Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

Very recently, our kitchen sink drain had become partially clogged and would backup into the sink. I cleaned the trap out and tried some drano just for good measure. After that I bought a 25′ snake from Home Depot. I ran the whole thing and it produced nothing. We even called in a plumber who charged us $ 350 to snake our drain and he was unsuccessful (what a WASTE!!!) Finally, I decided to give Roto-​Rooter a try. We were visited by a gentleman named David who was very professional and was excellent at explaining his plan-​of-​attack and what the charges would be. David also explained that the cost would include multiple attempts. (The other plumber charged per attempt!!) In the end, David used a narrow 75′ drain snake machine and after 10−15mins, we heard the glorious glug-​glug of the drain flowing again. David also showed us the Roto-​Rooter «Pipe Shield» concentrate that we should use on a monthly basis to prevent further buildup (This was caused by cat food BTW…). David spent additional time to clean everything up and test it all out to full satisfaction before declaring victory. I just wish I had called Roto-​Rooter in the first place. Thanks David!!!

While ⁷⁄₁₀ times, their technicians are fairly decent and get the job done right the first time, the dispatchers and customer service reps who set up the appointments always make up blocks of times for the tech’s arrival that is NEVER right. They’ll tell you «2 hours» and then it turns into 5+ hours of wait time, if not longer. This has happened to us time and again, and even being the first appointment of the day doesn’t help, as that technician showed up 2.5 hours late, as well! They’ll tell you they have local technicians, but in truth they’re calling in staff from over 30+ miles away.
Trying to speak to dispatch and/​or supervisors to honor their block of time is like banging your head against the wall. In the end, they waste your time, make you lose the opportunity to call another business in time to get your plumbing issues sorted, and they NEVER do anything to compensate for their dishonesty and «oh well» attitude, except just pass you from supervisor to supervisor, who’ll ask you, «What’s going on?» so you have to repeat yourself 500 times.
Also, they’re VERY expensive. Yes, plumbers make GREAT money (skip college, boys and girls; plumbing is where the money is at!), but these people charge over $ 240 for labor ALONE, never mind parts, etc. We’ve yet to pay them anything under $ 350…more like $ 450+.
Would I recommend them? NO. But if you’re desperate, it’s really late, you don’t know anyone else, it’s an emergency, and you’re just plain SOL — what else can you do? Otherwise, find yourself a decent, reliable plumber who won’t ask for your first born in trade for parts, and stick with them instead.
ETA: Make that, you get a ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ chance of getting your plumbing fixed. Show up 4+ hours late, can’t even fix the issue.

We had a sewage line back up in the middle of the night which flooded our downstairs restroom. We called Roto Rooter in the morning and they sent James Slowikowski from their Manassas office. He was very polite, knowledgeable, friendly and efficient. He gave us a flat rate to snake the drain and send a video down the sewer lines. He unclogged the drain quickly and educated me and my husband on the inner workings of our plumbing. We are very pleased with the service and would highly recommend James and his Manassas office for any other plumbing needs. A++++ service!

We called after finding out our water bill had tripled and that we had a slow leak that we didn’t know about. Called Roto-​rooter right away because they had come before for something we wanted and had done great. The employee who came was fantastic. He fixed the problem, educated my husband, knew exactly what he was doing, was courteous and friendly and then answered questions we had about eventually replacing our water heater– which we are going to use Roto Rooter to do for sure! Great job and service with the kind of service person we look for– totally professional and knows what they’re doing. Thanks!

We were given a 4 hour timeline for when the technician would arrive to provide a free estimate to scope our sewer line. The technician arrived within the first hour, which was great… and that’s about the only good thing I can say about the rest of the experience.
Before beginning any work, we agreed to the written estimate of $ 300 to scope the entire sewer line (83 feet) out to the main sewer connection. It was identified the only problem was a small clog 15 feet from the clean out access point. The technician stated it would cost another $ 550 to snake the 15 feet of pipe. When asked why it would cost $ 550 to snake 15 feet when it only cost $ 300 to run a scope through 83 feet of pipe, he replied «well you can snake it yourself if you want.» I was very frustrated with both his flippant attitude and ridiculous estimate, so we declined further services from the technician. (In a future conversation with his manager, I came to realize I was wrong to assume $ 550 for 30 minutes of work was the technician trying to price gouge us. The manager assured me It is in fact completely reasonable to expect to pay Roto-​Rooter those types of fees, and in fact, the technician was authorized to charge up to $ 675 to snake 15 feet of pipe, so I was really getting a good deal. The manager further explained that I shouldn’t be frustrated with the technician’s estimate because everything Roto-​Rooter does is «in the best interest of their customers.»)
When it came time to settle the bill, we handed over a $ 40 coupon (provided directly from Roto-​Rooter). The technician refused to accept the coupon, refused to allow us to pay via credit card, then proceeded to request we sign a form stating we were refusing to pay and threatening to send a collection agency after us. Really?! First he refuses payment and then threatens us with sending a bill collector?! We paid via check to simply get the technician out of the house, but at that point he still refused to honor the coupon. It took a phone call and having the issue escalated up to a manager for Roto-​Rooter to finally accept their own coupon. And in the end, the manager honored the coupon simply to get off the phone with me, as he literally said, «if I refund the $ 40 will that be the end of this?»
This experience was the worst I’ve had with someone performing work at my house and I will never user Roto-​Rooter again.

