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Company type | Subsidiary |
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Industry |
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Founded | 1935 |
Founder | Samuel Oscar Blanc |
Headquarters | , |
Key people |
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Number of employees | 3,600 |
Parent | Chemed Corporation |
Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Water Cleanup (formerly called Roto-Rooter Plumbing & Drain Service) is a Cincinnati, Ohio based plumbing company. The company, founded in 1935, originally specialized in clearing tree roots and other obstructions from sewer lines.
As of 2020 [update] , it employs thousands of plumbers, and service technicians throughout the US and Canada who provide plumbing and sewer and water damage cleanup services. Roto-Rooter also employs manufacturing technicians and assembly workers at its manufacturing plant in West Des Moines, Iowa. The plant manufactures the company's patented, proprietary Roto-Rooter sewer and drain cleaning machines as well as sewer and drain cleaning cables and blades. [1] Roto-Rooter is one of the two subsidiary divisions of the publicly traded Chemed Corporation, of which the other one is a hospice care provider VITAS Healthcare.
In the late 1920s, Samuel Oscar Blanc (1883–1964) was cleaning a blocked sewer at his son's (Milton L. Blanc) Des Moines, Iowa, apartment to seek a better solution than digging up the sewer line to remove tree roots that had invaded the underground sewer pipe.
By 1933, Samuel Blanc had fashioned a sewer-cleaning machine from a washing machine motor, wheels from a child's little red wagon, and a 3/8" steel cable. The cable rotated with a sharp C-shaped blade attached to the tip. The rotating motion cut tree roots out of sewer lines, eliminating the need to dig up pipes and clear obstructions by hand, thus inventing the world's first heavy-duty plumber's Snake. Blanc's wife, Lettie (née Lettie Jensen), called his invention the "Roto-Rooter". [2]
By the mid-1930s, Blanc was selling his patented "Roto-Rooter" machines for $250 and incorporated a business around it called Roto-Rooter Corporation. Many in need of during the Great Depression started their own Roto-Rooter businesses throughout the upper Midwest, the Great Plains, and the Northeast. Roto-Rooter's sewer cleaning service allowed homeowners to avoid digging up lawns and landscaping to reach underground sewer pipes. This breakthrough was a revolutionary concept. In the 1930s and 40s, Roto-Rooter featured an illustration of a mound of dirt over a recently excavated sewer pipe with the caption, "Why put a grave in your yard?"
In 1939, after his Roto-Rooter sewer cleaning machine proved successful, Sam Blanc designed and built a smaller model that operated on the same principle but could clean and clear bathroom and kitchen sink drains as well as laundry drains and other household plumbing drains. Blanc also built a much larger version of the Roto-Rooter machine called the Roto-Rooter Royal. It had to be towed by a truck and featured a 10-horsepower gasoline engine and 1000 feet of steel cable. It was capable of cleaning large industrial and municipal sewer pipes. An improved version called "The Mainliner" was introduced in 1958 that could also thread telephone cable. It was discontinued in 1973.
In 1980, the Blanc family sold Roto-Rooter Corporation to Cincinnati-based Chemed Corporation. Chemed began purchasing independent Roto-Rooter franchises and operating them as company-owned service locations under the newly formed Roto-Rooter Services Company, whose corporate headquarters is in downtown Cincinnati. Chemed sold off some of its holdings in Roto-Rooter in both 1984 and 1985, bringing its ownership stake to just below 60%, but launched a bid in 1996 to reacquire the 42% of shares that it had sold off. [3]
In the 1980s, some Roto-Rooter franchises and company-owned locations began to offer around-the-clock service and general full-service plumbing repair for both residential and commercial customers. Roto-Rooter's plumbing services represent a major part of the company's business. The company has more than 600 service locations operating throughout North America that serve more than 90% of the US population in all fifty states, and more than 40% of the Canadian population. Roto-Rooter is the largest provider of plumbing repair and sewer and drain cleaning services in both countries.[ citation needed ]
International franchise operations have been established in Canada, [4] Japan, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Brazil, South Africa, and Australia.[ citation needed ]
For the first five years of Roto-Rooter's existence (1935-1940), the company had no official logo and allowed its franchisees to paint their trucks however they saw fit. Due to copycat imitators, Roto-Rooter unveiled the first official Roto-Rooter logo in November 1940. The logo featured the patented Roto-Rooter electric sewer cleaning machine inside of an outline of the United States proclaiming, "A Specialized Service From Coast-to-Coast". The new emblem was used on service vehicles, on guarantees, and in all advertising to help homeowners select the original Roto-Rooter. [5]
In 1953, Roto-Rooter updated the logo to a much simpler design which incorporated a new black and white font with “SEWER-DRAIN SERVICE” inside a drainpipe. This logo was used from 1953 through the 1970s. The only update made to this design was switching out the black outline to a blue outline. [5]
By 1980, Roto-Rooter was in need of an updated logo for its service vans and equipment. The new logo for the 1980s was a refreshed version of the previous logo. The new logo was all blue and eliminated the rightward slant of the previous logo, standing up straight the letters of the Roto-Rooter name. The drainpipe portion was also updated to include more waves. [5]
In 1996, the Roto-Rooter Visual Identity Program introduced a new logo to replace all previous logos. Variations of this design are still used to this day by Roto-Rooter locations in the United States, Canada, and around the world. The only variation since its introduction was the addition of a single-line logo to complement the over-and-under version. Since the single-line logo uses the same font, it is considered an extension of the other logo. [5]
In the 1930s and 1940s, Roto-Rooter service vehicles bore the slogan "Roto-Rooter's patented cutting blades slice through roots and cut them away ... Razor-Kleen!"
