A burst supply pipe spraying water across a laundry room floor

Independent review

Updated 25 September 2026 · 19 sources · not paid by Mr. Rooter Plumbing

Mr. Rooter Plumbing review: a flat-rate franchise plumber, judged office by office

A fair look at a large franchise plumbing brand, written for the moment a pipe is leaking and you are deciding who to call.

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Call Mr. Rooter Plumbing if

A pipe is leaking at night or on a weekend and you want a plumber who says it adds no after-hours charge.
You want an agreed flat price before anyone starts work.
The local office near you has a clean BBB file and a CFC licence you can check.

Compare first if

You were told to replace a sewer line, hydro-jet, repipe or open a slab.
The job can wait a day, so a second written quote costs you nothing but a call.
You also need drying and water removal. Mr. Rooter is a plumber, not a restoration company.

Compare with a licensed local company

Pick your area and see three local plumbers next to Mr. Rooter Plumbing. None of them pay us to be here.

Your area

Our verdict. Mr. Rooter Plumbing is a reasonable call for a leak at night or on a weekend. Its own site says it charges nothing extra for nights, weekends or holidays and agrees a flat price before work, though it also says some offers are not available at every location. Its national review averages are low, at about 2.3 of 5 on both ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot, and the complaints center on upselling and bills far above other quotes. The Florida offices we checked have clean BBB files and state licences. Call the local office for the emergency, and get a second written quote before any large job.

At a glance

24/7Scheduling, no night or weekend charge per its site

Flat ratePrice agreed before work, not at every location

12Named Florida offices on its site

2.3 of 5ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot averages

Where it is strong

Its site says it does not charge extra for weekend, nighttime or holiday service.
Flat-rate pricing agreed before work starts, where the local office offers it.
A written workmanship promise with set terms: 30 days on drain cleaning, 90 days on repairs, 1 year on residential replacements.
The three Florida offices we checked on BBB (Tampa, Tampa Bay in Bradenton, Jacksonville) show 0 complaints, and two carry an A+ grade.

Where to be careful

Low national review averages: 2.3 of 5 on ConsumerAffairs (288 reviews) and 2.3 of 5 on Trustpilot (199 reviews).
Repeated complaints about upselling, such as a low first price followed by a large hydro-jetting or replacement quote.
Every office is independently owned, and the brand's own pages say estimates and flat-rate pricing are not offered at all locations.
No major cost guide publishes Mr. Rooter prices, so you cannot check a quote against brand figures.

How we reviewed Mr. Rooter Plumbing: research only, nobody here has hired them, 19 public sources. Read the method

We have not hired Mr. Rooter Plumbing, and nobody at BestHonestPro has. This review is research: the brand's own website, pricing pages and guarantee terms, its parent company's pages and the 2021 sale announcement, Better Business Bureau files for three Florida offices, two consumer review sites, a published cost guide for typical drain cleaning prices, and the public record of an Ohio Attorney General case. We read patterns across complaints rather than quoting single angry customers, and we left out anything we could not trace to a source.

We have not called Mr. Rooter Plumbing for a test quote yet. When we do, what we asked and what they said will be added here with the date.

Last checked 25 September 2026. Mr. Rooter Plumbing is not affiliated with BestHonestPro, has not paid us, and did not see this page before it went up. Mr. Rooter Plumbing is a trademark of its owner and is used here only to name the company.

What Mr. Rooter Plumbing is

Mr. Rooter was founded in 1970 and began franchising in 1972. It belongs to Neighborly (formerly The Dwyer Group), a franchise company based in Waco, Texas. The investment firm KKR agreed to buy Neighborly from Harvest Partners in July 2021, when Neighborly had 28 brands and more than 4,800 franchises.

The unit count depends on who you ask. Neighborly says more than 250 locations in the US and Canada. Entrepreneur's franchise directory lists 280 units. Every office is independently owned and operated, in the brand's own words, so the owner, prices and service can differ from one town to the next.

For water, Mr. Rooter is a plumber: leak detection, drain cleaning, hydro-jetting, sewer and pipe repair, and emergency plumbing. Its site does not list water extraction or drying. Neighborly runs separate brands for that.

Source: Wikipedia, Mr. Rooter; Neighborly, Mr. Rooter brand page; Franchising.com, KKR to acquire Neighborly (8 July 2021); Entrepreneur, Mr. Rooter Plumbing franchise directory; Mr. Rooter home page.

What Mr. Rooter Plumbing charges

Mr. Rooter does not publish a price list, and none of the major cost guides (Angi, HomeGuide, Forbes Home, This Old House) publishes Mr. Rooter prices. So the only brand figures are its own offers. For context, here is what HomeGuide reports for drain cleaning by any plumber.

Drain cleaning by any plumber: what HomeGuide reports

Single drain

$100 to $275

Main line

$175 to $800

Hydro-jetting, severe clog

$300 to $800

Sewer camera inspection

$125 to $500

Typical drain cleaning, any plumber	$100 to $800 overall (HomeGuide, Dec 2025)
Typical call-out minimum, any plumber	$50 to $200 (HomeGuide, Dec 2025)
Mr. Rooter of Tampa offer	$89 drain cleaning; $50 off a repair of $250 or more (its Tampa page, Sep 2026)

Source: HomeGuide, drain cleaning cost (updated 19 Dec 2025); Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Tampa home page, checked 26 Sep 2026.

