Downing Plumbing

We initially had a different plumbing company come out to take a look at our clogged drain. Weirdly enough they didn’t have the proper equipment and recommend Downing Plumbing. Sooo thankful! Always, always, always go with Downing Plumbing first. Chad came out same day not even an hour after our call. He explained everything he planned on doing before he started, while he was working and even after the job was completed. He answered all of our questions without any annoyance. Chad told us to watch the drain and if anything happens to call them and they’ll be back as soon as possible. The job was completed, but a few hours later we had the same issue. We called back, left a message, received an immediate call back and scheduled for first thing the next morning. Chad came back this time with some assistance from Tyler. Both gentlemen explained the plan and got to work. They completed the job and told us exactly what happened for the issue to have come up again. We’re all hopeful that it’s resolved and shouldn’t need them to come back anytime soon. This was all in all a great experience from Dawn in scheduling to Chad and Tyler in labor. Call Downing Plumbing first. You truly won’t need anyone else.

As a peculiar and a bit quick needy individual, I wanted the work done, immediately. Bob from Downing, showed probably in less than 40 minutes of my calling. I was delighted to hear the sound of a knock at my door. Bob was pleasantly down to earth and plain spoken. We had two jobs, and he completed them in less than an hour. He is easily well-trained with Downing's price reasonably affordable. Tried tackling the job initially myself but so glad I called in his expertise. If plumbing or any repairs are needed in our home, Downing is our go to. Thank you, Downing Plumbing and Bob!

Our tub drain broke completely off. We called another plumber that came out and didn’t seem too confident with the repair so we called Downing. Dawn answered and had Bob come out right away. Even though she said they may not be able to do the repair today they’d come have a look. Bob came out and did the repair today, quick and was extremely professional. I’ll never call another plumber again. Bob is the man!!!

I called them about a water pipe that had burst under my mobile home that I currently live in I was quoted almost $900 and the tech did not even bother to look at the pipe didn't bother to climb under my trailer to see what the problem was looked at it from outside the trailer went into my home looked at the hot water tank didn't even bother to put his hands on the pipe to tell me that there was anything wrong with it but wanted to charge me $900 after that I got charged a $69 service fee for basically him not doing anything

I gave Downing/Benjamin Franklin Plumbing a 1 because they simply do not stand behind their claims. I was told the plumber would arrive between 11 and 1 p.m. by the lady who answered the phone. The plumber did not arrive until 1:55 p.m. CST, almost an hour past the promised 2 hour window. I had to call Downing to get a status update as the window began to close, there was no pro-activity at all. Based upon the Benjamin Franklin slogan of "If There's Any Delay, It's You We Pay.®" I thought I would receive some sort of discount, reimbursement or even an apology, no kind of follow up or apology was offered. I even called the Downing Plumbing/Benjamin Franklin office and spoke with another lady and voiced my concerned. She said she would have her supervisor call me to address my concerns. The service was completed 12/2/16 and I still have not heard from anyone, until this survey. I was in a pinch and had a bad leak. I joined the Duck Club for a discount, but I still may or may not use the service again. Definitely was service below my expectations.

Review for Downing Plumbing Company. Excellent service was performed by Mike N.on January 09th 2026. I had called Downing Plumbing to let them know, My backup sump pump alarm was going off .The office responded. They said Mike will be out between 10am and 12noon today . I received a call from Downing Plumbing office to let me know Mike was on his way to my house. (Within in the stated window time) Mike came. He asked me questions about my sump pump. From there.He went to my concrete crawl space to analyze the problem. He explained every thing to me. Mike was very knowledgeable in letting me know the problem and what Needed to be done. He replaced my main sump pump, and backup battery to my backup sump pump. Working down in my crawl space can be challenging. Despite the challenges Mike had. He had taken is time to complete .Lots of work he had to do himself.( No helper) The backup sump pump battery weighs 84 pounds. Plus the new sump pump. He had a lot of equipment to take down to my crawl space to complete the job. This he did all himself with no hesitation .The completion of the work had taken 3 to 4 hrs. The backup battery he went to the Plumbing supplier himself. He wanted to be sure he had the correct battery. He reviewed the completion of his work and services with me. Mike N. Previously replaced my water heater. Excellent job and.service. The quality of his work is awesome .He goes extra mile to make sure he does it right. Downing Plumbing has always provided quality service and work. Some my feel a little pricey. The quality and satisfaction of the work that's done is worth it. I have been a customer since 2008. I especially appreciate all the hard work and time Mike N. Did for me today. Awesome job and excellent service.

