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Looking for info from plumbers or anyone who has paid to unclog a sink. My kitchen sink with disposal backed up last night. My efforts with vinegar, baking soda, boiling hot water with disposal reset in the middle of that didn't work. Since I wasn't in the mood to remove a pipe and go for it myself, I called a plumbing company. I've used them before and price was reasonable. This time they charged $165 to use the snake. That's all he did. I think that's way too much and their charges are not supposed to include a base fee just for the ride. I'm wondering if they are now doing that and just not telling customers.
The plumber unclogged the drain that you couldn't or wouldn't do yourself and the problem is gone. What they charge is fair and reasonable if it got the job done. Did you ask what the cost was before engaging their services? How much would it cost you to do the job (time, tools, knowledge, etc.)?
The plumber unclogged the drain that you couldn't or wouldn't do yourself and the problem is gone. What they charge is fair and reasonable if it got the job done. Did you ask what the cost was before engaging their services? How much would it cost you to do the job (time, tools, knowledge, etc.)?
Since I've used them several times before, I didn't ask. They've done far more work for far less. It would not have cost me anything but a few minutes. As mentioned, I didn't want to deal with it with the possibility of throwing up. The problem was taken care of when he removed the elbow pipe and dumped the clog. He put it back together and water ran through normally but he ran the snake anyway. I just called the company and was told they charged that much because the guy used an electric drain snake, a small item he had next to him. I looked it up and one similar to what he used costs $179 at Home Depot. I guess I paid for it.
The plumber unclogged the drain that you couldn't or wouldn't do yourself and the problem is gone. What they charge is fair and reasonable if it got the job done. Did you ask what the cost was before engaging their services? How much would it cost you to do the job (time, tools, knowledge, etc.)?
Exactly!
If the OP was concerned, he should have asked when he called what the charge should be.
As it is, the problem was fixed promptly... and complaining after that fact is useless.
Looking for info from plumbers or anyone who has paid to unclog a sink. My kitchen sink with disposal backed up last night. My efforts with vinegar, baking soda, boiling hot water with disposal reset in the middle of that didn't work. Since I wasn't in the mood to remove a pipe and go for it myself, I called a plumbing company. I've used them before and price was reasonable. This time they charged $165 to use the snake. That's all he did. I think that's way too much and their charges are not supposed to include a base fee just for the ride. I'm wondering if they are now doing that and just not telling customers.
What do you think about $165 to snake a drain?
Who says their chares shouldn't include a base fee just for showing up? That's how it works in nearly every trade. Even with a home warranty I had to pay the base fee just to get someone to show up even though the repair was covered. The company is paying the individual plumber X number of dollars per hour. If they only charged for the time spent onsite and ate all of the travel time, they would quickly be out of business.
You paid for the convenience of not having to do it yourself. What you were charged helps the various licensing, insurance, tool and equipment costs required for a professional plumber in order to do business. I don't feel you were ripped off. After all, you admit you didn't inquire about the cost.
If you had, and then the bill ended up being significantly higher - then it would be a different matter entirely.
Usually, you get billed an hour even if it takes 5 minutes to clear the stoppage. That hour can cost you anywhere from $100-150. Lesson learned. Next time, realize you'll only encounter whatever you put down the drain and not something from a toilet.
When you pay the $165, you paid for a professional service. The snake was probably wasn't even necessary but he did just in case (better than to have to come back). Now you know what could cause the clog and if you want to save money, do it yourself.
Here is a tip for you. Lots of people like to put things in garbage disposer but don't run it with water. It's going to clog your drain pipe sooner or later. In some of my rental cases, they run it with little water so the disposer is filled with stuff and eventually burn up the disposer (pasta and rice are the worse culprit).
Another thing, my wife used to clog our disposal all the time by stuffing potato peelings or pasta down the disposal and then turning it on. After several plugs, I looked at the piping and realized the disposal outlet was at the level of the drain pipe at the wall (retro fit disposal by previous owners). Gravity wasn't being utilized by the setup. What I did was to drop the pipe at the wall 1-2" and we no longer had any plugs. I also went with a higher horsepower disposal when we replaced it later.
You might want to check your setup to see how much drop you have. If it's very little, you might want to slowly feed waste down while the disposal and water are on. I used to do that with potato peelings and never had a plug. My wife would forget.
You don't say which market you are in, but generally speaking, I think his charge was ever so slightly on the high side.
Let's give him $75 for the travel time, and $75 for an hour of his time to actually perform the work. That's $150, and you paid a slightly higher $165.
We don't know where you are, and we don't know if you are talking about having the guy come out during the evening or on a weekend. All of those could obviously affect the rate which you were charged.
Many plumbers, electricians, etc. use the flat rate system these days so no matter how long it takes to fix something the price is in the book for that particular repair. Another tip: put your garbage in the garbage can rather that down your drain.
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