Provider profile
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Birmingham homeowners dealing with water damage who want one company to handle plumbing repair, water extraction, drying, and mold remediation under a single IICRC-trained crew.
Best for
- Birmingham metro homeowners who need water damage cleanup and mold remediation handled by the same crew that fixes the plumbing source
- After-hours emergencies -- they run 24/7 with no overtime surcharge, and reviewers confirm fast response even on nights and weekends
- Insurance-claim situations where you need documented photos, drying logs, and direct insurer billing handled for you
- Commercial properties in Jefferson, Shelby, or Tuscaloosa counties that need scalable water damage response with minimal downtime
- Homeowners with older Birmingham homes where clay sewer lines or galvanized steel piping cause recurring water intrusion and secondary mold growth
About this company
Roto-Rooter in Birmingham is a national franchise location that handles plumbing, water damage restoration, and mold remediation out of a single operation at 505 20th St N. Darrell Robertson manages the Birmingham branch. Their pitch is one-stop service: the same company that fixes the burst pipe also extracts the water, dries the structure, and remediates mold. Most standalone mold companies cannot fix the plumbing source, and most plumbers do not do restoration work.
The mold remediation side uses HEPA vacuums, air scrubbers, dehumidifiers, and antimicrobial treatments. Technicians hold IICRC and AMRT training. They bill insurance directly and document jobs with photos, drying logs, and diagrams. The Birmingham team also handles sewer camera inspections, trenchless sewer repair, and hydro jetting -- services that matter in a city where red clay soil shifts underground pipes.
Roto-Rooter has operated since 1935 nationally. The Birmingham location runs 24/7 year-round with no surcharge for nights, weekends, or holidays. They offer senior and military discounts and financing through Synchrony Bank.
With 4.8 stars across 2,949 Google reviews, this is an unusually high rating for a high-volume franchise operation. Only 7 negative reviews appeared in the last 18 months. The volume and consistency suggest the field teams deliver reliably, even if the national dispatch system sometimes stumbles.
Services
Service area
Roto-Rooter's Birmingham branch operates from 505 20th St N in downtown Birmingham, Alabama. They list service coverage across eight counties: Jefferson, Walker, Shelby, Tuscaloosa, Saint Clair, Blount, Bibb, and Pickens. The service area page names over 100 cities including Vestavia Hills, Homewood, Hoover, Mountain Brook, Bessemer, Trussville, Alabaster, Pelham, and Tuscaloosa. That is a very wide geographic claim -- Tuscaloosa is 60 miles from Birmingham, and Pickens County is even farther. Confirm your location falls within their active dispatch zone before booking.
Review consensus
Alex appears in the most reviews and draws consistent praise for quick diagnosis, clear explanations, and fair quoting. Ariya Wahyudi gets called out for prompt arrival and fast drain work. Julian earns repeat mentions for courtesy, cleanup, and even finding customers coupons. Alan handles after-hours calls and gets noted for thoroughness. Wyatt, Dan, Tommy Bradshaw, Michael Wimberly, and Zac Hendon each appear in positive reviews. Across the board, reviewers highlight same-day arrival, clear communication about the problem, and cleanup after the job.
7 found across 2949 total reviews at 4.8★. Pricing is the sharpest complaint. Griffin Holmes paid $1,400 for a 3-hour toilet repair in June 2026. Kelly Burt paid $500 for a drain snake after a 4-hour wait in October 2025. Elise Cunha spent over $20,000 on a recurring sewage issue that was never fully resolved -- another technician later confirmed the original work was incomplete. Maher Qashou reports a technician damaged a drain pipe inside a wall, causing the kitchen floor to buckle over several weeks, and the manager refused responsibility. Three reviewers -- Brittany Adcox, Sam Armstrong, and a google user -- describe waiting hours for a plumber who never showed, with no communication. The google user's review details a scheduling system that expired a text response after 3 minutes and then treated the customer as unresponsive.
The disconnect between field technician quality and back-office operations is structural. Nearly every positive review names a specific technician and praises their work. Nearly every negative review describes a failure of dispatch, scheduling, or pricing transparency -- the corporate layer between the customer and the technician. The owner response pattern reinforces this: every negative gets the same template reply from Pat Swanson, a Customer Satisfaction Manager, without engaging with the specific complaint. The local techs deliver; the franchise infrastructure occasionally does not.
Alex (technician -- strong positive across 8+ reviews). Ariya Wahyudi (technician -- positive across 5 reviews). Julian (technician -- positive across 4 reviews). Alan (technician -- positive across 3 reviews). Dan (technician -- positive across 3 reviews). Wyatt (technician -- positive across 3 reviews). Tommy Bradshaw (Master Plumber -- positive, sewer camera inspection). Michael Wimberly (Field Supervisor -- positive, sewer line diagnostics). Zac Hendon (technician -- positive, sewer line repair). Ron (technician -- positive). Rodney Clayton (technician -- positive). Joseph Edwards (technician -- positive). Trey (technician -- positive). Ronald (technician -- positive). Nick (technician -- positive). Darrell Robertson (branch manager -- from website). Pat Swanson (Customer Satisfaction Manager -- owner responses only).
The Birmingham Roto-Rooter field techs -- especially Alex, Ariya, and Julian -- earn their 4.8 rating through fast response, clear communication, and solid work. The risk is pricing surprises and scheduling failures from the national dispatch system. Get a written estimate before any work starts, confirm your appointment window directly, and if mold remediation is involved, bring in an independent tester to avoid the conflict of interest.
Keep in mind
- Roto-Rooter does both mold testing and mold remediation, which creates a conflict of interest. The same company deciding mold exists and then charging to remove it has an obvious financial incentive. Ask for an independent mold assessment before committing to remediation work.
- Pricing complaints appear across multiple 1-star reviews. One customer paid $1,400 for a 3-hour toilet visit; another paid $500 for a drain snake. Get a written estimate before work begins and compare it against at least one other quote.
- Three of seven recent negative reviews describe no-shows or extreme wait times. One customer waited 4 hours for a plumber who never arrived; another dealt with a scheduling system that expired a text confirmation after 3 minutes. The national dispatch system can fail even when local techs perform well.
- All seven owner responses to negative reviews follow an identical template directing customers to email Pat Swanson. None address the specific complaint. This is reputation management, not problem-solving.