How the quote works. Mr. Rooter says it uses upfront flat-rate pricing, so you agree a price before work starts. Its site also says: "We don't charge for weekend, nighttime, or holiday service" and offers complimentary in-home estimates. Two caveats sit on its own pages: flat-rate pricing is "not offered at all locations" and in-home estimates "are not available at all" locations. A low advertised drain price is a starting point. Ask what happens if the clog does not clear.

Source: Mr. Rooter, upfront flat rate pricing; Mr. Rooter, in-home estimates; Mr. Rooter, determining plumbing service costs.

The guarantee. The Neighborly Done Right Promise covers workmanship for 30 days on drain cleaning, 90 days on repairs and 1 year on residential replacements. It excludes product defects, hidden defects in the home and events outside the company's control, and it caps liability at what you paid for the service.

Source: Mr. Rooter, Neighborly Done Right Promise terms.

Mr. Rooter Plumbing in Florida

Its Florida service area page links 12 named offices: Tampa, Orlando, Jacksonville, Sarasota, Panama City, Northwest Florida, Saint Augustine, Wesley Chapel, Broward County, North Miami Beach, Orange Park and St. Petersburg. Coverage is broad, with Miami served through the North Miami Beach and Broward offices.

We checked three Florida offices on BBB. Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Tampa (Jeganex, LLC) lists state plumbing licence CFC1428697 and is not rated while BBB reviews its file. Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Tampa Bay, LLC in Bradenton lists licence CFC1428880 and has an A+. Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Jacksonville has an A+. None of the three is BBB accredited, and all three show 0 complaints. The licence numbers come from the BBB files. We have not checked them on the DBPR site, so treat them as shown, not verified.

Source: Mr. Rooter, Florida service area; BBB profiles for Mr. Rooter Plumbing of Tampa, Tampa Bay and Jacksonville. Checked 26 Sep 2026.

The complaint record, read fairly

The national picture and the Florida picture differ. Nationally, review averages are low. The Florida offices we checked have no BBB complaints on file.

ConsumerAffairs average	2.3 of 5 (288 reviews)
Trustpilot average	2.3 of 5 (199 reviews)
BBB, Tampa office	Not rated (file under review), 0 complaints
BBB, Tampa Bay office (Bradenton)	A+, 0 complaints
BBB, Jacksonville office	A+, 0 complaints

Source: ConsumerAffairs, Mr. Rooter Plumbing; Trustpilot, mrrooter.com; BBB Florida profiles above. Checked 26 Sep 2026.

Review sites draw unhappy customers more than happy ones, so a large brand scores low there. The pattern still helps. The repeated complaints are about a low opening price followed by pressure for a costly add-on such as hydro-jetting, bills well above competing quotes, missed appointment windows and repeat visits. The repeated praise is about fast emergency response and individual technicians. Trustpilot notes the company has not replied to negative reviews there.

Official action.

2015
The Ohio Attorney General sues Mr. Rooter of Youngstown, a franchise, alleging upselling, unnecessary repairs and missing estimates under the state Consumer Sales Practices Act.
2018
The case ends in a consent judgment: $45,000 in restitution and a $50,000 civil penalty, $35,000 of it suspended on compliance. The defendants settled without admitting the allegations.
2026
No Florida Attorney General action against Mr. Rooter found as of this review.

Source: Ohio Attorney General, news release of 29 Oct 2015; State of Ohio v. Mr. Rooter of Youngstown, consent judgment (Ohio AG public inspection file PIF3354).

Who it suits, and who should compare

A good fit: an active leak or a backed-up drain after hours, when you want a flat price agreed first and no night surcharge. Check the local office's CFC licence while you wait.

Get a second quote: any hydro-jetting, sewer replacement, repipe or slab work, since that is where the upselling complaints cluster. If water has soaked floors or walls, you also need drying, which Mr. Rooter does not list. See drying out after a leak and slab leaks.

Source: Mr. Rooter home page; ConsumerAffairs and Trustpilot, as above.

What to ask before you say yes

Ask these on the phone, in this order, and ask the same questions of whoever you compare them with. The spread in the answers tells you more than the spread in the prices.

Which company owns this Mr. Rooter office, and is flat-rate pricing offered here?
Is there a trip fee, diagnostic fee or after-hours charge tonight? Your site says there is no night or weekend charge.
Will I get the full price in writing before work starts, and what do I owe if I say no?
What is your Florida plumbing licence number (it starts with CFC)? Check it free on the DBPR site.
If the drain special does not clear the clog, what is the next step and what does it cost?
If you recommend hydro-jetting or replacing a line, can I see the camera footage first?
If there is mold behind the wall, who do you refer me to, and do they hold a Florida mold remediation licence (it starts with MRSR)?

Local alternatives in Florida

We list local plumbers and leak specialists for eight Florida metros, each checked against the state licence register where a number was available. Call one of them alongside Mr. Rooter and ask both the same questions.

No company pays to be listed on those pages or to rank higher. Each listing links to its own licence check and sources.

Right of reply

Mr. Rooter Plumbing, or the owner of any Mr. Rooter Plumbing location, can correct a fact on this page. Email [email protected] with the fact and a source. We check it and publish the correction here with its date.

Where this comes from

Every figure above is published by the organisation named beside it. Nothing on this page is our own estimate, and where sources disagree we show both.

Show all 19 sources