Captain Rooter Emergency Plumbers

Gabe has done a lot of work for me and is always professional, knowledgeable, and on time. Will definitely hire them again!

Just wanted to take a moment to commend Oz for a job well done. He came right in explained everything, and was determined to leave with results. He was very professional, concerned, and determined. If you need a honest plumber who will fix your problem please ask for Oz. Thank you!

Oz came not long after I requested a "Pro" online. Roxane called before I even got off line, and had a Tech coming soon. Oz did a great job, fixing the tank leak on the toilet. He had a great work attitude, and customer care attitude. I would call them again.

Jesse waked away from the job without finishing...as soon as he received the final payment of $8400 CASH. He installed a toilet without a cover to the tank. One of the workers left the basement door open on the coldest day of the winter, resulting in a burst copper pipe and 2 inches of water in the basement. He did not come close to completing the job he was paid to do and less than 24 hours later, the sink he installed leaked. His response: "I'm not going to be bullied because I did you a cash favor." Would you call $8400 cash a favor to the customer or a way of evading taxes? You make the call. I have attempted to contact him on his business and personal line to secure the name and contact information of his bonding and insurance company...he hung up on me and does not return text messages. Do yourselves a favor and DO NOT DO BUSINESS WITH THIS MAN OR HIS COMPANY. Nefarious and shoddy at best.

I brought these guys in for a second opinion on a job to clear a slow drain in an upstairs bathroom. The tech that came out was pretty condescending. He didn't clear the drain, which was not his fault, but he gave us an estimate 2.5 times higher than the first company we brought in, AND after he did whatever it was he did, we have standing, rusty water in our bathtub where we we had none before. The attached picture was taken 8 hours after he left. The drain used to run slow. Now it's completely stopped up and a total mess. On top of that, his high written estimate was $200 more than the verbal one he gave me a few minutes earlier. May have been a mistake but certainly left a bad taste in my mouth. Update - now the sink is backing up into the tub. Never did that until these guys came to our house Update 2 - we had another plumber come out. He fixed it. Said it was tough but not impossible and the resolution that Captain Rooter suggested (over 3k) was completely unnecessary.

Trust-worthy business, very responsive to customers' needs, high quality work, and great value. I have an old building. I noticed the basement dirt ground seemed moist but did not pay much attention. Then few months back, things got a lot worse. First, the ground was sinking fast, then the sewer water started gushing out whenever I use water. I contacted two 5-star popular plumbing services on Yelp. They looked at the situation and told me that they need to dig down at 3 spots and replaced sewer lines there, but it will take at least 2 days to finish the job, and they cannot start until next week. They also tried to rot and jet, neither cleared the line. Frustrated, I searched again on Yelp and found Capitan rooter, and it turned out to be the best choice I made. Joel was able to provide a quote over the phone based on problem described. A detailed proposal was sent shortly. The very next day, Oscar and the crew stopped by and started on the job. The crew were the most efficient plumbers I met. Oscar immediately identified the main spot of problem, which was different than the spot identified by the other two companies. I am so glad he made the right call because the other spot did not have the sewer line under the ground at all, which meant if I were to hire those companies, they would have been digging all over my basement. Once the crew rotted line clear, camera to locate the issues, each started digging and replacing the broken pieces. They were very careful handling my sewer line as those were made of clay; they replaced the broken pieces with SCH40 and made significant improvements. They installed a new opening for rotting. Oscar also replaced an incorrectly installed kitchen drain line. By the time he reached the broken line, the replacement line was far more than the initial quote covered, but he completed the job anyway because he wanted to be sure that I could have a functioning line on the same day. After the job was completed, they installed new cement and even cleaned up all the broken pipes, cements, and dust. I cannot thank the crew enough for their outstanding work, professionalism, care for the customer and their property. It was a very pleasant experience. They also gave 5 year warranty on their work, but I am sure it will last much longer than that. In addition, they also offered 2 free follow-up maintenance rotting. The company also offer 18-month financing for those who need it. Did I mention their pricing was better than the 2 other companies I noted? Overall, I would highly recommend Capitan rooter to anyone with sewerage problems. They offer the best combination of quality, value, efficiency, and reliability.

