GENERAL ROOTER DRAIN CLEANING

My laundry tub had been draining slowly so I borrowed a "snake" to snake out the drain. Unfortunately, the snake I borrowed was not long enough to reach the main problem, although I did remove some hair on the way to the problem. The next morning, after I took a shower upstairs, we noticed the two laundry tubs in the basement had filled with water and since there was a towel hanging off the edge of the tub, some water had wicked to the floor. We called general rooter drain cleaning based on Angie's List grading and the proximity to our house. We were quoted $220 for the first hour if it was not the main drain (this was on a Sunday so the rate was double). When Steve came out, he was punctual. We talked and he "diagnosed the problem". Because it was not a problem with the main line, Steve was confident he could open the drain within the hour. I suggested he start with the floor drain since I had already snaked out the first 25 feet or so. He said because the water was still in the sink and not on the floor, the problem had to be between the sink and the floor drain. He had problems turning the corners of the pipes with his machine. He ended up using three different machines and two different access points above ground. It still was clogged. Then he got his shop vac to remove water from the two laundry tubs so he could snake going through the drain hole in the sink. After emptying out the water from the two tubs, he decided to "try something". He opened up the floor drain and found that our floor drain "worked properly". There is a ball that prevents the water in the drain from spilling out onto the floor of the basement. Apparently this ball doesn't usually work in houses as old as ours so he didn't expect it to. He then used his snake through the floor drain and the problem immediately cleared up. After he cleaned up the area, he wrote out the charges and it came to over the hour. Because I didn't know about the "ball" in the floor drain, I couldn't see the flaw in Steve's initial diagnosis. I think we spent a lot of extra time and energy trying to fix the problem in a more difficult way than it should have been. I should add that the reason I wouldn't use this company again is that I'm moving out of state.

We were having problems with our washing machine water backing up in the basement shower, as well and the upstairs bathroom sink drain being plugged. General Rooter was recommended to us by Dick's Sewer and Water, who had replaced our main line out to the street a few years ago. Steve was able to come out the same day and do the work. He found that a tree root had almost completely closed off the drain in the line that had not been replaced directly under the house. He gave us the option to replace the line, or to hold off until it stops up again. We chose to wait and see, as this is what he recommended. We had out of town guests staying with us, and there was a lot of commotion in the house. Steve worked quickly to get the job done, without causing too much disruption to our guests.