Independent guides to the companies and products homeowners run into when a drain blocks. We are not affiliated with any of them, we are not paid by any of them, and we have tried to say the useful thing rather than the flattering one.
Service companies
Roto-Rooter
The name that became a verb. Company-owned branches and franchises, nationwide.
Mr. Rooter
A franchise network founded in 1970, part of the Neighborly group.
RooterMan
A long-established franchise, and a useful lesson in why 'Rooter' is on so many vans.
Zoom Drain
A drain and sewer specialist rather than a general plumbing company.
National companies
ARS / Rescue Rooter
A company-owned national network, not a franchise — and often trading under a different name on the truck.
Benjamin Franklin Plumbing
A franchise whose on-time guarantee pays you by the minute — up to a published cap.
Products you pour in
Drano
The manufacturer's own instructions, and where plumbers disagree with them.
Liquid-Plumr
A different chemistry to Drano, aimed at the same clogs, with the same limits.
Enzyme & Bacterial Drain Cleaners
Slow, preventive, and genuinely useful — for a completely different job.
Bio-Clean
A maintenance product whose own manufacturer tells you to snake the drain first.
Equipment — rent it or call someone
RIDGID Drain Machines
The K-series is the industry standard. Matching the machine to the pipe is the whole job.
Milwaukee Drain Cleaning Tools
The M18 line brought cordless to drain cleaning. The cable-to-pipe rule did not change.
Spartan Tool & Vermeer
Professional-only machinery. Useful to recognise, impossible to hire for an afternoon.
How we wrote these
Wherever a company or manufacturer publishes something themselves — rates, guarantees, usage instructions — we quote that rather than a third-party opinion about it. Where the trade disagrees with a manufacturer, we say so and explain why both can be describing something real.
We earn nothing from any brand on these pages. We are paid by the contractors in our partner network when we route them a call, which is disclosed on every page of this site.
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Call (888) 855-8790Trademark notice. All brand names on this page are the property of their respective owners. DrainDispatch is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise connected to any company named here. This page is independent editorial written to help homeowners compare options, and nothing on it should be read as a claim of association.