Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Services

RotoRooter and especially Frank were amazing to work with. Super fast and responsive and great with corresponding and letting us what time to expect them. Our hot water issue was perplexing and Frank did not give up until he figured out the problem and fixed it. Awesome attitude, service, expertise. So grateful to have found such a dependable go-​to; it’s a huge relief! I strongly recommend RotoRooter and Frank Cormo!

Great service, got rid of the clog, and explained everything.

I had a severely clogged drain that was causing it to overflow into my shower and tub. I called them on a Saturday expecting a tremendous surcharge. Not only did they not charge me a surcharge, but they we’re there in less than 2 hours. Gilbert, the technician, was a pleasure to deal with. He was extremely knowledgable, professional and pleasant. My clog was cleared in less than an hour and Gilbert did a great job from start to finish.
I will always call them first.

These folks are VERY expensive. They do not tell you their minimum is almost $ 400. They say they need to come to your home or business to give you a free quote. Meanwhile, you have waited an hour or two. John’s Sewer and Drain Cleaning is a large outfit that charges $ 185. Crescent Plumbing in Arlington charges $ 140.00. But, I recommend you get a price on the phone before having the plumber come to your home.

BUYER BEWARE Roto Router is a minimum fee based company. Wether the job takes 10 min or 2 hours, they charge a base fee for service. We had a clogged drain, which took about 30 min. to clear and was billed 415.00. That’s the equivalent of a $ 863,000 per year salary… not bad! They tell you the fee when they come to the house but, by that time you are stuck. Ask them for a quote when you call if they can’t give you one… call someone else. To be fair, they did clear the clog.

Plumber Stephen H came to our house on a Saturday evening and did a great job fixing our shower and gave us some great and helpful advice.
Professional, on time, got the job done right and more. Thanks Stephen!

Tech # 2462 was awesome. The tech was in and out in a short amount of time. Our tub drain was blocked and now it is fixed. Did a great job!

I called Roto-​Rooter and within 1hr they were at my house fixing the clogged drain line. They provided thoughtful solutions and worked with me to select the best one for my situation. I felt completely comfortable with Mike #2388 and would highly recommend his services to other who want the job done right. Thanks again Mike!

Was able to schedule early in the morning for someone to come out and unclog our bathroom sink and tub. Joe Rocca (tech 2911) was prompt, friendly, and got the job done quickly — on a Saturday morning. Very happy with the fact that our bathroom was fully usable again before 9am on a Saturday!

Had a broken handle on my toilet in addition to a faulty bathroom sink drain and ROTO ROOTER took REAL good care of me !!
Frank Cormo (tech #3614) and his assistant, Domenic, were equally personable and professional and deftly resolved all my plumbing issues
I’ve used ROTO ROOTER in the past for plumbing issues and won’t go anywhere else (neither should you)
THANK YOU ROTO ROOTER !

When the sewer starts backing up into your basement you want things to happen quickly. I was pleased that you can schedule appointments efficiently 24-​hours/​day on the Roto-​Rooter website and someone actually shows up on time. He politely and efficiently analyzed and fixed the problem scoping the sewer pipe with a camera to further explain the problem and suggest possible fixes for the future. Not cheap but then again, my local plumber never called me back…

Main drain to the street got clogged on a Sunday night causing an overflow in the lowest drains in the house. Root-​Rooter came within an hour. Turned out the house trap was clogged. They had the problem fixed in about a half hour. They got the job done quickly which made my tenants and I very happy.

My family and I woke up last Saturday morning June 13, 2015 to a backed up sewer line. We called our plumber who does not specialize in drains and he told us to call ASAP drains, unfortunately they could not get to our house until 4:00.“we have 5 kids and had a wedding to get to, so we needed someone FAST” So we thought we would call Roto-​Rooter. They came out as promised but what ensued could have ended as a nightmare. We were told that our drain could «NOT» be unclogged and that it was «NOT» fixable by clearing the drain. In fact we were told that our floor would need to be jack hammered and the line replaced at the cost of $ 4,000.00!!! My husband said to «Joe» our technician, «So, are you saying unless I pay you $ 4,000.00 we won’t be able to use our water» Joe’s reply ‘YES”. Something didn’t seem right, we bid him farewell but not before having to pay him to come out and do nothing. We both feel he was trying to take advantage of us. Thankfully, ASAP drains called a few minutes later and said they could come by as their job had finished early.
Well, 20 minutes later and for a couple of hundred dollars, the drain was cleared and we had our water. The technician that came out either did not know his job or was trying to rip us off in a very stressful situation. Please do not make the same mistake. If you are in the Salem MA area call ASAP drains.

My kitchen sink was not working, and I couldn’t figure out why it was leaking. The disposal was working fine. I reside in the South End of Boston, and a lot of suburban companies prefer not to take business here because of the parking difficulties. I first called another company and got their answering service. They said they would call back. I waited an hour, then I called Roto-​Rooter. They took my call with no wait time, and were efficient and courteous. They lived up to their promise, and arrived when they said they would, only a few hours after I made the call. The serviceman was clean and tidy, and first took the time to show me what the problem was, and was upfront about the cost before there was any obligation whatsoever.
Although I prefer to support local businesses when I can, I would recommend Roto-​Rooter and will use them in the future. And that other plumbing company still hasn’t called me back, longer after Roto-​Rooter has fixed the problem! Also, there is a $ 40 discount you can receive if you go online.

