Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Excellent fast service but at an excessive price ! Would not use again since cost $ 450. to replace one valve -- the main shutoff in our house. Yes they needed to shut off water at the street in addition to replacing the valve. But $450 is easily double to price that it should have been. We were stuck since valve was leaking and it was a Saturday at 1 PM. Shame since work was excellent and they came out fast. Just seems like we were taken advantage of due to an emergency need.

I’m not the brightest crayon in the box but I know a scam when one plays out. On 7/03/12 Joe from Roto-Rooter come to my house to fix a problem with drain flow in my first floor shower and sink. This company charges 321.00 for a basic snake job. Within minutes, even though I had a cleanout plug, he wanted 125.00 more to take the toilet out and run the snake into that. After I removed the toilet myself Joe did an auger job saying he ran out 50 feet. Although the second floor bath, kitchen and wash room appeared to be working without a problem Joe explained to me that my sewer line was broken from the house to the street. He pulled grass roots from his hands (or his pocket) and said “see the reason the snake ran out so many feet without clearing the blockage was because I was outside of the sewer pipe and into the ground”. The funny thing that made me start thinking something was up was the grass roots were pristine with no tearing or distortion. You would think that being spun around on the end of the auger would have torn them up a bit. When I asked what to do about it he said that Roto-Rooter could come tomorrow and dig a 4 foot deep by 4 foot wide hole to the bend of the sewer line outside. It would be cut off and then a camera could be run through to see the intensity of the problem this would cost 2875.00. I asked why you would do that at that cost when all you needed to do is run the camera from the cleanout plug or the toilet. And most companies would charge about 400.00 to do that. He didn’t really have a response to the question. Because the roots and the 2875 seemed like a setup I called a different plumber the next day. When I told them what ROTO-ROOTER had said the other plumber said that’s absolutely not the problem and proved it by fixing the problem in about 35 minutes for 245.00. It was a simple blockage of hair at a Y junction. In my opinion Joe from ROTO-ROOTER made a valiant attempt to rip me off for thousands of dollars. And if I had paid the 321 and then the 2875 I have no doubt that the yard would have been torn up for thousands more. When I called the corporate offices for Roto-Rooter I was told that this was a franchise and that they had no control over them and could do nothing. Corporate told me that the franchise would be called I would be called back by them. No surprise, no call. My opinion: 1. The Roto-Rooter corporate offices should be ashamed of themselves for contracts allowing no control of franchise quality by corporate. 2. ROTO-ROOTER franchise owner and Joe should be put in jail for theft and attempted theft. 3. After the experience I had with Roto-Rooter it would be idiotic to let them into your home. But it’s just my opinion.

The initial call to Roto Rooter resulted in a technician being dispatched within hours and arriving on time as promised. The tech made sure the work area was protected and cleaned up well. He also recommended regularly using an enzymatic drain maintenance treatment chemical that I declined to purchase from Roto Rooter (pricey), but will purchase an equivalent elsewhere. Al-in-all an good experience. The only reason the ratings are not all A's is that the service was a little expensive; however not out of line with plumbing services recently supplied by others that I find are generally over priced.

Excavating team was very professional. They came on time, did an excellent job, cleaned up after themselves and kept me informed during the process. Job even came in less costly than original estimate. I will use their services for any future problem.

They showed up during the window and had the drains clean and running in no time I would use them again.

After calling a few better rated plumbers (rated A vs B) and either not getting a timely response or being quoted 2X labor rate for off-hours, I called Rotor-Rooter, who had cleared the problem for us before.The CSR was timely, efficient, and proper. Our tech. arrived in about 1.5 hours, which was quite good. Originally they said about an hour, but called about 30 mins later to inform us the tech was at another customers and not quite finished and he would be there ASAP. I consider this a real positive, that they contacted us proactively. The tech arrived, assessed the issue and performed the work. He was courteous and professional. He performed a camera-inspection at no cost and assessed the overall health of the sewer line, but put no pressure on us to do any additional work. Overall the experience was quite good and Rotor-Rooter performed well. The cost of $345 seems reasonable for work performed in a timely basis on a Sunday night.