The drain from the bath tub upstairs was leaking down stairs into the kitchen area. There is a drop ceiling down stairs, so access was easy from below. Had Downing come out for an estimate last month. The plumber came in, looked at the job and was not sure of the work needed to be done. He said he had to go to his truck to make estimates of the repairs needed. After a long period of time he got back to me with two estimates and a weird scenario. The first was for the drain repair itself for $480. The second was a price of $480 (drain) plus $280 for some extra work he might have to do. The weird scenario was "he said that he might crack or break the bath tub making the repairs" and I would have to buy a new tub on top of everything else. Now I am an avid DIY guy so imagine the look on my face when I heard all of this crap. So after telling him to take a hike, I called Whiting plumbing, he came out, made the repairs in less then 2 hours and charged me $215 for the new drain, line and trap. Oh ya, Downing charged me a $69 service charge that would not have been removed even if they did the work!!! I will never use, call or recommend Downing to anyone! Kevin

I have been a Downing customer for several years. They have always responded quickly to my needs with expert, efficient, and friendly service. Bob has been the technician with whom I work most of the time. Today, Bob was doing my annual water inspection when he noticed a major issue with my sump pump and back-up battery system. He showed me and thoroughly explained the problem, and replaced the system at a reasonable price right away upon my approval. This is not the first time he has saved me from what could have turned into a much more serious problem had it not been caught right away. No one ever wants to have plumbing problems, especially not a woman like me who admittedly doesn't know much about plumbing. As homes age, though, things fail and need to be replaced to avoid future disaster. Thanks to Downing and Bob, I am confident that everything connected to water in my home is in top-notch working order. In addition, I have learned so much from Bob because he takes the time to give me thorough instructions in a patient manner. His expertise is evident, and he is very friendly and humorous!

We have used this company several times within the last three years and paid quite a bit for their services. We always got good service and problems were resolved. However, after using them several months ago, I would not call them again. They did the work, but 10 minutes after they left there was no hot water coming from the faucet they replaced. I called the same day asking them to come back and fix it and they did so the next day. The plumber that fixed it then accused us of "messing with" the valve under the sink which we DID NOT do. His attitude was like the problem was our fault and he was clearly annoyed that he had to come back again. He actually put on the work ticket that it was customer error. His attitude alone has made my decision to never do business with them again. They should be glad they have any customers at all.

This family business was prompt, informative, and thorough. We had quite a mess in our basement with sewage spraying everywhere. They came and assessed the situation and started taking care of it right away. They had a truck to clean out our septic tank in no time. They were here all day long. They made a special trip for parts to get the job done that day and to ensure our pets would be safe around the digging area. While they were here they cleared out a drain that was clogged so my clean up would be dramatically easier. I was not charged for that. They are kind, hardworking, and were here quickly when we needed them most. Most of the places I called didn’t answer the phone, never called me back, or had long wait times waiting for their arrival. Ben and his nephew did a fantastic job.

On Dec. 1st, I had water coming up in the basement and the toilet would not flush, I called Downing plumbing they quoted me a price and told me they have a one year warranty on there work. The guy came out and after doing the work told me he would not warranty the work. On Dec. 17th I had the same problem, they did come out again and did not charge me because they had just been out on the 1st. When he was leaving he told me that if they had to come out again there would be another charge. Then on Christmas Eve the problem returned at that point I called Roto-Rooter plumbing they came out fixed the problem the FIRST time and warrantied the work. I will NEVER use or recommend Downing plumbing! A job that cost $657.89 (two plumbers) should have only cost $212.89!

My wife and I have been Duck Club members and customers of this company for many years. Yesterday was the last time we'll ever contact them again. We had them come out to check on a faucet in the tub. After looking for 2 minutes, I was quoted a price of 1148$. With the Duck Club it was just under 1000. After I talked to my wife, we looked up the part we needed, and fixed the problem with 20 minutes of work and 10 dollars in parts. 10 dollars in parts. Once more,....10$ They wanted to replace the whole thing, act like we were too stupid to look something up, and then scam us out of 1000 dollars. Wow. I never thought I'd say something negative about this place but that's so ridiculous that I couldn't help it. Beware everyone.

I can't say strongly enough how happy I am with the service provided. The Sunday before New Year's I found a leak in the basement, tried another Local Company Monday morning who told me possibly they could get to me. Contactedowning and was given a window they showed up promptly and worked several hours trying to fix what ended up being a very complicated issue. Ben and Mike were wonderful they did a great job . And I only gave four stars because the outdoor cleanup could have been a little bit better . As I'm recovering from surgery that was important to me. My home is 100 years old and needs a lot of plumbing repair I'm sure I'll be calling them many more times in the future .

(Update 4-23-24) I had a toilet shutoff valve start to fail and called Downing to replace it. My tech Mike came out and quickly and neatly changed out the valve. He was very professional and courteous, and answered any questions I had. If I'm needing any plumbing work in the future, I will ask for him again. Thanks again!! - - - I contacted Downing Plumbing to replace a very old water heater. The technician quoted me for the replacement water heater and after I approved the quote was able to schedule me for same day installation. The technicians were prompt and courteous, and was able to answer any questions I had. I am very happy with the work performed.

5/8/25 , 3:30pm, Valpo Today I had the pleasure of getting cut off by one of your drivers in a service truck pulling a dump trailer. He switched into my lane with no turn signal. Then at the traffic circle I watched him pull out in front of a person and cut them off. I don't think he looked at all before entering the circle and I think he forgot he was pulling a trailer. This time the other driver flipped him the middle finger. This guy has no business being on the road if that is how he is going to drive your equipment. This driver *will* cause an accident one day. Safety should always be your #1 priority - both on and off the job site.