Why Flamingo Drain
Nobody wants a drain company in their house. Given that, we decided the least we could do was be fast, be clear about the price before we start, and leave the place cleaner than a lot of people expect.
The whole idea
Specialists on drains, plumbers for everything else
Most plumbing companies are ready for anything in a shallow way. Water heaters, repipes, fixtures, gas, remodels, and somewhere in the back of the van, a small cable machine for when a drain blocks.
That is a perfectly good business, and it means that when your drain is the problem, the truck arriving is carrying one modest machine and a hope that your blockage is close and soft. If it is not, the visit becomes a diagnosis, and the fix becomes a second trip on Thursday.
We went deeper instead. Every truck carries the full drain and sewer range: sectional and drum cable machines from 1.5 inch branch lines up to 6 inch mains, a jetter, a push camera and a locator. There is no scenario in residential or light commercial drain work where we have to go back for the right tool. And because we are full-service plumbers as well, the fixture, valve or heater behind the problem gets handled on the same visit.
What you get, every time
Six things we will not compromise on
A 90-minute target
Not a nine-hour window. Dispatch gives you a real arrival time and calls you if anything changes. Standing water does not get more manageable while you wait for a Tuesday slot.
Flat rate, in writing, first
You see and agree the price before a tool comes out of the truck. No hourly meter, so nobody benefits from a slow afternoon. If we find something genuinely different underneath, we stop and requote instead of adding to the bill.
No after-hours surcharge
A blocked main at 1am on a holiday costs what it costs at 1pm on a Wednesday. We think charging people extra for the crime of having an emergency at an inconvenient hour is a poor way to run a service business.
Your house, respected
Shoe covers on, drop cloths down, containment around the work area before anything opens. When we leave, the only difference should be that the drain works.
A camera, not a guess
If a line has blocked twice, or if anyone is talking about digging, we put a camera down it and you watch with us. It regularly turns a proposed line replacement into a spot repair, and it means you are never taking our word for it.
A warranty that means something
If a line we cleared blocks again within the warranty period, we come back and it is on us. We would rather absorb that occasionally than clear lines in a way that guarantees a repeat call.
What actually happens
Your service call, start to finish
There is no reason a drain call should be mysterious. Here is exactly how one goes.
1. The call
A person answers, not a queue. We ask which fixture, what it is doing, and whether anything else in the building is affected, because that last answer changes what we load. You get an arrival window before you hang up.
2. Arrival
The technician introduces himself, puts shoe covers on at the door, and asks to see the problem before he says a word about price. He will also ask whether you have poured anything down it, which is not a trick question.
3. Diagnosis
He determines which line is blocked, roughly how far out, and whether this is one fixture or a shared line. On anything beyond a simple branch clog he will locate the cleanout so the work happens outside rather than through your bathroom.
4. The quote
A flat price for the work, on paper or on a screen, with the method named. You say yes or no. Nothing starts until you have said yes, and there is no charge if you say no.
5. The work
Containment goes down, the line gets opened, and then it gets tested under real flow rather than a trickle. If jetting or a camera would materially change the outcome, he will tell you and let you decide, without pressure.
6. Before he leaves
The area is cleaned and disinfected if needed, everything goes back where it was, and you get told what caused it and what would keep it from happening again. In plain language, not a lecture.
Things we would rather say up front
Where we will talk you out of spending money
A drain company has an obvious incentive to recommend the bigger service. Here are the three places we routinely do the opposite, because a customer who trusts us is worth more than one extra jetting job.
If cabling is enough, we cable it
A hair mat in a shower branch does not need high-pressure water. We are not going to sell you a jetting job on a two-inch line that a cable clears in twenty minutes.
If the pipe is broken, we will not jet it
Jetting a line with a crack or a serious belly is money spent on a pipe that needs repair. We will show you the camera footage and tell you to keep the jetting budget for the fix.
If you can fix it in ten minutes, we will say so
Plenty of bathroom sink clogs are sitting on the pop-up stopper. If that is what we find on the phone, we will tell you how to pull it and you can keep your money.
If a drain clean will not fix it, we say so
Plenty of "drain" calls turn out to be a fixture, a valve or a water heater. We would rather tell you that and fix the actual cause than sell you a cleaning that was never going to hold.
On every truck
The reason we finish in one visit
Specialization is only worth something if it shows up in the equipment. Here is what is on board when we pull into your driveway.
- Drum machines for 1.5 to 3 inch branch lines: sinks, tubs, showers, laundry.
- Sectional machines with interchangeable cutter heads for 3 to 6 inch mains.
- Hydro jetters with nozzle sets for grease, sand, silt and root hair.
- Self-leveling push cameras with recording, so you keep the footage.
- Line locators to mark position and depth above ground before anyone digs.
- Containment and cleanup kit, because half of this job is not making a mess of your house.
One call, done properly
Put us to the test
Call and describe what has stopped. You will get a straight answer about what it probably is, what it will cost, and when we can be there.