Best Septic Tank Cleaning in Portland OR

William, the technician they sent to my house to connect all our under sink plumbing after we removed our sink to re-do our counters was the rudest, grouchiest man! I had called before scheduling the appointment to get an estimate (which turned out to be way more than everywhere else). Unknown to me at the time, they charge based on the job rather than by the hour like most plumbers. Other plumbers were about $85/hr and the job ended up taking 1.5hrs to complete, but I was charged $337 (nearly 4 hours worth of time). When I tested the dishwasher and water filter, neither had water going to them. When I pointed it out, he rudely told me that he had connected the pipes he was supposed to, and if the water was turned off it was not his job to turn it back on. Umm... I think as a plumber that is precisely your job! I would assume when hiring someone to connect your pipes, that testing them to make sure they work is part of the process... One of the pipes was leaking (which it hadn't been before) yet instead of admitting faulty reconnection as I'm inclined to believe, he insisted I needed a new pipe and charged another $99 on top of my already exorbitant rate. He was EXTREMELY RUDE the entire time. The friendliest thing he did was after I gave im my credit card to pay, he told me I would have been better off buying a new garbage disposal, new pipes and doing it all myself for how much I paid him...yeahhh... thanks...

I've hired Sewer Rats 3 times - for work at 2 of my  North-East Portland homes.  Once they provided the most painless and inexpensive way to replace a busted Water Heater - that was flooding a basement .  They bought one at their Company rate for me - and brought it right over to install - and returned with a dolly and truck later to haul off my old one, which I really appreciated.

I've also used Sewer Rat Patrick a few times for Residential Sink Clean-outs, the first time, after unsuccessfully trying to un-clog the drain myself for hours.  It was a stoopid mistake to even try.

Just call Patrick right away - just plan a few bucks in your annual maintenance budget, and save your self the frustration and mess.

He suggested once how I might save some money by doing a few procedures myself - but frankly I'd rather hire him than run HOT water for an hour and fight with the dang mucky Snake.

Patrick's work also has received positive comments from others, after I referred him to friends for various drain emergencies.  You'll get a written receipt, and patient, polite treatment - with a charming Jersey Boy accent  -  for the fast work. Thanx, Pat!

Charlie Papp (who did most of the marketing and created the Branding for the Company)  died 2 years ago in June - but Patrick Biscoff is still doing fast and reliable work at a great rate.

Related work:

To repair or replace your Sewer line to help sell your old house: call Ted Reynolds. They:
have big trucks and back-hoes,
all the impressive equipment needed for the job,
work even in the rain,
leave a clean work-site, and
can do a Video scope first to help you understand and SEE what's needed.  
They saved me money after a higher bid came in that would have also required a sidewalk replacement,
and even prevented damage to plants that were in the way by moving, then replacing them afterward.  Way - Kool!   Nice work Crew too.

Sierra Excavating can also do this work, at a comparable rate, and the (gorgeous) Owner formerly worked with Reynolds. They speak highly of one another, and Sierra was recommended by an experienced Broker.

For a good Plumber, hire Dean Pottle, if you can get him.

Sewer Rats' Owner Patrick B recommends Dean, (As Seen on Cable TV Dean's Scene) as do others I've spoken with for referrals. Dean is also a like-able guy, and really into good Micro-brews, too - so offer one when the job is done.

We use this company for all of our remodels. They do amazing work. Great price, clean work environment. Fast & reliable. Highly recommend them.

I posted a truthful but negative review of the terrible experience with this company in June 2020.  Now, more than a year later, the owner has responded claiming that I must be mixed up because he is in Portland, OR and I am in Boston.  Don't believe his attempt to avoid responsibility. The job was for my mother-in-law who lives in Portland. She asked me to help explain her situation and to offer payment upon completion of the job. Once I spoke with the person who arrived, I knew there was some sort of flim flam going on though. He wanted payment before doing one thing. This was the experience I was posting about and there was no mistake or mix-up on my part.

I hired Tualatin Valley Plumbing to fix a broken hose bib that had burst. The entire process went smoothly from the moment they wrote me back here on Yelp, to scheduling, to the quick repair that took place shortly after. I wish I could remember the technician's name, but he did a great job. It was a fixed price for this repair rather than an hourly rate, which I like. I would definitely hire again.

Highly recommend! Had a pipe break they were at my house within the hour, pipes fixed and water back in within 15 minutes. Grant is awesome!

