Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup

Madeleine N.

I used Roto-Rooter several times when I lived in New Jersey to remove tree roots from an outside sewer line. They were reasonably priced and very professional. The problem was solved. quickly.

When I developed a similar problem here in Philadelphia, I didn't hesitate to call Roto-Rooter. First I scheduled an appointment online but didn't get a phone call until later the next day. No problem - I scheduled them to come out the following morning from 9-11.They never showed up. I waited around for them. They didn't even bother to call to explain.

I called them and asked what happened. They apologized and rescheduled for later in the day, 3-5 o'clock. But once again, no one showed up!

When I called again to ask what happened (and pointed out that I had already waited 4 hours for nothing,) they got a big attitude. They told me they tried to call me several times but I never picked up. I had my phone with me the whole time. There wasn't a ""missed call"" alert on my phone, and they sure didn't leave a message. I pointed this out and finally they gave in and agreed to put me as #1 the following day and would arrive between 8-9 the next morning.

Guess what? It's now 3:15 and NO ONE has shown up and no, they have not called me. Save yourself time, because the Philadelphia branch is no good at all.

Andrea C.

Paper products were flushed away in one of our toilets that I was sure would cause a problem. We called Roto Rooter and our tech was here in a bout an hour. The main line headed out to the street was clogged 16 feet out and at another spot under our crawl space. Our tech fixed it, all while I was watching his monitor. I was so grateful for an honest plumber! I guess the $$ was high but it was better than a flood! I will call Roto Rooter next time there is a problem for sure! Oh, and this service is guaranteed for 6 months - added piece of mind!

Nita C.

My bathroom tub water leaks into the dinning room when it's turned on, called Roto-Rooter and their repair man came out, wanted to charge me $700.00 just to rip down a square part of my dinning room ceiling to get at the leaky pipe, never even went into my bathroom to check the tub. He wanted to charge me $850.00 to fix my plumbing problem which I think is just a leaking pipe that needs to be tighten or replace probably. I showed that fool the front door of course. Sorry Roto-Rooter I can't afford to put extra money in your repair guy pocket. How dare Roto-Rooter rip off its customers with high ridiculous prices. So unfair! That company ought to be ashamed of themselves. If anyone know of a reliable, reasonable price plumber in the Philadelphia area, please let me know. Thanks...

David B.

Fraudsters pure and simple. Do not use them under any circumstances. I was forced to deal with them due to the carelessness of my ex. They charged $1500 for doing nothing but ripping dry wall and turning on a fan after a shower leak. Then after failing to find the leak they arranged a follow-up visit from a plumber who located the problem in 10 minutes. He charged $40 and couldn't explain what our $1500 paid for since the fraudsters were from a ""separate division"". Seriously. Mind you nothing is repaired: ""we don't do that"".

Crystal H.

The technician was very quick and straight to the point. It took less than 30min. Now we are just waiting for the clean up process.

Amy G.

After using Roto-Rooter before, I had no problem calling them again. The first plumber explained the problem- My wash machine was putting out all of the lint from the wash and it was backing up my drain. To prevent this I needed to get a lint catcher. I didnt so it backed up again. So I called Roto-Rooter. I wish I never had this time because the technician lied. First of all he cleared the pipe within 10 minutes of the service call. Then proceeded to say that I had a cracked pipe and that caused the problem. He lied. He never even mentioned the washer machine like the first plumber did and took the time to explain. But this second plumber took the time to tell me and write up a proposal to replace the pipe that would cost me $5900! He conveniently mentioned that they had ""financing"".
He also wrote on my receipt that if any thing went wrong, that I can not even get the 30 day warranty because of a ""cracked pipe"". He also said I had roots in the way. And some kind of broken screen. Yet the drain was cleared. He said it will back up again and when I said when, he said he did not know but to replace the pipe ""ASAP"" He neglected to tell me that I just need a WASHER MACHINE LINT TRAP. That was the back up. I found this out upon second inspection.
He charged me $405.00 and I mentioned the $40.00 off coupon and it came to $365.00 which I KNOW was overpriced.
He was such a liar that if something else does go wrong, my husband and I are prepared to get a lawyer involved. We are suspicious that he wrote that we cant have the guarantee AFTER he cleared the pipe and I rejected his offer to replace the pipe for $5900. He should have said that BEFORE so that we could have had a choice to use the service or not.

Christopher M.

Re: Main drain cleaning from the outside.

We had a wonderful tech come out - just after the big blizzard. He was polite, and fixed our drain from the outside (in the cold!) in just over an hour after arrival. He suggested a camera check (since this was the second time this has happened to us in 2 years) The camera check is complimentary. Our clean out (from the vent pipe in the sidewalk) comes with a 2 month guarantee.

I agree with a few here regarding prices that are high - but the tech showed up on time, and the job got done. He stuck around to ensure everything worked properly- and helped clean out our Laundry tub- a messy job indeed.

Be sure and look for on-line coupons- and shop around- they may be willing to move on price if you are friendly- The techs that come out have the power to lower the price for you - especially if you're a decent person, and recognize their effort(s) in coming out on an emergency basis. That's been my experience anyhow. The first quote is way high on purpose- keep that in mind! Like buying a car, only it's stinky tubes and stuff.

ATTN Roto Rooter Management-

If the prices to start were competitive- (price shopping is a pain!) this would have been a five star review.

Kudos again on the friendly service side- But do something about your high pricing.

B H.

Great timely service. I Called and the service tech was at my home in less than 3 hours. The service tech was polite and cleaned up after himself. However 400$ for a clogged drain was a little steep in my opinion.

Len B.

Roto Rooter delivered over a holiday for me. Our kitchen sink blocked on Christmas while preparing for a houseful the next day. We completed scheduling on Christmas after 10 p.m. Had a window established for 8-10 a.m. Received a follow-up call and had a technician there at 7:55. He did a thorough job and was very tidy. Extremely pleased with the assistance.

James B.

This company is a rip off. I had one of their plumbers come out on site and they charge $225 to use a vaccuum on my sink to pull out two lighters. They were on site for 15 minutes and made it a point to negotiate cost to fix before telling me how long it would take. I do not think i would use them again. A more appropriate fee for a service call would have been $80 to $100. Unfortunately this experienced has me turned off to using the company or referring them to anyone.