Plumber & HVACin Passaic, New Jersey.
Passaic is a dense, old city of about 70,000 people, and most of its homes are in one- to four-unit buildings. That means aging heating systems, old drain lines and buildings where one failure can reach more than one household.
- Dispatch 24/7, live
- Emergency 90 min or $50 off
- Diagnostic $79, credited
or $50 off the job
- 70,537
- people (2020 Census)
- 1873
- chartered as a city
- 57%
- of homes in one- to four-unit buildings
- 78%
- of households rent
Dispatch
How we get to Passaic
from our shop at 2 John St, Haledon, as the crow flies.
- Dispatch
- 24/7, a real person
- Emergencies
- 90 min or $50 off
- Diagnostic
- $79, credited
- ZIP codes
- 07055
- Passaic Park
- Eastside
- Downtown / Main Avenue
- Broadway
- Monroe Street
- Market Street
Also nearby: Clifton, Garfield, Wallington, Rutherford, East Rutherford.
What we see here
Passaic homes, and what they mean for the work
The patterns below come from the town's housing and utilities. The technician still checks your house before saying anything about it.
- Pre-1939 housing
- Old pipes, old heatThe city's 2024 master plan reexamination says the grand majority of its housing was built before 1939.
- One to four units
- Nearly 57% of unitsSingle-, two-, three- and four-unit buildings hold nearly 57% of the city's housing units.
- Mostly renters
- About 78% rentMost repairs run through a building owner, and one failure can affect several apartments.
- Passaic River
- Low streets floodIda in 2021 sent the river over its banks and flooded streets and homes in low-lying areas.
Homes & neighborhoods
Passaic neighborhoods and the homes we work in
Passaic is an old, dense city. Its 2024 master plan reexamination, using 2022 American Community Survey data, says the grand majority of the housing stock was built before 1939. Over 42% of housing units are in single-family or two-family buildings, and that rises to nearly 57% once three- and four-unit buildings are counted. Another 25.5% of occupied units are in buildings with ten or more apartments.
A two- to four-family house from that era has a lot of history behind its walls: drain stacks, supply piping and heating that have been patched, extended and partly replaced over many decades. Boilers feeding radiators are typical of heating in buildings this old, often sharing the basement with one or more water heaters. When something fails, the technician finds the actual cause before anything is priced. See boiler heating and water heaters.
Most Passaic households rent; the same plan puts renter-occupied housing at about 78%. For owners and landlords, that changes the math on a repair. One boiler, one water heater or one main drain can serve more than one apartment, so a failure lands on several households at once. If drains back up in more than one unit, the shared line is the place to start; see drain cleaning.
Passaic is in PSE&G's gas service area, so for a building that still burns oil, an oil-to-gas conversion is worth pricing. Every job carries a one-year parts and labor warranty.
Water & utilities
Who supplies Passaic, and what the water does
Dates that shaped the work here
- 1873City charter
Passaic is chartered as a city.
- 1903The Passaic Flood
About 20% of the city under water.
- 2021Ida
The Passaic River overflows its banks; low streets flood.
PSE&G provides both electric and gas service in Passaic. Water comes from the Passaic Valley Water Commission, which is owned by Paterson, Clifton and Passaic and runs the Little Falls treatment plant. For most of its customers, that water is blended with treated water from the North Jersey District Water Supply Commission's Wanaque plant. Passaic is also in the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission's service area.
The Passaic River forms the city's eastern edge, and it has a long flood record. In the October 1903 flood, flooding covered about 20 percent of Passaic. When Ida hit on September 1, 2021, the river overflowed its banks, streets flooded, and homes near a low-lying intersection on Passaic Avenue took on water.
In older buildings the usual risks are a basement that takes in groundwater during a long rain and a sewer line that backs up when the system is overloaded. A sump pump with battery backup covers the first, since the storms that flood basements also cut power. For the second, a backwater valve on the building sewer is worth asking about, and a camera inspection through sewer line repair shows the condition of an old line before anyone digs.
If a pipe bursts or a heating line fails at night, emergency pipe repair is dispatched 24/7, with a technician on site within 90 minutes of an emergency call or $50 off.
