Question 1

Is 1-800 WATER DAMAGE or Mr. Rooter cheaper to open?

Accepted Answer

1-800 WATER DAMAGE costs $142,903–$312,398 and Mr. Rooter costs $152,900–$298,675 to open (FDD Item 7). 1-800 WATER DAMAGE has the lower entry cost.

Question 2

Which earns more, 1-800 WATER DAMAGE or Mr. Rooter?

Accepted Answer

1-800 WATER DAMAGE reports $512,051 average annual unit revenue vs $2,093,531 for Mr. Rooter (FDD Item 19). Mr. Rooter is higher. For 1-800 WATER DAMAGE: Averaged per franchisee, not per outlet - not comparable with per-outlet figures; Reported for a subset of outlets rather than the whole system.

Question 3

Which is safer, 1-800 WATER DAMAGE or Mr. Rooter?

Accepted Answer

SBA 7(a) charge-off rate is 20.0% for 1-800 WATER DAMAGE and 14.3% for Mr. Rooter. Lower is safer, so Mr. Rooter has the stronger loan-repayment record.

Question 4

Which is the better franchise, 1-800 WATER DAMAGE or Mr. Rooter?

Accepted Answer

FranchiseVerdict grades 1-800 WATER DAMAGE D and Mr. Rooter A, from FDD Items 5–7, 19–21 and SBA loan performance. See the full side-by-side above.

Metric	1-800 WATER DAMAGE	Mr. Rooter
Verdict Grade	DBelow average	AStrongest tier
Investment Range	$143K – $312K	$153K – $299K
Franchise Fee	$59K	$43K
Royalty Rate	10.0%	6.0%
Average Revenue (Item 19)	$512KPer franchisee, not per outlet · Outlet subset	$2.1M
SBA Charge-Off Rate	20.0% (24 loans)	14.3% (97 loans)
Total Units	160	240
Unit Growth (YoY)	-15 units	+10 units
Year Began Franchising	2015	1993
FDD Year	2026	2026

1-800 WATER DAMAGE vs Mr. Rooter