Barter Plumbing and Heating

Barter Plumbing and Heating works out of 22 Hawthorne St. in Malden, and its site describes itself as a 24-hour outfit built for same-day calls — water heaters, leaks, toilets, faucets, disposals, sinks, and caulking. It says it covers Malden, Medford, Melrose, and Stoneham, and it's listed as a member of the Malden Chamber of Commerce. The last few months follow a pattern that shows up across five years of reviews. In March, a customer called about a new kitchen faucet and said Earl showed up on time and left the area clean; in January, someone with a leak under the kitchen sink got it diagnosed and fixed on the same visit. One household that's used the company for both planned jobs and emergencies on an older, harder-to-work-in house over time points to the same thing: quick callbacks and clear communication rather than a single good visit. Zoomed out, the numbers back that up — 51 reviews since 2021 spread across five different sites, and Google alone puts it at 53 ratings, all five stars. Nothing in that span, recent or otherwise, turns up a documented complaint, and BuildZoom scores the business 90 out of 100. One thing worth asking about before booking: nearly every review, on every site, names the same person, Earl, as the one who actually shows up and does the work. That points to a small, hands-on operation rather than a crew-based company — worth confirming who's actually coming, especially if the job is bigger than a single visit. That profile fits the everyday plumbing problems the site advertises — a dead water heater, a leaking faucet, a slow drain — and it's held up without a bad review turning up across five different directories. For anything larger, confirm scheduling and who's on the job before you book.