Emergency water removal, structural drying and cleanup for homes and businesses across Lakeland and Polk County, 24/7.
Fastest: call (833) 490-5225. Or send this and we call you back.
Water damage restoration means removing standing water, drying wall cavities and subfloors, and cleaning up affected materials. In Lakeland the water usually arrives as afternoon rain, a roof opening, an A/C condensate overflow, or lake or yard flooding that stays for weeks. Calls are answered 24/7 and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available.
Water reaches homes in Lakeland by several routes, and each leaves a different trail. Afternoon storms can push rain through a damaged roof edge or a window seal. An A/C condensate line that clogs in July can overflow into a closet or an attic air handler. A water heater or supply line can let go without warning. Lake and yard water rises more slowly, and it can sit around a foundation for weeks. Whatever the source, the damage follows one pattern: wet materials and moist air keep working on the structure until they are dried out.
Water damage restoration is the work of stopping the water if it can be stopped safely, removing standing water, finding wet material behind walls with moisture meters and thermal imaging, and drying the structure with air movers and dehumidifiers. The crew re-checks readings until materials are dry, and it keeps photos and moisture readings you can share with your insurer. If water is still coming in, start with emergency water removal.
Phones are answered 24/7, and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. The sooner the water is out, the less time it has to soak into drywall, subfloor and insulation. Outside the summer months, dry air helps drying along, and during the rainy season the humidity works against you.
Do not walk into standing water near outlets, appliances or an open panel. Do not run a wet vacuum or extension cord through water, and do not run household fans on wet carpet over a hidden leak. If the water may be sewage or septic backup, stay out of it entirely and keep children and pets away. Do not tear out drywall or flooring to look for water before you have photographed the damage for your insurer.
Phones are answered 24/7 and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. Describe where the water is coming from and whether it is still flowing. The crew will tell you what it can safely do before it arrives.
The technician walks the affected rooms and reads moisture levels in drywall, subfloor, insulation and framing. Thermal imaging shows where water has travelled that the eye cannot see. That map becomes the drying plan.
Water is extracted first. Porous materials that cannot be dried in place, such as saturated carpet pad, are removed, and cabinets or baseboards come out where needed to reach the cavity. Anything removed is noted and photographed.
Air movers aim across wet surfaces and dehumidifiers pull moisture from the air. Equipment goes where the readings say, not where it is convenient. The setup is adjusted as materials dry.
Readings are taken again each day until materials return to dry targets. The crew hands over the readings and photos so you can share them with your insurer. Repairs after drying are quoted separately.
Shut off the water at the main valve if you can reach it safely, and stay out of standing water near outlets and appliances. Turn power off at the panel only if the panel itself is dry and safe to reach.
Take photos and video of the water, the damaged materials and any opening it came through before anything is moved or thrown out. Call your insurer early, and call a restoration crew to start water removal while you wait. Keep a written list of what was wet and when you noticed it.
If the water came from outside, such as rain through a roof opening or rising yard water, the source may still be active. Water that keeps coming in will undo drying work, so the first call should be about stopping the flow.
A crew uses moisture meters and thermal imaging to map wet materials behind walls, under flooring and inside insulation, then places drying equipment where the readings show.
Surface dampness is only part of the picture. Water travels down a wall cavity, along a top plate or under a baseboard, and it can show up several feet from where it entered. Readings are taken at the start, through the drying period and again at the end.
On slab-on-grade homes, water from a supply line can spread under tile and wood flooring well before it reaches the surface. Ask for the readings and the map of wet areas, so you can see what was dried and what was not.
Lake and yard water is a different case from a burst pipe. It arrives from outside, it can carry dirt and contaminants, and it often stays for days or weeks, so it needs its own cleanup scope.
Flood damage is handled on its own page, and flood is generally a separate insurance policy from a homeowners policy. Check your policy before assuming it applies to outside water.
Because the water may be contaminated and the ground around the house may stay saturated, cleanup often includes removing wet porous materials that cannot be dried in place. A crew explains the scope before work starts.
The size of the wet area, the category of water, how long it sat, the building type and access all shape the work. The price is explained and approved before work starts, and repairs after drying are quoted separately.
The wet square footage matters most, along with the number of rooms and whether cabinets, flooring or drywall must come out. Water that was clean when it started but sat for days can become a harder category to clean. A house on a concrete slab, with supply lines under the floor, is reached differently from one with ducts in an attic.
Manufactured homes need belly-board insulation and underfloor ducts checked, which adds time. After-hours call-out and access problems, such as a locked gate or a crowded carport, also affect the job. Each job is measured on site, and the explanation and approval come before work starts.
Fans can help once standing water is gone, but they cannot find water inside walls and do not reach wet insulation. EPA guidance is to dry a wet area within 24 to 48 hours if possible.