The Roto-Rooter advertising jingle used today on TV and radio was created in 1954 and has been one of the longest-running and best-remembered musical jingles in history: [6]
Call Roto-Rooter, that's the name, and away go troubles down the drain.
The memorable bass voice in the commercial was that of Tom Fouts, more widely known as Captain Stubby of Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers .
Many memorable Roto-Rooter TV commercials were introduced over the years that featured the iconic Roto-Rooter advertising jingle, helping to make it a familiar piece of Americana.
In December 2017, Roto-Rooter released a TV commercial that introduced a new slogan, "We Do Both", to explain to the public that Roto-Rooter does both plumbing repair and water damage cleanup. The commercial, which began airing on television and in targeted internet ads, features a nosy neighbor asking a Roto-Rooter plumber standing at the curb "what are you doing with the Johnsons' sofa?" The Roto-Rooter plumber explains that the Johnsons had a pipe break that flooded their house and that he had fixed the broken pipe and now Roto-Rooter is "cleaning up the damage".
As a follow-up to “We Do Both”, in August 2019 Roto-Rooter premiered a sequel slogan campaign titled “We Do That Too” to showcase service options that go beyond the core services of plumbing repair, drain cleaning, and water damage clean-up. The “We Do That Too” campaign highlights the secondary services that Roto-Rooter offers such as pipe inspection, sewer repair, water heater repair, and sump pump replacement.
Plumbing is any system that conveys fluids for a wide range of applications. Plumbing uses pipes, valves, plumbing fixtures, tanks, and other apparatuses to convey fluids. Heating and cooling (HVAC), waste removal, and potable water delivery are among the most common uses for plumbing, but it is not limited to these applications. The word derives from the Latin for lead, plumbum, as the first effective pipes used in the Roman era were lead pipes.
A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, hot-water production, sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.
A sanitary sewer is an underground pipe or tunnel system for transporting sewage from houses and commercial buildings to a sewage treatment plant or disposal.
A plunger is a device driven by or against fluid pressure. In plumbing, the term plunger commonly refers to handheld tools used to clear blockages in drains and pipes. Plumbing plungers consist of a rubber suction cup attached to a stick (shaft) usually made of wood or plastic. A different bellows-like design also exists, usually constructed of plastic. Alternate names for plumbing plungers include force cup, plumber's friend or plumber's helper.
A drain cleaner or opener is a person, device or product unblocking sewer pipes or clogged wastewater drains. The term usually refers to a chemical or mechanical utensil such as a commercial chemical product, plumber's snake, drain auger or toilet plunger. Occasionally, it is applied to a plumber or another individual who performs the drain cleaning and hygiene.
A storm drain, storm sewer, surface water drain/sewer, or stormwater drain is infrastructure designed to drain excess rain and ground water from impervious surfaces such as paved streets, car parks, parking lots, footpaths, sidewalks, and roofs. Storm drains vary in design from small residential dry wells to large municipal systems.
A plumbing fixture is an exchangeable device which can be connected to a plumbing system to deliver and drain water.
A French drain is a trench filled with gravel or rock, or both, with or without a perforated pipe that redirects surface water and groundwater away from an area. The perforated pipe is called a weeping tile. When the pipe is draining, it "weeps", or exudes liquids. It was named during a time period when drainpipes were made from terracotta tiles.
