I am out $1500 for a simple clogged sewer pipe under my home. But I almost got ripped off for $7000 by this company.
My downstairs toilet backed up and flooded the basement. My home warranty company sent Clear Water out to fix the problem.
The first guy who came out couldn't figure out how to access the blocked pipe. It cost me 361 dollars for his visit which accomplished nothing. At least the guy, Jose, was a decent guy.
His boss, Dave, came by a few days later. The first thing he announced was that the blockage was outside the house and would require complete excavation of the driveway and replacement of pipes at a cost of 6-7000 dollars. But the fact is that the outside pipes could not have been blocked because all sorts of other things were draining through there just fine.
Eventually Dave admitted that the blockage was under the house and proceeded to try to unblock it with his very amateurish equipment. After an hour or so he proclaimed that he had succeeded and began to pack up.
I paid an extra 300 dollars for him to run a camera through the pipes to make sure there was nothing serious wrong. He started feeding the camera into the pipe. After about 20 feet water began to rise and cover the camera view. He announced that this meant that there was a dip in the pipes under the house and that the whole basement needed to be dug up to replace all of the pipes. It would cost me an additional 6300 dollars. I was shocked and upset to say the least.
When Dave put the toilet back he didn't properly seal the flapper. Therefore water began to leak into the pipes. (I can't prove in court that Dave did this but it's the truth.) Two days later I came downstairs and found the basement flooded again with more raw sewage. That clearly meant that the blockage had never been cleared because nobody had used the facilities for over a week.
I contacted a local plumber in the area whose business has been around for 100 years and who is well known in the community. He was kind enough to listen to my story and offer his adv ice. He thought my whole experience sounded extremely fishy and suspected that I was being ripped off. He was very busy but I was able to convince him to help me out.
This plumber was a true expert and he had the real equipment. He used a large industrial size snake to clear the pipe. You could actually hear the rush of the water when he broke through. Then he got his camera and ran it through 100 feet of the piping all the way to the outside of the house. The pipes were in perfect condition. No dips. In absolutely excellent shape. I saw it for myself.
So I'm out $1500 for a job that should have cost around $300. But I'm happy because I'm not down the $7000 I would be if I had listened to Clear Flow.
The question becomes, is Clear Flow just incompetent or is there something more sinister going on. Dave seemed intent on turning this into a big project -- first outside the house and then under the house. He knew that I knew absolutely nothing about plumbing. I was easy prey. I guess I will never know the answer to that question.
In summary, don't hire Clear Flow for anything that can't be solved with a simple toilet plunger.
Clear Flow Water Solutions, LLC Reviews
I am out $1500 for a simple clogged sewer pipe under my home. But I almost got ripped off for $7000 by this company.
My downstairs toilet backed up and flooded the basement. My home warranty company sent Clear Water out to fix the problem.
The first guy who came out couldn't figure out how to access the blocked pipe. It cost me 361 dollars for his visit which accomplished nothing. At least the guy, Jose, was a decent guy.
His boss, Dave, came by a few days later. The first thing he announced was that the blockage was outside the house and would require complete excavation of the driveway and replacement of pipes at a cost of 6-7000 dollars. But the fact is that the outside pipes could not have been blocked because all sorts of other things were draining through there just fine.
Eventually Dave admitted that the blockage was under the house and proceeded to try to unblock it with his very amateurish equipment. After an hour or so he proclaimed that he had succeeded and began to pack up.
I paid an extra 300 dollars for him to run a camera through the pipes to make sure there was nothing serious wrong. He started feeding the camera into the pipe. After about 20 feet water began to rise and cover the camera view. He announced that this meant that there was a dip in the pipes under the house and that the whole basement needed to be dug up to replace all of the pipes. It would cost me an additional 6300 dollars. I was shocked and upset to say the least.
When Dave put the toilet back he didn't properly seal the flapper. Therefore water began to leak into the pipes. (I can't prove in court that Dave did this but it's the truth.) Two days later I came downstairs and found the basement flooded again with more raw sewage. That clearly meant that the blockage had never been cleared because nobody had used the facilities for over a week.
I contacted a local plumber in the area whose business has been around for 100 years and who is well known in the community. He was kind enough to listen to my story and offer his adv ice. He thought my whole experience sounded extremely fishy and suspected that I was being ripped off. He was very busy but I was able to convince him to help me out.
This plumber was a true expert and he had the real equipment. He used a large industrial size snake to clear the pipe. You could actually hear the rush of the water when he broke through. Then he got his camera and ran it through 100 feet of the piping all the way to the outside of the house. The pipes were in perfect condition. No dips. In absolutely excellent shape. I saw it for myself.
So I'm out $1500 for a job that should have cost around $300. But I'm happy because I'm not down the $7000 I would be if I had listened to Clear Flow.
The question becomes, is Clear Flow just incompetent or is there something more sinister going on. Dave seemed intent on turning this into a big project -- first outside the house and then under the house. He knew that I knew absolutely nothing about plumbing. I was easy prey. I guess I will never know the answer to that question.
In summary, don't hire Clear Flow for anything that can't be solved with a simple toilet plunger.