Both my mid-​level tubs had been clogged for over a week. I initially called in a local plumber whom not only was not able to determine the origin of the clog but also left a mess behind. The next day a 2^nd plumber I googled, showed up, charged $ 800 for infiltrating a «snake» into the drain but yet again unsuccessfully. I proceeded to call Roto-​Rooter in despair. They promptly dispatched James S. To the house. Now mind you this was a pre-​existing problem with the drain therefore figured we had reached a dead-​end and needed to replace the entire conduit. I was wrong. James S. was able to fix the clog (water never streamed down the drain so swiftly), clean the mess left behind by the other plumber and give me a list of products and tips to avoid a recurrence. It only cost me $ 400 and their work comes with a warranty. James S. was extremely professional and mad cool. The guy is a stud if you are reading this and are in need of a pro, he’s your guy!

I’m not even going to talk about the actual «consultation» that took place on May 24. Which was not that impressive to begin with. I’m going to talk about what happened 2 days later. So last night I was driving home (I was about 2 miles away from my home) when I noticed a vehicle on the right turning lane slow down, and then make an immediate lane switch to where I was. This vehicle was now behind me and kept flashing its lights as if it wanted me to speed up. This car followed me all the way to my exit. When I got on the main road, I noticed that the vehicle that was following me was a ROTO ROOTER van.
OK. I didn’t think much of it until I made a turn into my neighborhood. I saw a Roto Rooter van on the service road and it followed me home! Mind you this was almost at 11pm at night. I parked my car and the tech that came to my house on Sunday, pulls up right behind me. I asked him if he was the one flashing his lights at me on Route 28, and his response was «Don’t act like you didn’t know it wasn’t me.» I couldn’t believe it, but this guy followed me for almost 2 miles all the way home! First of all, no I didn’t know it was you. I didn’t bother to look at who was driving. I then asked him how he knew the model and make of my car. He said that my car was in front of my house when he came over this past Sunday. Now I live in a townhouse complex where there is only street parking. There are always different cars there. How did he know which car was mine? So did this guy write down license plates, makes and models of cars and look up the owners? He then said that he has cameras on his van. Even if this is true, what gives him the right to use it to take pictures/​videos of vehicles? He had the nerve to still ask me if I wanted the job done that he quoted me for. I told him that after this incident I would decline it. He asked me why not. I told him that I wanted to look around some more, but most importantly because he followed me home and it creeped me out. I told him that following me home was way too much. Needless to say he was not happy with my decision.
Before leaving he said that he already notified his dispatch that he came out to my house. Ummm I don’t think so. Because if he did, Roto Rooter dispatch would have called me to let me know he was coming.
This tech is a total creep and now I feel uneasy in my own home. I will never ever use this company.
An update. So this morning, May 28, I had another company come out to my home and check out the leaky faucet I had been having issues with. This company gave me a quote that was 75% less than what Roto Rooter quoted me for! This gentleman actually took the time to turn off my water, investigate the issue, and give a proper assessment. The Roto Rooter tech on the other hand just took one glance at my leaky faucet, and he immediately said I needed to replace my whole faucet system. And he had to cut through my tile to fix the issue. He did not even bother to turn off the water to examine the issue. So not only is Roto Rooter creepy and harassing, they are also dishonest and deceitful. DO NOT GO WITH THIS COMPANY!!!

The service was fine, though they called to ask if they could come early, but ended up coming in the original window.
The problem is the price. $ 478 to unclog a drain! He was here for all of a half hour (which included 10 minutes doing paperwork), and even with drive time, that comes to over $ 200 an hour. A quick check of typical costs for such a service is less than half of what they charged me. I won’t use them again for that reason alone.

Getting ready to go to bed and all of a sudden the sewer was backing up from the sinks, showers and toilets in my basement. I called Roto-​Rooter at 10:00pm and the service member was at my house by 10:45. Did an excellent job clearing my line out to the road and everything was flushing and working by midnight. I will continue to call them, especially since they provide 24 hour service and didn’t keep us up all night before going to work in the morning. Great job!!!

I recently had service done at my store from them. We had some problems at first with them about the pricing and service. After leaving review here the general manager calvin reached out to us and did a super nice job handling our situation. He also gave us discount on the service. they did a good job installing our backflow.

My tub clogged up completely the night before I was to leave town and have guests stay at my house. I called Roto-​Rooter at 9:10 PM and explained my situation. They sent Santos to fix it for me and I am very grateful. He called to let me know he was coming and was incredibly thorough. He spent a lot of time working on the drain to make sure that it was cleaned out completely. He checked a number of things in the house relating to the drain pipe and left everything clean and working perfectly. He was extremely professional, polite, friendly, and explained what he was doing and why. I could not possibly have asked for a better experience with a plumber!
I am so very happy I called Roto-​Rooter. I had them come to my home many years ago and they still had me in their system. That experience had also gone well — I had been referred to them by a large plumbing company that hadn’t been able to clear out my kitchen drain/​pipes. This time I went back to Roto-​Rooter right away and will do so for any plumbing issues in the future. Thank you!

