Provider profile
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup
Provider snapshot
What this listing says
Salt Lake City homeowners dealing with water damage that has led to mold — Roto-Rooter handles plumbing repair, water extraction, and mold remediation under one national franchise roof, 24/7.
Best for
- Salt Lake City homeowners with active water damage that needs source repair, extraction, drying, and mold remediation handled by one company in a single coordinated job.
- After-hours and weekend emergencies — they dispatch 24/7 with no overtime surcharge, and multiple reviewers confirm sub-one-hour arrival times for late-night calls.
- Insurance-claim situations where you need documented moisture mapping, IICRC category determinations, and drying logs to support your filing.
- Basement flooding from Salt Lake City's spring snowmelt or winter pipe bursts, where the same crew can fix the pipe, pump the water, and address mold risk before it spreads.
- Commercial properties needing water damage and mold work with tenant coordination and business-continuity planning.
About this company
Roto-Rooter in Salt Lake City is a national franchise operation at 941 Bending River Rd W, run by General Manager Michael M. and location manager Broc McCurdy. The company's identity is plumbing and water damage restoration — mold remediation is a secondary service they offer through their "water division" when water damage leads to mold growth. They operate 24/7/365 with no extra charge for nights, weekends, or holidays.
The mold-relevant capability here is their ability to handle the entire water-damage-to-mold pipeline in one call. They stop the leak with their own plumbers, extract standing water with industrial equipment, dry the structure using commercial dehumidifiers and air movers, and remediate any mold found using HEPA filtration and containment. Their website states crews follow IICRC and AMRT remediation protocols. They also document moisture levels, drying logs, and category determinations for insurance claims.
Roto-Rooter has operated nationally since 1935. The Salt Lake City location serves nine counties across the Wasatch Front. The team page lists Steve H. with 20-plus years of plumbing experience, along with Elijah, Adriah S., and apprentice Benny. The Salt Lake City office holds plumbing licenses MP: 11450389-5501-P200 and MP: 11450389-5501, and carries a BBB A+ rating.
At 4.7 stars across 2,368 Google reviews, the Salt Lake City location holds a strong rating for a franchise operation of this size. The volume alone — more than two thousand reviews — suggests consistent throughput, and the plumbing side of the business clearly drives most of the positive sentiment.
Services
Service area
Roto-Rooter Salt Lake City operates from 941 Bending River Rd W in Salt Lake City, Utah. They claim coverage across nine counties: Salt Lake, Utah, Davis, Weber, Summit, Tooele, Wasatch, Box Elder, and Morgan. That is a wide swath of the Wasatch Front and surrounding areas — confirm response times for locations outside Salt Lake County.
Review consensus
Speed dominates the positive reviews. Customers describe same-day dispatch, sub-one-hour arrivals, and late-night emergency responses with no fuss. Chad appears in six recent positive reviews for water heater work, drain clearing, and spending full days on complex jobs while explaining the work. Charley (sometimes spelled Charlie) also appears in six reviews for fast, friendly drain work. Adi shows up in four reviews for quick shower drain fixes and after-hours calls. John draws praise across three reviews for honest advice on pipe maintenance and water heater care. Gary Nielsen noted his tech arrived at 11 PM in a storm and honestly advised him not to pay for a service he did not need — he was not charged for the visit. Several reviewers mention the techs cleaning up after themselves and explaining what they found.
9 found across 2,368 total reviews at 4.7★. Pricing is the central complaint. Chase Moray was quoted $542 to snake a shower drain. Assad Raffoul paid $531 for a 15-minute main drain snake and was told prices could not be given over the phone. Natalie DeMill paid $7,725 for one day of sewage cleanup and pipe repair — she calculates that at $460 per hour, partly because a plumber brought a trainee who did most of the labor while the company charged double for two plumbers. Al leos-castillo paid over $500 for a snake that left his drain still clogged, then was pressured by a water restoration worker to file a $6,000 insurance claim for floor repairs. Keith Dickinson describes high-pressure sales tactics and says Roto-Rooter left broken equipment in his sewer, costing him $7,000 to excavate and remove. Jennifer Hadfield's review is the only mold-specific complaint: she had a good experience with plumber Matthew for a clog, but the water division technician sent for a small mold issue gave a verbal estimate she called unreasonable, acted condescendingly, and refused to provide a written estimate. Josh Jorgensen waited from 8 AM to 3:45 PM for a tech who arrived and admitted he had no experience with tankless water heaters, then left. Richard Hodges had incomplete work, a re-clogged drain, and waited 7 hours with no callback — the owner response claimed they could not find his record, but called him the morning after he posted his review. Tiffany Marriott was hung up on when she asked for a price over the phone.
The franchise model creates a split personality. The field technicians — especially Chad, Charley, and Adi — consistently earn praise for honest, fast, skilled work. The complaints cluster around the office and sales layer: phone agents who refuse to quote prices or hang up, dispatchers who miss windows by hours, and a water restoration division that multiple reviewers describe as pushy. Every owner response across all nine recent negatives follows the same template directing to Pat Swanson's email, and Natalie DeMill's edited review confirms that following up through that channel produced no response. The company responds to complaints, but the responses do not engage with the specifics.
Chad (plumber — positive across 6 reviews for water heaters, drains, and full-day jobs). Charley/Charlie (plumber — positive across 6 reviews for fast drain clearing). Adi (plumber — positive across 4 reviews for quick shower drain and after-hours work). John (plumber — positive across 3 reviews for pipe repair and honest maintenance advice). Drake (plumber — positive across 2 reviews for after-hours main line work). Matthew (plumber — positive mention within an otherwise negative review for clog work). Zach (plumber — positive in 1 review). Cameron (plumber — positive in 1 review for courtesy and patience). Byron (mentioned as the experienced tech in Josh Jorgensen's negative review — never showed up). Pat Swanson (Customer Satisfaction Manager — named in all 9 owner responses as the contact for follow-up).
Roto-Rooter Salt Lake City is a strong plumbing and water damage operation with fast response times and several standout field technicians. For mold remediation specifically, treat them as an option only when mold stems from active water damage they are already handling — not as a standalone mold company. Get an independent mold assessment before agreeing to any remediation scope, insist on a written estimate with line-item pricing, and ask specifically whether a restoration sales representative will accompany the plumber.
Keep in mind
- Roto-Rooter does both mold testing and mold remediation, which creates a conflict of interest. The same company that tells you how bad the mold is also profits from fixing it. Get an independent mold assessment before committing to their remediation scope.
- Pricing complaints are the strongest pattern in recent reviews. Multiple customers report $500-plus charges for basic drain snaking, and one customer paid $7,725 for a single day of work. Roto-Rooter does not give prices over the phone — you will not know the cost until a technician arrives.
- Several reviewers describe upselling from plumbing into water restoration services. One customer reported a water restoration worker arriving alongside the plumber and pressuring a $6,000 insurance claim for floor work. Another was told her 6-month warranty would be voided without accepting a free video inspection.
- All nine recent negative reviews received near-identical owner responses directing customers to email Pat Swanson, Customer Satisfaction Manager. One reviewer who followed up reported never hearing back. This is template reputation management, not personalized problem-solving.
- Mold remediation is not their primary business. They are a plumbing and water damage company first. The one mold-specific review in recent history describes a condescending technician who gave an unreasonable verbal estimate and refused to put it in writing.