We had a backed up drain and Bob was out to clean it out. What was supposed to be a routine job turned into a nightmare. He came in and a few minutes into it he stared there was a problem. His tool was stuck in the pipe, and we may have to open the wall. This being a newly remodeled unit this was not what we wanted to hear. He proceeded to try and retrieve it for a few hours, Jesse came out and we discussed options. One was to cut and leave the tool in the drain or we cut open the wall and pipe to retrieve it. They would then patch the pipe but we would be responsible for the repairs. I explained that this was not the best situation for me but what else can we do. Without a bathroom the unit could not be occupied. So we vacated and let them do their work. We set up to open the wall and they cut the pipe out make their repair and it was to be done. Or so I thought. During the process they left the faucet open and all would’ve been fine but the repair they may leaked just as if it was a second faucet. It was a copper pipe and rather than sweat (weld) they installed this make shift sleeve and never tightened it. The unit was flooded and worse of leaked to several units below. We were able to dry out the unit and With the patching that had to be done it was like redoing a bathroom all over and they did not pay for any of it. To make matters worse our neighbor got the grunt of of the water in her bathroom and it needed repairs. I spoke with Jesse and explained that things happen and we will make do with our unit but the neighbor needs to be covered by them. I expected to be able to preset the neighbors repair invoice and have no problem I felt it was reasonable and having paid for all other work out of pocket I felt this was the least Captain Rooter could do. Since presenting the invoice I have had nothing but radio silence. It’s unfortunate as I believe that all the cost should’ve been Captain Rooters but for the sake of putting this behind me I only asked they cover the neighbors damage. I chose to share as this in hope that before they are considered for a project I relay how they performed for me. I believe it says a lot about a company by how they handle problems with their clients. I am not sure how to share pics or videos here but I’d love to share as I believe they paint a picture of the quality of work. Stay healthy.

Do not use this company! They use unlicensed plumbers that have significant criminal history that caused over 25k of water damage in our condo! (You can find full names of workers in other reviews...doing a quick google search will show you that they have robbed stores, drug history, etc). We called captain rooter to fix a leaky faucet on 2/15. They send Dylan and Jonathon. They had to cut into our walls by our toilet and faucet because they said we had a bad shit off valve. They cut the pipe out around our faucet. All fine. They were going to come back the following week to fix it. Never heard back from Dylan. We called the main line again. They then sent us Adam and James. Adam then said if we pay him directly, he can do the job cheaper. Fine! We don't care! Just want the job done. It had already been 2 weeks with holes in our walls and no sink upstairs. We paid him $1300 in cash. He put 'shark bites' in our walls. We thought the job was fixed and then woke up on a Saturday morning to water leaking in our downstairs foyer ceiling...upstairs floors ruined. Downstairs floors ruined. Called Joel again from Captain Rooter...he then sent Andrew. Andrew came in and could not believe the damage and destruction that the previous 'plumbers' caused. Andrew was there all day fixing the problem and then charged us $2028 for the job. We are currently dealing with our homeowners insurance and all sorts of damage done to our condo. Joel from Captain Rooter has been less than helpful. He states it's not his fault. Just an FYI, I learned a lot about plumbing law during all of this. Whenever you get a plumber, ask for their license and COI. You can also look them up on IDPH website by name to verify. Do not use this company!!! If any one wants more info, I'm happy to share...just don't want to be a total Karen. Just trying to save someone else from going through this DISASTER. Every plumber they send us was not licensed. As a consumer, we had no idea this was a thing! On their website, it clearly states "licensed, bonded, insured." They are most definitely not.