I called on a Sunday and and though I live in North Wilmington, he arrived within an hour. The job took about two hours and he left the work area very clean and functional.

They came and clear up the external drainage, they also helped with some internal drainage issue for no charge, I will use them again

Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services solved my problem. Their prices were higher than I remembered. They came out in a timely manner. They were very professional. I will use them again in the future.

Our downstairs shower drain backed up in the middle of the night all over our hardwood floors. My daughter woke me up at 1:00 am to find the mess. I frantically cleaned it up so the hardwood would not be ruined and then my husband wanted to wait until morning to call someone out to fix it. I decided I didn't want to wait and have the mess again so I called RotoRooter at 1:30am -- they were very nice and within 40 minutes a technician named Harley arrived. We discussed the problem, the history of the house, he went out in the yard in the dark and found the clean out and started working. He used EVERY snake on the truck and tried every drain to fix it. Our house is older (built in the 60s so many of the pipes are smaller than current code). I really, REALLY appreciated how he kept working until he fixed the problem. I was afraid once the family woke up the family room would flood again -- which he understood this really well. Harley worked until 7:30am until he fixed the clog and put everything back together. Then he made sure the clog was gone and then he was off. He also told me the work was guaranteed for 6 months. Harley also cleaned up after himself -- which was great because I had more than enough to clean myself. A week later, I thought the drain line from the washer (very close to the original clog) was related to the first service, so I called to have Harley sent back out. He looked at the entire system and determined the clog was not in the line. He then asked me for the washer manual and read it. He showed me that likely the problem was with the pump in the washer because the washer was installed incorrectly. He also showed me how the water was going through the pipes. Overall, AMAZING service. Harley worked very diligently and explained everything. Worth every penny.

We called several "local" sewer cleaners at 9:30 PM and no one could come out that evening or had reasonable response time for the next day. Roto Rooter was there by 10:30. He was very friendly and knew exactly what was wrong. He said tree roots had grown into our sewer pipe. He fixed the clog with his machine and was finished by 11:15. He happily accepted my Angie's List $40 coupon which brought the price down to $300.00. There was no charge for his estimate, just the work. I recommend them.

My downspouts and storm sewer pipes (underground exterior drains) were completely blocked. We're not talking a few leaves and roots... they were clogged solid from years and years of neglect by the previous owner. I called at around 10AM and asked the dispatcher to send someone with old house experience. The 2 guys - Harry and Phil - arrived at about 1:40, straight from another job where they had spent the whole morning clearing the storm sewers at another old house. They got started after a quick assessment and were eventually (after about 4 hours) able to get 5 out of 6 of my storm sewers cleared and functioning. Since then, I've had NO leaks. This had been a problem before and was evidently due to the downspouts being completely clogged. Both Harry and Phil worked tirelessly to resolve each problem - it was 90+ degrees, but they weren't willing to call it a day until they got every one working. And with exception of the last, super stubborn one, they were successful. My only complaint - and it's a small one - is that they arrived with the 300-gallon water tank on their truck almost empty from their previous job. They used my garden hose to fill it so they could complete my job, and my water bill reflected it, for sure. It's not a glamorous home improvement, but one of those things that just has to get done, and these guys did a really great job. Would recommend this team in particular to anyone.

The man was very nice. He worked until he could get it fixed and he had to work very hard to remove the disposal. We had called them at 6:00 and they emailed us to let us know they would be there between 10:00 and 12:00 and got there at maybe 9:00.

Chris arrived within the hour. Finished job and there was nothing (insulation) out of place downstairs. Fast and professional. Good sense of humor, clear about price, and amazing response time.

They had someone at our house in an hour and were able to quickly locate the leak and take measures to stop it. They made arrangements to return the following to make permanent repairs. I was appreciate of the promptness of response and their willingness to locate the leaks cause by an improper dishwasher installation that was done by another company. They worked quickly and efficiently each visit and cleaned up the area. They were patient with me as I had to take many, many photos for insurance purposes.