Fans aimed at the surface can dry a carpet top while the pad and subfloor stay wet underneath. A dehumidifier pulls moisture from air but does nothing for water trapped in a block wall cavity or under a floor. That gap is where mold and rot start.
If mold is already visible, testing and cleanup are separate steps. Florida's licensing rules apply to mold areas above about 10 square feet, so ask any company for its DBPR license number and look it up on DBPR's website.
This applies when water is standing or still coming in. The first job is stopping the flow if that can be done safely, then extracting water and starting air movement before materials sit wet. The emergency-stage price is explained and approved before work starts.
Afternoon storms and the June to September rain can drive water through roof openings, window seals and soffits. Interior damage is cleaned and dried, and tarping or board-up can limit further intrusion. Roof replacement is not part of this work, and a roofing trade handles the roof itself.
The condensate drain can clog when the A/C runs hard through the summer, and the pan overflows into a closet, a hallway ceiling or the area around an attic air handler. The crew dries the affected materials. Repair of the drain line goes to a licensed trade.
Water in a manufactured home often collects in belly-board insulation and underfloor ducts rather than showing on the floor. The crew checks those areas, removes wet insulation and dries the cavity. Releveling and structural repair are not part of this work.
Most Lakeland houses are built on concrete slabs, so there is no lower level for water to drain into. It spreads across a single-storey floor plan and collects at the lowest point, often at baseboards, under cabinets and in the toe-kick space. Supply lines under the slab are out of sight, which is why a higher water bill with no visible wet spot is worth a call.
The rainy season runs roughly 25 May to 10 October, and 55 to 70 percent of the year's rain typically falls June through September. In the 2022 storm Ian, preliminary figures put about 16.99 inches at Lake Wales and about 2.4 inches at Auburndale. Rainfall across Polk County varied by a factor of seven in one storm, so the risk depends on the drainage around your own property.
In 2024, Tropical Storm Debby brought heavy rain to west Lakeland, and Hurricane Milton flooded homes in northwest Lakeland and around Lake Bonny. Multi-agency pumping moved water from Lake Bonny to Lake Parker, and drainage took weeks. Read the lake flooding guide and the Lakeland area page for more on your neighborhood.
If it's an emergency, call now. For non-urgent water damage restoration, send the form and we'll call you back.
Not sure if you're covered? Check your ZIP code.
Fast pump-out and extraction for standing water in Lakeland homes, with drying started before materials set.
Dehumidification and air movers that dry walls, subfloors and drywall, with readings re-checked until the materials are dry.
Removing rainfall and lake water from Lakeland homes, drying the structure, and documenting damage for your insurer. Phones answered 24/7.
Afternoon storms and hurricane rain push water through roofs, soffits and doors around Lakeland; a local crew removes it and dries the structure.
No published price fits every home in Lakeland.
Florida licenses mold assessors and mold remediators as two separate jobs through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation.
Hurricanes reach inland Polk County as rain, not sea water.
Outdoor air in Lakeland is often too humid to dry a wet house for much of the year.
A Florida homeowners policy generally covers sudden, accidental water damage, such as a burst pipe, but usually does not cover long-term leaks, flood, or sewer and drain backup unless an endorsement was added.
Phones are answered 24/7, and a crew is dispatched as fast as one is available. No arrival time can be promised, because it depends on how many calls are active and where crews are working. Describe the water source and whether it is still flowing, so the dispatcher can judge how urgent the call is.
Coverage is decided by your insurer under your own policy, not by the crew. Homeowners policies often cover sudden and accidental water damage, such as a burst pipe, and often do not cover long-term leaks, flood or sewer backup unless an endorsement was added. Check your policy or ask your agent, and read the insurance claims guide. The crew can document the damage for your claim, and the state's insurance regulators handle complaints.
It can be, and drying speed is what limits it. EPA guidance is to dry a wet area within 24 to 48 hours if possible and to keep indoor humidity below 60 percent, ideally between 30 and 50 percent. Mold can trigger allergy and asthma symptoms in some people. A house in the rainy season has less room to dry, so the window is tighter.
In Florida, mold assessment and remediation are separately licensed through the Department of Business and Professional Regulation. An assessor may not remediate a structure it assessed in the previous 12 months, and a remediator may not assess one it remediated in that period. That means the person who tests should not be the person who sells the cleanup. Ask any company for its DBPR license number and look it up on DBPR's website.
Cleanup inside the house is what this service covers. Septic tank pumping and drain-field repair are not part of this work. The Florida Department of Health in Polk County oversees onsite sewage systems, including inspection and permits. A backup after heavy rain often means the drain field is saturated, and that is a question for the septic service.
Repair work generally needs a permit, and the building department confirms what your job requires. Inside city limits, the City of Lakeland Building Inspection Division issues permits. Most of this service area is unincorporated, and permits there come from Polk County, so check with the county building division. Rebuilding after water damage generally needs a Florida-licensed contractor, and any contractor can be looked up on DBPR's license search.