is. Water wicks into drywall, insulation, subfloors, and wall cavities, so a surface that looks dry can hold moisture for weeks. That trapped moisture is the number-one cause of mold after water damage, which is why we use moisture meters and thermal imaging rather than relying on what's visible.

Yes. True smoke odor removal goes beyond surface cleaning — we use hydroxyl generators, ozone, thermal fogging, and HVAC/duct cleaning to neutralize smoke molecules trapped in walls, ducts, and contents, not just mask them.

Both. As a licensed general contractor, we take you from emergency mitigation all the way through full reconstruction — drywall, flooring, paint, and cabinetry — with one accountable team.

Fire and smoke damage are covered under virtually all standard homeowners policies. Coverage typically includes structural repairs, smoke and soot cleanup, and damaged belongings, and may include additional living expenses if your home is uninhabitable. We work directly with your carrier and document the loss to their standards.

Soot and smoke odor require more than surface cleaning. We clean soot from surfaces and contents with specialized methods matched to the residue type, then neutralize odor at the source using techniques like thermal fogging, hydroxyl or ozone treatment, and HVAC cleaning — because smoke odor hides in ductwork, insulation, and porous materials, not just on the walls.

Usually not, beyond a very minor contained fire. Structural, electrical, and air-quality hazards plus soot and lingering odor make most fire-damaged homes unsafe to occupy until they're assessed and restored. Your policy's additional living expenses coverage often pays for temporary housing while the work is done.

It depends on severity. A small kitchen fire may take a couple of weeks, while a whole-home fire with major structural and smoke damage can take several months, especially when reconstruction is involved. We provide a realistic timeline after assessing the fire, smoke, and water damage together.

Dry soot comes from fast, high-temperature fires and is powdery, so it's cleaned with dry methods first. Wet soot comes from slow, smoldering, low-heat fires (often plastics or rubber) and is sticky and smeary with a strong odor. Using water on the wrong type smears it and sets the stain, which is why professionals identify the residue before cleaning.

Often, yes. Smoke and soot travel through the HVAC system and settle house-wide, so cleanup and odor removal frequently cover rooms the fire never touched. That's also why smoke cleanup can cost more than repairing the room that actually burned.

It ranges widely — from a few thousand dollars for minor smoke and soot cleanup to tens of thousands for fires needing structural rebuilds. Fire, smoke, and water damage each add cost, and smoke and water usually reach beyond the burned area. We assess on-site before quoting, and fire damage is covered by standard homeowners insurance.

We contain the affected area under negative air pressure, use HEPA filtration, remove contaminated materials, treat surfaces with antimicrobials, and verify the space is dry so the mold doesn't return.

Black mold can cause allergic reactions and respiratory issues, especially for people with compromised immune systems. It should be assessed and removed by IICRC-certified professionals rather than disturbed, which can spread spores through your home.

Residential mold remediation commonly runs from about $1,500 for a small, contained area to $6,000 or more for larger jobs, depending on the size, location, and how much material must be removed. We scope every job after an on-site assessment rather than quoting blind, and we always find and fix the moisture source first.

Only if the moisture source isn't fixed. Mold needs water to grow, so proper remediation always includes finding and correcting the leak or humidity problem that fed it. When the source is resolved and the area is dried and verified, mold does not return — which is why we treat moisture control as part of the job, not an afterthought.