How to Choose the Best Water Damage Restoration Company in Central Texas
Objective criteria. Apply them to any company — including ours.
8 Criteria for Choosing a Restoration Company
1. IICRC Certification
Why it matters: IICRC certification is the industry gold standard. Verifies documented training, tested protocols (S500, S520), and third-party registry lookup. Non-certified companies often cut corners and create insurance-claim friction.
How to verify: Look up the firm in IICRC's public database at iicrc.org.
Moisture Pro: Yes — firm and technician IICRC Certified.
2. 60-minute or better response time
Why it matters: Water damage compounds by the hour. Drywall absorbs at 1 inch/hour; mold begins at 24-48 hours. Anything slower than 60-minute response adds scope.
How to verify: Ask for their documented response-time target and what counties they serve.
Moisture Pro: 60-minute arrival across Bell, McLennan, Coryell, Williamson counties.
3. Licensed and Insured in Texas
Why it matters: Texas requires licensing for mold assessors and remediators. General liability insurance protects you from damage caused during restoration.
How to verify: Ask for current license numbers and insurance certificate of coverage.
Moisture Pro: Licensed and fully insured.
4. Insurance-direct billing
Why it matters: Companies that bill your carrier directly save you from fronting $10,000+ during the claim process. Requires Xactimate estimating capability and carrier relationships.
How to verify: Ask if they'll direct-bill your carrier and whether they use Xactimate.
Moisture Pro: Direct-bill to all major carriers. Xactimate-aligned scopes.
5. Verified customer reviews
Why it matters: Google Business Profile reviews are public, verifiable, and harder to fake than website testimonials. 4+ stars with 20+ reviews is a reasonable baseline.
How to verify: Check their Google Business Profile directly.
Moisture Pro: 4.9 stars, 46 verified Google reviews.
6. Transparent pricing
Why it matters: Published pricing ranges show confidence and build trust. Companies that refuse to give ballpark ranges often inflate scope when you're desperate.
How to verify: Ask for pricing ranges before emergency dispatch.
Moisture Pro: Published ranges per service. Free on-site written estimates.
7. Full-scope capability (mitigation + reconstruction)
Why it matters: Companies that only do mitigation leave you to hire a separate general contractor for rebuild. Single-source companies save coordination headaches and consolidate warranty.
How to verify: Ask if they handle both IICRC-standard mitigation AND licensed general-contractor reconstruction.
Moisture Pro: Both — IICRC-certified mitigation and licensed GC reconstruction in-house.
8. Category 3 (sewage/biohazard) capability
Why it matters: Not every restoration company is equipped for Category 3 black water. Full PPE, IICRC S500 disposal protocols, and biohazard documentation require dedicated training.
How to verify: Ask specifically about their Category 3 capability and PPE standards.
Moisture Pro: Full IICRC S500 Category 3 capability with biohazard-trained crews.
Our Take
We wrote this page knowing some readers will apply these criteria to other companies and not pick us. That's fine — the purpose of this page is to help Central Texas homeowners make a good choice, whoever they choose. But we built Moisture Pro specifically to meet every one of these criteria. If you've already looked at the alternatives and we check out, we'd be glad to help.
Written and reviewed by Rockey, Owner & IICRC Certified Technician · Last reviewed