Called on a Saturday evening at 5pm and scheduled someone to come to my house the next morning between 8am and noon. Unfortunately, a technician hurt his back the day before, so nobody showed up till 145pm.
I had an issue where the main line to my house was clogged, so I was getting a lot of water in my basement. The technician, Nelson, showed me roots growing into the pipe via his camera, and he was able to scrape much of them out. There was also a bit of paper towels clogging the line, which he removed. He answered all of my questions and got the job done in a timely manner.
My only issue stems from having to wait at home all day when I expected someone in the morning but didn’t get anybody till almost 2pm. Otherwise it was a job well done.

Needed help on the weekend with a clogged pipe and overflowing toilet. It took a few hours for them to show up but Stephen H, their service guy fixed the problem. I liked that he didn’t just got the water flowing again but used a snake camera to show me that we actually had a bigger problem that requires additional action. Would have been awful to think everything was fine and then have the mess again in a few days. Only complain is that the price ($ 600+) feels really steep, but I guess better than sewage in the house :-(

Ok so picture this. Snowpacalypse 2015 hits Boston, freezing temp, pipes freeze, water leaks… You get the drift. I called Roto-​Rooter to come save me. They were super backed up and actually weren’t not able to make it the first day that I made my appt. I was pissed! I left work, lost pay and for nothing, a no show.
I talked to Sheena from dispatch and she made me another apt for the following day. They were also able to offer me 10% for the inconvenience which helped a tiny bit considering this place charges double what everyone else charges.
Day 2: Again a no show. I called Sheena back and pleaded with her to find another plumber even if it meant grabbing one from the next town over. Magically she convinced Stephen Dallalis to come and save the day. I felt bad for him. He clearly had worked a super long and exhausting day and had more job requests than he could actually handle.
This is the 2^nd time I’ve used Roto-​Rooters and will say this… Once they get there they are great. I think they are highly understaffed and they shouldn’t over promise and under deliver when it comes to service time quotes. Thanks to Sheena’s determination to find me a plumber and Stephens willingness to go above and beyond and work overtime, it all worked out.
P.S the drain specialist in Dorchester blew off my appointment 2 days in a row.
They lost 1 star for the ridiculous over pricing that wasn’t really explained and for the pure aggravation of making multiple apts only to have the plumber not show up.

Last week on Tuesday right after the blizzard, my main line backed up and I had sewage draining into my basement. Talk about luck! I called Roto Rooter and a technician came around 8 am. He brought the snake in through the house and made a big mess because the back porch was blocked by snow. He worked for about 3 hours with the snake on my main line. After $ 450 of work, he told me I had roots in my main line and that I would need a $ 750 power wash to get them out.
I asked him to call his associates to schedule this since I did not enjoy having sewage spewing into my basement. He did and left a fairly significant mess in my basement and all over my kitchen floor (think rusty, sewage water from the snake). The new Roto Rooter technician who came to do the power wash looked at the snow near my basement entrance and said he could not do it and would try to call someone else from the company with better equipment.
I started to wonder if perhaps I should get a second opinion. So I called Rhino Rooter in Belmont. The owner was very pleasant and assured me that I didn’t need a $ 750 power wash. He sent one of his technicians, Jose, over to do a second snaking of my pipe. Jose shoveled out my back porch so he didn’t need to bring the snake through my house, finished the job for $ 350 and cleaned up the mess in the basement, unlike the guy from Roto Rooter.
In summary, Roto Rooter made a huge mess, didn’t finish a job that could have been finished with the snake, charged me $ 450 *and* recommended an unnecessary $ 750 procedure which they would not even complete in the snow.
UPDATE 02.20.15
In response to this review, Roto Rooter sent another technician out for free to investigate the discrepancy between the former Roto Rooter technician and Jose from Rhino Rooter. The new technician used a camera and found the same large root the first Roto Rooter tech did. They said that I am going to have problems in the near future if I do not get the root out with power wash and agreed to give credit the power wash up to the amount I already paid Roto Rooter for the snaking. They also said my pipe might be collapsed and need to be replaced ($ 10k at least).

Had an emergency at our office with a stopped up toilet and they had someone out immediately. Really professional, and let me know what was going on the whole time. It was expensive, but it was done well and really fast.

I live in Cambridge. The Wednesday before Thanksgiving, water started seeping out of the bottom of my toilet, where it meets the tile floor. I called around and Roto-​Rooter had the soonest appointments. I scheduled for the afternoon of the Friday after Thanksgiving; the technicians were all overbooked and I ended up not getting service until Saturday. Still, faster than anywhere else I called for a holiday weekend.
My technician was Frank Cormo (#3614), and he was great. Really nice guy, friendly, explained everything he was doing to me as he went through his inspection and repairs. Very thorough. It’s an older toilet, and he found a few other things besides the leak that needed to be fixed or replaced. As he was finishing up, the flush handle snapped off, completely randomly. Even though it was already 7 and after hours for him, he drove somewhere to get a handle that matched, came back, and finished up quickly. Toilet works better than ever now.
I would definitely use Roto-​Rooter again. Much better than any other plumbing repair company I’ve used in Boston so far.