I called Gene's sewer service to clear a floor drain that was backed up in my garage. I suspected root problems but was not sure. I called them because I saw a couple of good reviews online and at the Revdex.com. I was quoted a price on the phone and agreed. The tech arrived and I explained exactly what had happened prior to the drain overflow. I had been running hot water in my kitchen sink and my water softener in the garage was charging at the same time. The tech opened the outdoor cover with a wrench. Said there were no roots, then told me to flush both toilets in my bathrooms to make sure. He confirmed problem was not roots. I again explained all things that happened prior to the overflow.(kitchen sink - water softener). He pumped air into the floor drain and ran a snake into it. Then he said it was so clogged that the snake would not go down and I probably had a collapsed pipe. He asked to use MY phone to call Gene. Then he stepped away so I could not hear the conversation. He came back and said there is no other option but to dump clobber down my drain but I would have to sign a paper. This made me extremely nervous so I asked why I had to do this. He stated that it could cause further pipe damage. I asked him to call Gene again because I wanted to see what other options there might be. In the meantime I consulted w/my neighbor to get his opinion. My neighbor stated that there should be an emergency release drain near the floor drain. We asked the tech and he said he could not find one. I asked to speak to Gene and asked what the clobber might do. Gene told me that it would just smell like rotten eggs and I should keep my garage door open. Then told me to tell the tech to do as they had discussed. The tech poured clobber down my drain. It bubbled and he said that was normal. then he asked to see the outside outlet again. He could not get the lid off this time and said he wondered why because it had been hand tightened. (I had observed him over zealously tightening it with a wrench when he closed it before), and let him know. He said "oh I used the wrench but just added enough pressure to hand tighten" . This is not true at all. I saw what he did. He asked me to drain my washer and said everything is draining fine. It is just the floor drain. Advised me to wait 24 hours and call again if it didn't go down. The next step would be to tear up the floor. He charged me $120.00 ($60.00 less than the amt quoted), because - he stated he was not able to fix. so $100.00 for trip charge and $20.00 for clobber. After he left, I did some dishes in the kitchen sink. Went out to my garage and the water had backed up into the drain all over my floor - now with toxic clobber floating on top like an oil slick. Soaking into things that were stored in the garage. It ate the paint off of the garage floor. I spoke w/my neighbor a licensed plumber. He suggested I call Korte and I did. The man (Mike) at Korte stuck a snake down my KITCHEN sink and said that is what the other guy should have done FIRST. In 20 min or less the drain cleared! He advised that you NEVER stick a snake in a floor drain because it is a T. It wasn't a broken pipe it was a T that the Gene's drain guy hit w/ his snake. He should have known this. I was very unhappy and called Gene the next day telling him all that had happened. He said he had advised his tech to put the snake down the kitchen sink and the tech said he did. I told him the truth that the tech never did this or even attempted to discuss it with me. Must have been the conversation that occurred on my phone out of earshot in his sneaky manner. Gene stated that he would discuss this with the tech and call me back. The date of this conversation was Monday 4-18-16. Gene never called back. Gene did not leave a message. Gene did not write. Gene apparently sends weekend techs out that absolutely have no idea what they are doing I asked Gene if the guy he sent was even a licensed plumber and he said "Ma'am - we are not plumbers. We are drain cleaners". Wow! I looked up the clobber safety sheet online. First statement is NEVER pour clobber into standing water. This guy did not even read the safety sheet.! I called the company that makes clobber and they sent an em on how to clean up the dangerous chemical spill in my garage. My last entire weekend was spent having to turn off my furnace - water heater and anything w/open flames. Pour lime on my floor, cleaning the floor -tossing all contaminated items - all while wearing goggles, protective clothing, lead safe mask. I poured another $100.00 into the purchase of safety gear and lime - not to mention the items that I had to throw away or the total waste of my valuable time. Do not call this company you will be sorry. Call the professionals. Lesson learned.
