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                                                                       EXHIBIT 1





CONTACT: Brian A. Brumm                                    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
         (513) 762-6685


                 ROTO-ROOTER'S SPECIAL COMMITTEE TAKES NEUTRAL
                        POSITION ON CHEMED TENDER OFFER


        CINCINNATI, August 27, 1996--Roto-Rooter, Inc. (NASDAQ:ROTO) today
announced that a Special Committee of its Board of Directors has determined to
take a neutral position with respect to the tender offer that Chemed Corporation
(NYSE:CHE) commenced on August 14, 1996 to purchase any and all of the
outstanding shares of Common Stock of Roto-Rooter for a cash price of $41.00 per
share. On August 20, 1996, Roto-Rooter's Board of Directors appointed Donald E.
Saunders, a Roto-Rooter director, to act as a Special Committee with full
authority and responsibility to determine Roto-Rooter's response to Chemed's
offer and to prepare Roto-Rooter's Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on
Schedule 14D-9. After consulting with legal and financial advisors, the Special
Committee concluded that the $41.00 offer price is fair, and that stockholders
should make a determination whether to tender based upon their own unique
circumstances. The Special Committee's conclusion is set forth in a
Solicitation/Recommendation Statement on Schedule 14D-9 which Roto-Rooter filed
today with the Securities and Exchange Commission and which is being mailed to
Roto-Rooter's stockholders.  



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