Permits
Permits in Passaic: what's required and who files
Most equipment replacements fall under New Jersey's minor work rule, N.J.A.C. 5:23-2.17A. Replacing a water heater, low-pressure boiler, warm-air furnace or air conditioning unit with a new one of like capacity counts as minor work. The contractor notifies the local construction office before starting, files the permit application within five business days, and the work is still inspected. In plain English: the job can start the same day, the paperwork follows, and an inspector still checks it.
Work that isn't like-for-like, such as a new gas line, moving equipment or adding a circuit for a condenser, goes through the regular permit process before work starts. We file permits when a job requires one.
Permits in Passaic are filed with the City of Passaic. For permit questions, start with City Hall at 330 Passaic Street, 973-365-5500, open weekdays 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., and ask for the construction office. Our NJ permits guide walks through the process, and our Passaic County page covers the surrounding towns.
When a replacement needs a permit, Rescue files it and coordinates the inspection. Straight repairs usually don't need one, and we tell you which yours is before you commit.
Before we arrive
An emergency in Passaic: what to do first
Three things that limit the damage while the van is on the way.
Water: shut the main
A burst pipe or a failed water heater is usually stopped at the main shutoff, typically where the water line enters the basement. Our shutoff guide shows how to find it. Then call us.
Gas smell: get out first
Don't flip switches or use the phone inside. Leave the house, then call your gas utility's emergency line or 911 from outside. Once the utility has made it safe, we handle the repair. See gas line service.
No heat: three quick checks
Check the thermostat batteries and setting, the furnace or boiler switch and breaker, and a clogged filter on a furnace. If it's still down, call. No heat in freezing weather gets a van now, any hour. See furnace repair.
How we price
You see the number before we start
Every visit works the same way, in Passaic and everywhere else we go.
- A licensed technician on site finds the actual problem
- The full price in writing before work starts
- The $79 comes off the total when you go ahead
If you decide not to go ahead, the $79 is all you pay. Every job carries a one-year parts and labor warranty, and when a job needs a permit we file it as part of the work. Technicians are background-checked. NJ Master HVACR Contractor Lic. #19HC00145700 · bonded · insured · $2M liability coverage.
Rebates in Passaic
PSE&G is both the electric and the gas utility in Passaic, so its programs are the ones to check for heating, cooling and water heating equipment, including heat pumps. Offers and eligibility change from year to year.
The federal tax credits for home heating and cooling equipment (Section 25C) ended December 31, 2025, so utility programs are what remain. Current details are on our NJ rebates page.
Everything we do
Services available in Passaic
Every service page carries published prices. What changes from house to house is what the technician finds, and you see that in writing before anyone starts. See also our Passaic County page.
Plumbing and HVAC in Passaic: the questions we get
I own a two- or three-family house in Passaic. Can you handle the whole building?
Yes. Boilers, water heaters, drains and gas lines in multi-family houses are all part of the work. If one boiler, water heater or main drain serves more than one apartment, tell the dispatcher, because a failure there affects every unit on it. You get the price in writing before work starts.
Who supplies water, sewer and gas in Passaic?
Water comes from the Passaic Valley Water Commission, which the city co-owns with Paterson and Clifton. Passaic is in the Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission's service area. PSE&G supplies both gas and electricity.
My building is near the Passaic River. What should I do about flooding?
Start with a sump pump that has battery backup, since river storms often take the power out too. If sewage or storm water has come up through a floor drain, ask about a backwater valve and have the sewer line checked with a camera. Ida in 2021 is the most recent reminder that the river can leave its banks.
How fast can you get to an emergency in Passaic?
Dispatch runs 24 hours a day with a real person answering, and an emergency in Passaic goes out from our shop at 2 John St in Haledon. Our published commitment is a technician on site within 90 minutes of your emergency call, or $50 off the job.
What does a visit cost?
The diagnostic is $79. A licensed technician finds the actual problem and prices the repair in writing before any work starts. Go ahead with the job and the $79 comes off the total; decide not to, and $79 is all you pay.
Are you licensed and insured?
Yes. NJ Master HVACR Contractor License #19HC00145700, bonded, and insured with $2M in liability coverage. Our technicians are background-checked, and the work carries a one-year parts and labor warranty.
Need someone in Passaic?
A real dispatcher, any hour of any day.