TL: DR – Usually they are the same thing but their focus of expertise and capability may differ. “Rooter” can be thought of as a marketing term over the more general and competitive “plumber” word.
Most people, at least in the United States, are familiar with the term “rooter.” Several large, national chain companies use Rooter as part of their name and branding. “Rooter” invokes the idea of drain clearing due to the mass marketing behind the term. Indeed, the origins of the word stem from removing roots from a drain system. When calling a rooter, you should expect them to have the capability to clear your drains and respond in a fairly quick manner. That said, a “plumber” may also be set up with similar capability. A company that advertises as a plumber may be the same as one that advertises as a rooter but in many cases, the plumber will be focused less on drain cleaning, though they can do that, and more on the broader plumbing types of projects.
As a property owner or manger, do you need a rooter or a plumber?
If what you need is emergency drain cleaning, then call a rooter or plumber that advertises emergency drain cleaning services (note that while Freedom Underground does drain cleaning service, we do not offer emergency cleaning and usually do our cleaning when we are also doing other projects for our customers). You will typically pay, in our area, over $200 for such a service. You can save some money if you are willing and able to rent a drain cleaning machine from Home Depot or similar. Snaking your own sewer line is not a complex project but it can be messy, you need to know where your closest cleanout is, and you need to be able to transport the drain cleaning machine that is the size you need. A 50′ drain cleaning machine will weigh 65 lbs+.
If what you need is emergency drain cleaning, then call a rooter or plumber that advertises emergency drain cleaning services (note that while Freedom Underground does drain cleaning service, we do not offer emergency cleaning and usually do our cleaning when we are also doing other projects for our customers). You will typically pay, in our area, over $200 for such a service. You can save some money if you are willing and able to rent a drain cleaning machine from Home Depot or similar. Snaking your own sewer line is not a complex project but it can be messy, you need to know where your closest cleanout is, and you need to be able to transport the drain cleaning machine that is the size you need. A 50′ drain cleaning machine will weigh 65 lbs+.
Be aware that some companies pay commissions to their service people if they upsell or sell more services beyond drain cleaning.
If you are advised you need a sewer repair, ask to see a video of their inspection. Ideally, you should be able to view the screen of their camera while it is down in your drain to ensure the video you see is from your sewer line. You should feel comfortable that you understand the problem and solution and we advise you to not just take someone’s word for it. Some companies offer financial incentives to their service people for upselling or selling more services. We hope and expect that most service persons will give you an honest assessment but you should be aware that incentives to upsell exist.
Does Freedom Underground give our employees such incentives? Given that, currently, our CEO/Owner is also our Estimator, the answer is no. Freddy prides himself as a business owner who does not take advantage of our customers and tries to provide what he feels is a fair price for all of our projects. Also, most of our calls for sewer repairs are from customers who already had a rooter or emergency services plumber come out and diagnose the problem.
If you are not sure if you need a repair, we can do a camera inspection. We will provide you with the video file and a written report if you like.
If you do need a repair or sewer line replacement, we hope you will call us for at least a second estimate (1-408-693-6018).
Underground utilities are our specialty and in our experience, we are usually more economical than companies who are set up to be able to deliver emergency drain cleaning services.