UPDATED 8/26: The owner of this company, Jesse, called me to apologize on behalf of the contractor who charged me for not doing anything. He confirmed that the initial consult from Captain Rooter IS free, and promised to issue a refund. Removing one star due to the earlier experience, but adding three to my overall rating because it meant a lot to me to get that call. If I end up using their services for another project that goes well, I'll update this again to reflect that. PREVIOUS REVIEW: I've never left a bad Yelp review (it's true, check my profile), but I want to warn people because I hate contractors that do this (and Captain Rooter said on the phone that they were different). I woke up to a very loud persistent jackhammer type sound coming from the bathroom around 4AM. It eventually stopped an hour or so later, but it was alarming enough that I called Captain Rooter's 24/7 line during the chaos and booked a 9:30AM consult, which I was told was free. The guy arrived this morning, and looked into the toilet tank (I had removed the lid already). He then diagnosed it as "trapped air in the pipes" and said there wasn't really anything to do. He said if it happens again, it's a whole building problem and I should contact building management. He then said I owed him $125 for coming out, but if I had $50 in cash he would take that instead to save me some $$. I don't have cash on me, and said I didn't think there was a charge. He said he would call the company and I could Zelle them. The lady on the phone was like, "Yep, there's a $185 service fee, here's where to send the payment" -- when I corrected her and said that the plumber had said $125 she went, "Oops, yes, it's a $125 service fee if he touched anything." At this point, I have been on the phone paying longer than the plumber looked at anything. I paid, he left. But I feel really taken advantage of. Being a solo female homeowner is a privilege, but it also sucks, because contractors see you as just someone to charge $125 for two minutes of no work for during a free consult.

We had a kitchen sink backup in our ground-floor condo unit on a Sunday evening. The plumbers arrived within an hour and routed the drain twice with no success. While one of them tried a third time, the second went down to the building garage to listen at the point where the common drain attaches to the sewer. Sure enough you could hear and feel the rodding knocking about in the pipe. But still no luck clearing the drain. They offered to return the next day with a truck to jet the line at a cost of $1800. We signed the proposal but since the pipe is a common drain we reviewed the situation Monday morning with our condo management company. They have a designated plumber and also noted that the cost to the association would be far less. So we cancelled the jetting but paid out of pocket at Sunday evening rates for the work of the two plumbers we had engaged from Captain Rooter. The next day the association's plumbers appeared at our door with the same type of power rodder fitted with a 75-foot cable and corkscrew end. They successfully cleared the clog. They asked about the plumbing job of the previous evening and thought possibly the Captain Rooter equipment cable was too short. In fact, the plumbers on Sunday had some dialog between them about the rodder on their truck having been switched - not by them - to one with a shorter cable that was missing a corkscrew at the tip. So in the end we are left with a distinct feeling that Captain Rooter arrived with equipment that wasn't adequate for the task, and then offered a jetting alternative at a price that seems far above the average for our area. Jetting vs rodding is a debatable issue but in our case the management company decided to begin with normal rodding. While the Captain Rooter guys were professional, personable, and worked hard for the hour they spent on our drain, the experience for us was a costly disappointment.

We had a plumbing situation that required a plumbing staff equipped with setup and clean up materials for a messy job, especially entitled "Captain Rooter". There is nothing pristine and greaseless about that job! I was very appreciative that they could come right away the same day and help clean our pipes from our hvac closet and clean up build up also in our W/D closet. At the beginning of the job, the tech took out large grease removal equipment and needed to borrow additional bags for all of the greases removal. If this was the case, why was no tarp laid down to line the floor, on a white carpet? We had just had steam cleaning completed a few weeks prior, however there were walls with grease prints, grease splattered on equipment and back walls of the hvac and W/D closet. The floors were coated in grease. Low and behold...grease beads in chunks all over the carpet for 12 feet. No covering! Mid-way through the job I asked the tech, "You are going to clean this all up, right?" He told me yes, for sure. Seeing that hardly anything was clean and grease was smeared on one door, I asked him about it, he said it was a very messy job. It was definitely time for him to go. I called the management, but was told I should have kept him there and called. During COVID, I don't keep workers in my house longer than needed. I would hope there is protocol the company has in place and proper training and materials to show their workers how to protect the homes they are in. Also, I did not hear back from the owner yesterday, hence this review, I was told, "he may call you back if he has time". Customer service leads the charge on these companies. Will NOT use them EVER again,