I called Gene's sewer service to clear a floor drain that was backed up in my garage. I suspected root problems but was not sure. I called them because I saw a couple of good reviews online and at the Revdex.com. I was quoted a price on the phone and agreed. The tech arrived and I explained exactly what had happened prior to the drain overflow. I had been running hot water in my kitchen sink and my water softener in the garage was charging at the same time. The tech opened the outdoor cover with a wrench. Said there were no roots, then told me to flush both toilets in my bathrooms to make sure. He confirmed problem was not roots. I again explained all things that happened prior to the overflow.(kitchen sink - water softener). He pumped air into the floor drain and ran a snake into it. Then he said it was so clogged that the snake would not go down and I probably had a collapsed pipe. He asked to use MY phone to call Gene. Then he stepped away so I could not hear the conversation. He came back and said there is no other option but to dump clobber down my drain but I would have to sign a paper. This made me extremely nervous so I asked why I had to do this. He stated that it could cause further pipe damage. I asked him to call Gene again because I wanted to see what other options there might be. In the meantime I consulted w/my neighbor to get his opinion. My neighbor stated that there should be an emergency release drain near the floor drain. We asked the tech and he said he could not find one. I asked to speak to Gene and asked what the clobber might do. Gene told me that it would just smell like rotten eggs and I should keep my garage door open. Then told me to tell the tech to do as they had discussed. The tech poured clobber down my drain. It bubbled and he said that was normal. then he asked to see the outside outlet again. He could not get the lid off this time and said he wondered why because it had been hand tightened. (I had observed him over zealously tightening it with a wrench when he closed it before), and let him know. He said "oh I used the wrench but just added enough pressure to hand tighten" . This is not true at all. I saw what he did. He asked me to drain my washer and said everything is draining fine. It is just the floor drain. Advised me to wait 24 hours and call again if it didn't go down. The next step would be to tear up the floor. He charged me $120.00 ($60.00 less than the amt quoted), because - he stated he was not able to fix. so $100.00 for trip charge and $20.00 for clobber. After he left, I did some dishes in the kitchen sink. Went out to my garage and the water had backed up into the drain all over my floor - now with toxic clobber floating on top like an oil slick. Soaking into things that were stored in the garage. It ate the paint off of the garage floor. I spoke w/my neighbor a licensed plumber. He suggested I call Korte and I did. The man (Mike) at Korte stuck a snake down my KITCHEN sink and said that is what the other guy should have done FIRST. In 20 min or less the drain cleared! He advised that you NEVER stick a snake in a floor drain because it is a T. It wasn't a broken pipe it was a T that the Gene's drain guy hit w/ his snake. He should have known this. I was very unhappy and called Gene the next day telling him all that had happened. He said he had advised his tech to put the snake down the kitchen sink and the tech said he did. I told him the truth that the tech never did this or even attempted to discuss it with me. Must have been the conversation that occurred on my phone out of earshot in his sneaky manner. Gene stated that he would discuss this with the tech and call me back. The date of this conversation was Monday 4-18-16. Gene never called back. Gene did not leave a message. Gene did not write. Gene apparently sends weekend techs out that absolutely have no idea what they are doing I asked Gene if the guy he sent was even a licensed plumber and he said "Ma'am - we are not plumbers. We are drain cleaners". Wow! I looked up the clobber safety sheet online. First statement is NEVER pour clobber into standing water. This guy did not even read the safety sheet.! I called the company that makes clobber and they sent an em on how to clean up the dangerous chemical spill in my garage. My last entire weekend was spent having to turn off my furnace - water heater and anything w/open flames. Pour lime on my floor, cleaning the floor -tossing all contaminated items - all while wearing goggles, protective clothing, lead safe mask. I poured another $100.00 into the purchase of safety gear and lime - not to mention the items that I had to throw away or the total waste of my valuable time. Do not call this company you will be sorry. Call the professionals. Lesson learned.