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RootX success stories
Al Burwell
Mr. Rooter
Champaign, IL
Roots most often enter pipes from the top and hang down. That’s why Al Burwell at Mr. Rooter in Champaign, IL switched from copper sulfate to RootX.The copper sulfate, he said, is like rock salt and just “lays in the bottom of the pipe.” If it doesn’t reach the roots, it can’t kill them. By contrast, the patented RootX foam “fills the entire pipe” to kill the roots where they occur most.
Burwell saw RootX at trade shows and learned from the Mr. Rooter corporate office that a number of franchisees had used RootX successfully. His franchise averages 8-10 service calls a day serving a mix that’s about 60 percent commercial and 40 percent residential. At least half of his residential customers need root control when their sewer pipes are cleaned, he said.
Mr. Rooter crews use video cameras to show customers the roots that have grown inside their pipes. After treating the pipes with RootX, the crews will go back 30-60 days later to show the results.
“We like to show customers the sewer pipe with the roots in it,” Burwell said. “You’ve got to have something they can touch and feel to get that ‘wow’ effect. People buy what they can see.”
And Mr. Rooter’s customers have been seeing results with RootX. Burwell said his crews go through 10 cases of 4-lb. jars every year. Most customers schedule a follow-up treatment when Mr. Rooter calls a year later. Plus, neighbors will often ask to schedule a treatment when crews are out on a service call.
Burwell and his customers are sold on RootX. “It’s been phenomenal,” he said. “I don’t think there’s anything in the market that’s in the same league as RootX.”