We've basically had two separate complicated and emergent issues that Adam from Captain Rooter diligently worked on. He's truly a conscientious, dedicated technician and I would 100% recommend asking for him when calling Captain Rooter. We had a drain fly issue that had persisted for over a year. We suspected it was a plumbing problem coming from the mechanical room but had no idea where. Adam came and did not give up. He was determined to find the source. Not all technicians would have that tenacity and it was much appreciated. He even went above and beyond and implemented other measures to ensure the drain flies couldn't get in. He was great at explaining what the issue was and how he found and fixed it, with total transparency. We called Captain Rooter another time and asked for Adam, specifically. Two toilets in our basement had stopped flushing. Our plumbing situation was pretty extreme as it wasn't noticeable for a while. Adam was, as expected, diligent and determined and explained that our ejector pump had stopped working. Before installing the new one he showed me the broken one and explained the mechanism that was causing the issue. Adam truly puts my mind at ease because I trust his dedication and quality of his work. He's extremely personable and professional as well as trustworthy and dependable. It's worth repeating that you should definitely request Adam to help whenever calling Captain Rooter.

**Edited to respond to comment** I have had at least a dozen inspections done on properties over the years. Professionals document their work and don't just flick on the water and flush toilets to see if they work! They take photos and include them in the report! The "report" that you rush sent me after I pointed out that you never sent one in the first place was 1 damn paragraph?!? One paragraph poorly constructed is your full report on a three unit property?!? Come back to the property and do a REAL inspection and I'll pay you plus a late fee! FOH otherwise, I can't even use your bs report!! I sent it to my and attorney and they both laughed and asked if you guys were a real company. Sure enough there were scheduling issues on my part. That aside do NOT, I repeat DO NOT hire these people for any sort of inspection! They rushed through my inspection, did not provide sufficient documentation to satisfy that they even did any inspection! The gentleman I spoke with OF COURSE got rude and defensive when called on the BS! I am to believe that they FULLY inspected a 3 unit building with 6 bathrooms, 3 kitchens in FIVE minutes!?!?! FOHWTBS! $450... Highway robbery at its best. Good luck! it

Shower drain was clogged, called them in for a free estimate on Thursday afternoon (another plumber came by Tuesday afternoon and couldn't do the job). Andrew and his partner came in, he said that he knew how to fix it despite the other plumber not being able to, and that he wouldn't give up until it's done, 30 day guarantee. He power snaked it just like the last guy, stopped after 20 minutes or so, and said that he would come back tomorrow afternoon (Friday) after he picked up his other tool using air from the repair shop. Next day I called their number and spoke to a woman who said that my job didn't even appear in Andrew's queue at all, and that she would tell him to give me a call back. Late afternoon I called the number again with no answer, texted with no response. Never saw him again! Not trying to get anyone in trouble, just want my shower drain fixed especially during this heat wave in Chicago (90+ all week with humidity). Instead of wasting my time, I'd rather someone be honest with me about their limits instead of being cocky and let me know that they can't figure it out so I can look for someone else to do the job. Thanks for nothing!

I had Adam and another representative in my home on 5.11 to inspect possible leaks from a letter I received from the City. Adam and the other rep did a great job, I paid them, and I thought our positive experience ended there. On Saturday, 5.16 I went to my basement to get my BBQ materials, (which happened to also be the place where Adam and the rep inspected for possible leaks and were left unattended for an extended period) and I found that my lighter fluid bottles were missing. I couldn't believe that it could have been Adam or the other rep, so I spent an hour looking and finally concluded that it was indeed gone and that Adam and the rep have been the only ones in my home since the purchase of the lighter fluid and the March 17th stay-at-home order. Captain Rooter was very responsive to the complaint, but I didn't appreciate that the manager tried to argue with me over the lighter fluid reimbursement. I did receive my reimbursement, but wont be hiring this company again simply because I cannot ensure the honesty and integrity of the reps they send out. I mean who steals lighter fluid!