Updating my review from 1star to 4stars because I feel much better about our interaction, and the response that I received from Ken and the two workers who completed the emergency sewer repair.    I realize I was uneducated on the sewer system in my newly inherited 100year old home, and I did not know what questions to ask in order to clarify the work that I requested--therefore I felt only half of the job was completed and my subsequent 1star review.  Ken was quick to respond and very patient and helpful in explaining the procedures for the two different systems and I have a better understanding that the work I requested was completed.  I am a  better educated (and happier) customer thanks to good communication efforts.  Two of the workers who completed the repair also stopped by and were very concerned about the thought of their work being incomplete or problematic.  The quality of their work was not the problem, and we all realized there was a misunderstanding in the procedures for the main sewer line and the drain lines.  They checked out the drainage system inside the basement and were very helpful in their explanation of the drainage repair procedure.  I feel I have a better understanding of the work that was completed and there are no further issues with the quality of their repair work.  We received good communication from the workers, Ken, and Ms. Shelli in the office.  I also appreciate the company's quick scheduling--they were able to come out 1month before any other company, which saved us from being without water for more than 30 days.  I appreciate their work and their willingness to resolve misunderstandings.

Aaron was awesome to work with.  Bid came in at less than half the highest competitor to replace about 50 feet of water line in my 100 year old house, in part because he found a creative way to avoid sidewalk damage/repairs that others anticpated. Job was also tricky because of rocky soild and 10 foot retaining wall. Took more time than expected because of these factors, but he stook to his bid with no overages/change orders, even worked a saturday to finish ontime for the inspection the next Monday.  Also hooked up a temporary line so that we had during the process. Super responsive through-out the process. Work was high quality, passed first inspection, and no sidewalk repair needed. We are very happy.  Thanks arron and team!

They told us it would cost $600 to pump our septic system.  That seemed sensible and they were very prompt with scheduling.  When they arrived they couldn't find the pump out location, so they left... but not before charging us $315 for a 'truck fee' which is the first we had heard of such a fee.  I feel robbed.

EDIT: The owner called me after the fact and was very kind and reasonable.  Since the $315 wasn't previously agreed on, he is refunding that.  While a little more clarity before hand would have avoided this issue, the resolution was excellent and full of empathy.

These guys are the teal deal!!
Fixed multiple plumbing problems including crawl space leak
Solved first time
Highly recommended

We were given Malmedal's name from a friend and I'm so pleased with their service. We needed a bathroom sink, faucet, and toilet plumbed. They were prompt in getting a plumber scheduled and Dave showed up before the scheduled time! What a nice surprise with a service call. The work was done quickly and Dave was professional and very friendly. Everything looks great and we will definitely call Malmedal whenever we need plumbing work done.

My Egress window well flooded, I spent over an hour bailing water until it was empty. The young man came out spent 2.5 hours messing with it, filling the well with water. The water was back where it started, ready to flood the basement again. He said he cant fix it. He didn't have the right tools to drain the water. I pressed him on it and basically said its not his job. He charged $500 to make the problem worse. Shame on you ROTO ROOTER. Solution: Provide proper tools or train your emplyees better. Lower your prices when you fail to fix something and make it worse!

Used their service to install a new gas line.  I would not personally use their service again because their service is extremely slow. Had to wait 2 weeks without a stove because every time I called them the earliest anyone could come out was always the following week.  
They didn't call to schedule the inspection early enough for the following day and had to wait a week for the inspection.  
Then the first install failed inspection, then they wouldn't come out until the following week again.  
I had to keep calling them to convince them to come out as soon as possible. Asked to speak to manager/owner but apparently was on vacation.

I used Roth to install an air conditioning system into my home and the service was fantastic, they were able to re-route my hook up to acommodate where I wanted the outdoor unit and the technicians were very friendly and helpful, they even came back to install a new inside thermostat. I would recommend them!

They did a great job cementing a new mailbox and post for me. They arrived on time and finished the work in a timely manner. We had good communication ahead of time so there were no issues of misunderstanding each other. I felt the price was a little high but will probably use them again for jobs in the future.

Scheduled striping with River City, the crew was very professional very quick and organized they for sure know what they are doing . Did an amazing job at my property I really recommend them

Save yourself the headache. Kept moving the appointment and then once the appointment day did arrive, they gave me a window from noon to 4PM never came, never called until 8PM to reschedule. Two days wasted with this company only to have nobody show up. They do not keep their promises and are not responsive or communicative. When they finally called the 2nd day to inform me that they again didn't show up, I laughed and said that I was done working with them. I will never call Roto Rooter again.

The technician walked in and took 3 minutes to look at two leaky showers.  He then announced it would cost $1200.   My husband politely said no thanks.  On the way to the door, the technician reminded him that we would be charged $100 for the call and that they had our credit card on file.   My husband called the company to complain, but had to leave a message because no one picked up.   We have not received any reply and you can bet they ran that credit card amount immediately.    We did get an email reminder to schedule our next service.    

This place is a total rip off.    After a call to Delta to get parts info, and ordering them online, today my husband spent 30 mins to replace both stems.   The two Delta stems cost a total of less than $210.     After it was done, we felt $400 was a reasonable charge to have a plumber handle that.   How in the world the tech thought $1200 was a reasonable charge is crazy...   Do NOT use these folks.