They are very thorough. Their technicians are very knowledgeable. They come when they say they are going to come. They are very reliable. They are dependable. That is why I have used them for many years.

We waited for them to arrive until 5 pm and they called us and said it would be another hour. We could not do that time, and we then arranged for them to come between 8pm to 10 pm. Someone did not come until 11:15 pm. When we called and told them it was a shower drain, they said it was a free estimate and they advised they would just come out and would not give him the rates over the phone. Then the rep told us it would be $345.00. We asked him why they could not tell us that rate over the phone and he advised that was a set rate for the service. The rates are in writing and predetermined even though they said they do not have set rates over the phone. He ended up finding a discount for us, however I do not feel like this is a fair business practice. They did not tell us the rate to invites themselves into our home.

They are very expensive. I wouldn't refer them to anyone and I wouldn't use them again.

I originally called to have the bathroom sink and tub snaked. We purchased the home 2 years ago and it has been needing to get done. Upon calling I found out that the pervious owner used this company in 2006 to have the same pipes snaked out. The home is about 40 years old and the bathroom piping in the basement is the original piping. First of all, they showed up within an hour of me calling even though I stressed "this isn't an emergency". Which was great! When the tech began to work on the tub it was revealed that the pipes were corroded and when we went downstairs to the bathroom below you could see that the ceiling was starting to warp because of the leaking pipes. I have only gone into that downstairs bathroom twice in 2 years and don't think I ever looked up. When the tech cut a whole in the ceiling, in the downstairs bathroom, to get to the pipes you could see all the black mold on the sheet rock. At that point I decided to have the entire pipe for the tub replaced to pvc going all the way to the main drain. It would have had to be done sooner or later. And I had the drain and plug parts replaced. The tech was here from about 11:00ish to 7:30pm. He put up plastic in both bathrooms and basement to keep the area clean. He even cleaned before he left. He wore little booties in my house as it was raining cats and dogs and he didn't want to track anything in my house. He explained every single thing along the way and gave me options. I wish everyone I had to deal with was so professional and courteous. I didn't think I would be sending the amount that I did that day. But it was really worth it when you think that they showed up within an hour of me calling and I didn't have to reschedule because the job was bigger than anticipated. You do get what you pay for. And they are worth a bit more $$$. Highly recommended and I will definitely use them when I remodel my bathroom. I still need to have the sink pipe changed to pvc.

They came out and gave us an estimate and it was ungodly expensive and it was ridiculous. Instead of doing the drain cleaning, he said he could do a plunging, came back, and plunged and that was something we could have done ourselves. We wanted other people to come and they said they were coming that evening and they said they couldn't and so it wasn't good at all. It was too expensive with Roto-Rooter and we even had a coupon, but, was still to expensive. We still have a clogged drain.

Roto-Rooter of Philadelphia is the Plumber to call. They arrived within an hour of us calling for service on a Saturday morning. Mike was very friendly, professional and courteous and cleaned up after the work. While here we had a second plumbing problem fixed. I would call them again. Cost of work was very reasonable!!

The experience was fine overall. The technicians were prompt and did a good job, but they were a bit costly.

It was great. He was able to unclog it. He was a nice guy. It did not take him very long. They were on time.

The experience wasn’t great. In less than a week’s time, I had to call another company, which ended up costing me more. I wouldn’t recommend them.

When the blockage occurred the morning after New Years, RotoRooter had a plumber available and at our house within an hour after I called. He was courteous and efficient at trying to remove the block with the snake at first. When that did not work, he was thorough in explaining what he planned to do and the additional parts he needed to get. He was quick and thorough in getting the job done. Although the price seemed steep, we did not have the luxury of shopping for quotes while cleaning up the first floor bathroom and basement and not being able to use any water until the external drain was open again. I assume other plumbers aould have been in the same ballpark. The plumber was fast and did get the whole job done in about half a day. The whole job went from about 9 am to 1 pm, and we could use the plumbing again right after that.