Not just arrived on time, but called and asked if they could come early. Heck yes.
Plumber was polite, professional and efficient.
Was upfront about both minimum cost (if the problem found was minor) and max cost (if problem went all the way to the main drain).
Work was done in time estimated.
What more can you ask for?

#1 Arrived on-​time, when they said 0800 to 0900, I thought, here we go again… but nope, on-​time.
#2 Clean, a garbage bag was laid on the floor and the plumber had on soft booties. All equipment was kept on a tarp.
#3 Polite, he didn’t ask why I’d taken the P-​Trap off myself. The only thing I had to assist with was flushing the toilet (he was listening for something in there while he had a snake ran under my kitchen sink).
#4 Told me what to expect during and after (there is a 6 month guarantee).
#5 They didn’t charge .01 more for it being last minute or emergency and they were open at 0630. They accepted the $ 40 off coupon I’d found on their website. I believe the price was fair at $ 470ish. I know I don’t plan to buy a snake or know what to do with one of them things.

As always, during the holiday’s, something has to break. This year it was my water heater on a Sunday. When I called roto-​rooter I wasn’t expecting anyone to be available until at least Monday but they were able to get someone out to my house by 4:00 to assess the situation. When Lee got there he was very knowledgable and really seemed to care that I didn’t get ripped off in the long run. Due to the age and corrosion of the elements he told me that I could replace just the broken parts but it wouldn’t hold up longer than a month and recommended that I replace the entire water heater even though it costs more. I know, not what anyone wants to hear right after Christmas but i’m terribly fond of washing dishes, taking a shower, cleaning with hot water…
I know that he could have taken the easy way out, changed the broken parts and gotten out before dinner, but he didn’t. Lee ran out to grab a new heater, removed the broken one, installed the new one, and didn’t leave my house until almost midnight. I’m sure it proved to be a long day for him but he promised that I would have hot water before he left and he held true to his promise.

Terrific job by Johnny and Ahmed creating a water line to my new fridge!
Thanks Roto Rooter!

Called Roto Rooter because our water pressure was down to just a trickle. Was told a plumber would arrive within 2 hours. He arrived 3 hours later. His initial estimate was a little under $ 600. Seven hours later, the final bill was over $ 1700, $ 1500 of which was LABOR!!! Plumber kept ‘finding’ additional issues throughout the evening and didn’t leave until almost 11p.m. He only fixed our first floor issues — I didn’t want him staying any longer. Spoke to management a few days later and was told that’s just the way it is. I told them I would not use them or recomment them and was told that they are a national company, so that was no big deal either.
Called another local plumber to do the same thing to our upstairs bathroom — the total bill was only $ 350 and he did it in 2 hours.

From start to finish it was a great experience. After having a sewer backup the day before, I called Roto-​Rooter to come out and help me with my problem. The woman who answered the phone was very friendly and was able to get someone out hours. The plumber who arrived, Diego, was great and determined to fix the issue. He worked tirelessly for 2 – 3 hours until he got the 4 foot root out of our drain. It was a pleasure to do business with them. I highly recommend the company and the plumber, Diego.

Can’t rave enough! We had a company come out prior to detect the problem (a major blockage in our outside sewer line due to a huge entanglement of tree roots) and the company basically left us to fend for ourselves after charging us way too much money to scope the line. Called Roto-​Rooter and the wonderful dispatch center had someone out in less than an hour! Our technician, Diego Diaz was friendly, professional and determined to get to the ‘root’ of the issue and clear the line! He worked tirelessly for over 2 hours before he was finally able to free the blockage! The other company quoted us for over $ 5k to replace/​dig out the line, let’s just say, Diego solved the issue in a FRACTION of that cost. Will gladly call them back to service our every plumbing need– and will keep his card to ask for him specifically!

We bought a new home and have been in it less than 30 days. Last night, the toilet clogged and backed up sewage into our bathtub! We called a number of plumbers, and some of them never even returned our calls, or the ones that did charged a crazy fee for a weekend.
Young came in and snaked our drain, and was super fast about it! The price was a bit higher than I’d hoped, but he did give us a 6 month guarantee, so there’s that. I liked the fact that they gave us a 30 minute call to let us know they were on the way. No bad review here.

The price could have been better but the service was great. Its mothers day and they came today within 2 hours of me calling and they looked at the work (i need them to snake my pipe) and they quoted me. They quoted me originally on the price for around $ 399 but after making a call they were able to work with me and get it down to an hourly rate which worked better for me. They were in and out in less then an hour. Im happy and for the price i paid i was satisfied. Its expensive yes but they only collect payment if they get the job done and your satisfied and although i wish i could have paid $ 50 cheaper I thought it was fair.