Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup
Plumber · Cleveland, OH · Open 24 hours per Google listing
Our verdict
4.8 stars on 1,040 Google reviews; BBB A+ accredited; but 25 of 100 analyzed are 1-star — pricing complaints dominate (40 plumber-cost mentions, 3 surprise_fees) with charges up to $9,000 for sewer work and $500 drain snakes.
Scores are our editorial reading of published customer reviews — not a verification, license check, or guarantee.
Our opinion, based on the 100 reviews we analyzed from Google, Yelp and BBB · Analysis updated Jun 2026 · How we decide ↗
Lists 24-hour service on its Google profile — and reviewers describe after-hours calls.
What reviewers praise
Fast response in 17 of 100 reviews — same-day confirmed including burst pipe repair and water heater fix on a Sunday
1 cited review
“I had a frozen burst pipe that resulted in the loss of water to my whole house. Matt S 8106 showed up right on time and fixed everything quicker than I could have imagined. Not only is he prompt and professional but a friendly and personable guy”
Cited in 2 of the 100 reviews we analyzed — 1 cited review not excerpted here.
Technician Matt cited by name across multiple reviews for thorough, knowledgeable work — frozen burst pipe fixed promptly, toilet installed despite obstacles
1 cited review
“I had a frozen burst pipe that resulted in the loss of water to my whole house. Matt S 8106 showed up right on time and fixed everything quicker than I could have imagined. Not only is he prompt and professional but a friendly and personable guy”
Cited in 2 of the 100 reviews we analyzed — 1 cited review not excerpted here.
What reviewers report — the concerns
Other directories bury these. We think you should read them before you call. Every concern below comes from the reviews it cites.
Red flag
Surprise billing escalation: quoted $12k-18k for mitigation, billed near $18k to insurance, then reduced to $13k only after adjuster flagged it as excessive — attempted to bill while customer was on vacation
“Roto-evil-Rooter billed insurance just under 18K. The insurance adjuster called me and said the invoice was very high for the work performed. Roto-evil-Rooter attempted to ruin our 1 week vacation in Florida. I received an email with a balance bille[d]”
Red flag
Charged $500 for a diagnosis, performed snake for the wrong problem, and still billed full amount when actual issue was a simple clogged drain — customer review cites feeling scammed
Cited in 1 of the 100 reviews we analyzed.
Pricing flagged in 6 of 100 reviews — $480-$850 to snake a drain, $500 charged for wrong diagnosis, $9,000 sewer job where customer says full scope wasn't delivered
“first off the price was outrageous $480 to snake 1 line and $850 to do 2 lines. after the first hour he was not seeing anything blocking the pipe using a 100ft snake.”
Cited in 3 of the 100 reviews we analyzed.
Keep it in proportion: these concerns are cited in 4 of the 100 reviews we analyzed. Most reviewers report positive experiences — see the full rating picture below.
The evidence — in reviewers' own words
Critical
“BEWARE!!!! BEWARE!!!! BEWARE!!!!! This was the WORST EXPERIENCE EVER!!! I was told i had cracked pipes, and that my basement needed to be dug up. This would only cost me $8500! My neighbor referred me to a plumber who inspected my drains and found NO CRACKED PIPES that needed replacing. The problem was corrected, saving me $7500 To add insult to injury I was charged $159 because they removed my …”
“I would not recommend this company. We had a clogged toilet that backed up into our shower. A worker arrived, worked for two hours and claimed he "could not get it unclogged." His supervisor and another worker showed up, ran a camera through our pipes and showed us the black/white footage, claiming our cast iron pipes had crumbled and we were missing about 4 feet of pipe under our basement floor. As new home owners, …”
“We had our finished basement flooded from a broken water heater. Technician Charlie did a fantastic water mitigation job.. My wife and I signed the proposal between $12k and 18k Once complete, Roto-evil-Rooter billed insurance just under 18K. The insurance adjuster called me and said the invoice was very high for the work performed. Finally, Roto-evil-Rooter agreed to just under $13k on the final invoice …”
Positive
“Allen did a wonderful job fixing my hot water tank. He was knowledgeable and patient with all the questions we had. He skillfully fixed the issue for a decent price! Thank you!”
“Matt was wonderful, very informative and let me know what was happening step by step. I’ve had issues with my plumbing for a few years and had other companies out to snake my drains and then would leave. With roto rooter they took the time to figure out my bigger issue and gave me helpful tips to fix it.”
Quotes are reproduced verbatim from public reviews on the platforms shown; we select which to feature, and selection reflects our editorial judgment. Report a quote that doesn't match its source ↗
The rating picture
Our sample skews heavily toward critical reviews — it disagrees with the Google average shown above.
Newest review in our sample: Mar 2026.
Across platforms
BBB A+ accreditation contradicts Yelp 1-star pattern of pricing complaints and billing disputes. Google 4.8 may reflect recency bias from positive reviews while Yelp captures historical billing grievances.
Should you hire Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup?
Hire if
- You need fast same-day or after-hours response
- You need high-quality work that holds up over time
Think twice if
- You need rock-bottom prices with zero flexibility on the quote
- You need airtight scheduling and guaranteed arrival times
Look elsewhere if
- You're highly price-sensitive
Advice derived from the review analysis above — how we decide.
Own Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup?
You can respond to our analysis, correct business facts, or dispute the accuracy of a quoted review. Responses that check out get published on this page, and factual errors get corrected — see our corrections policy. We don't remove accurate quotes, but we'll re-run your assessment as your reviews change.
Find plumbers near you
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanupisn't in one of our ranked city guides yet — the nearest covered markets are below.
Nearby: Cleveland · Chagrin Falls · Eastlake · Burton