In modern plumbing, a drain-waste-vent is a system that allows air to enter the plumbing system to maintain proper air pressure to enable the removal of sewage and greywater from a dwelling. Drain refers to water produced at fixtures such as sinks, and showers; waste refers to water from toilets. As the water runs down, proper venting is required to allow water to flow freely, and avoid a vacuum from being created. As the water runs down air must be allowed into the waste pipe either through a roof vent (external), or an internal vent.
A plumber's snake or drain snake or drain auger is a slender, flexible auger used to dislodge clogs in plumbing. The plumber's snake is often reserved for difficult clogs that cannot be loosened with a plunger. It is also sometimes called a toilet jack. A plumbers snake is often used by plumbers to clear a clogged drain pipe or sanitary sewer.
Pipeline video inspection is a form of telepresence used to visually inspect the interiors of pipelines, plumbing systems, and storm drains. A common application is for a plumber to determine the condition of small diameter sewer lines and household connection drain pipes.
Designated as an American National Standard, the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) is a model code developed by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials (IAPMO) to govern the installation and inspection of plumbing systems as a means of promoting the public's health, safety and welfare.
A fitting or adapter is used in pipe systems to connect sections of pipe or tube, adapt to different sizes or shapes, and for other purposes such as regulating fluid flow. These fittings are used in plumbing to manipulate the conveyance of fluids such as water for potatory, irrigational, sanitary, and refrigerative purposes, gas, petroleum, liquid waste, or any other liquid or gaseous substances required in domestic or commercial environments, within a system of pipes or tubes, connected by various methods, as dictated by the material of which these are made, the material being conveyed, and the particular environmental context in which they will be used, such as soldering, mortaring, caulking, Plastic welding, welding, friction fittings, threaded fittings, and compression fittings.
A pipefitter or steamfitter is a tradesman who installs, assembles, fabricates, maintains, and repairs mechanical piping systems. Pipefitters usually begin as helpers or apprentices. Journeyman pipefitters deal with industrial/commercial/marine piping and heating/cooling systems. Typical industrial process pipe is under high pressure, which requires metals such as carbon steel, stainless steel, and many different alloy metals fused together through precise cutting, threading, grooving, bending, and welding. A plumber concentrates on lower pressure piping systems for sewage and potable tap water in the industrial, commercial, institutional, or residential atmosphere. Utility piping typically consists of copper, PVC, CPVC, polyethylene, and galvanized pipe, which is typically glued, soldered, or threaded. Other types of piping systems include steam, ventilation, hydraulics, chemicals, fuel, and oil.
In plumbing, a trap is a U-shaped portion of pipe designed to trap liquid or gas to prevent unwanted flow; most notably sewer gases from entering buildings while allowing waste materials to pass through. In oil refineries, traps are used to prevent hydrocarbons and other dangerous gases and chemical fumes from escaping through drains. In heating systems, the same feature is used to prevent thermo-siphoning which would allow heat to escape to locations where it is not wanted. Similarly, some pressure gauges are connected to systems using U bends to maintain a local gas while the system uses liquid. For decorative effect, they can be disguised as complete loops of pipe, creating more than one U for added efficacy.
A drain is the primary vessel or conduit for unwanted water or waste liquids to flow away, either to a more useful area, funnelled into a receptacle, or run into sewers or stormwater mains as waste discharge to be released or processed.
A downspout, waterspout, downpipe, drain spout, drainpipe, roof drain pipe, or leader is a pipe for carrying rainwater from a rain gutter.
A pipe plug is a tool or material for the temporary sealing of pipelines in sewerage and other liquid and gas transportation systems; typically for maintenance or non-pressurized line testing. A pipe plug is also known as an inflatable plug, mechanical pipe plug, pipe test plug, pipeline isolation plug, expandable plug, pipe bung, pipe stopper, pipe packer, pneumatic pipe plug or pipe balloon depending on the region where it is used.
CCTV drain cameras, also known as sewer cameras or pipe inspection cameras, are a line of waterproof, high definition cameras that have become a widely popular technology in the plumbing profession. These cameras are advanced diagnostic tools that allow plumbers to execute plumbing inspections with heightened accuracy.
Brown Friday is the Friday after Thanksgiving in the United States. The term was coined by plumbers who report a sudden increase in service calls whom report clogged drains and broken garbage disposals happening, directly after Thanksgiving.
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