25 Years of Home Service: How Mainstream Home Services Became an Inland Northwest Mainstay

Mainstream Home Services has grown alongside the Inland Northwest for more than 25 years, but the company began on a much smaller scale. Todd and Elaine Damschen started Mainstream as a home-based electrical business in 2000. Todd was a journeyman electrician with plans to own a company, and he taught himself the business side by reading books and learning skills such as writing contracts. Elaine, who had worked as a teacher, became involved early and officially joined the company in 2002. What started with electrical work eventually expanded into heating and cooling in 2016 and plumbing in early 2017, creating the foundation for the broad home-service company customers know today.

“Mainstream is AMAZING! Just make it easy and call Mainstream.” – Whitney M.

Growing With Local Homeowners

Mainstream’s expansion offers a good example of how a local service business can grow by paying attention to its customers. As the company built its electrical client base, customers regularly asked Mainstream for recommendations for other trades. Rather than continuing to send those homeowners elsewhere, the company began adding its own service divisions. Elaine Damschen described the move as a natural progression toward making Mainstream a one-stop resource.

Today, Mainstream provides heating, air conditioning, plumbing, drain and sewer, electrical, and related home services. Its current service area reaches communities across the greater Spokane area and North Idaho. That breadth matters for homeowners who would rather develop a relationship with one service provider than search for a different company every time another part of the house needs attention.

The company’s growth has received recognition outside the region as well. Inc. lists Mainstream as a three-time Inc. 5000 honoree, ranking it No. 3,937 in 2018, No. 3,680 in 2019, and No. 3,434 in 2021.

Being There When It Matters

Home service takes on a different meaning when a furnace stops working during a cold Inland Northwest night. A scheduled tune-up can wait for an appointment, but losing heat in winter can demand much faster attention. Mainstream offers heating services that include furnace, heat pump, and boiler repair, replacement, and maintenance.

When the heat goes out, a homeowner might immediately search for “emergency heating repair Spokane” to find local help. Choosing a company familiar with the region and its winter conditions can simplify an already frustrating situation. Mainstream has spent decades working in the local climate, and its expansion into HVAC gave existing electrical customers another service they could obtain from a company they already knew.

“Would recommend it to anyone and if I need more services in the future I will be going to Mainstream Electric. Thank you for helping keep my family cool and safe during the hottest part of the year.” – Richard L.

Mainstream’s local roots also influenced how the business has used its trade expertise in the community. In 2020, the company established Miracles from Mainstream, a nonprofit initiative that worked with local organizations. One earlier partnership with Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners involved replacing a broken furnace for a resident as freezing temperatures approached. Mainstream had already supported area nonprofits before establishing the initiative, including a monthly charitable program and sponsorship of SNAP’s Dad’s Day Dash.

Solving Problems Across the Home

Modern houses rely on interconnected mechanical and electrical systems, which means a homeowner may not always know which trade is needed when trouble starts. A heating problem can involve a thermostat, electrical connection, motor, control board, airflow issue, or another part of the system. Diagnosing HVAC component failures requires more than knowing that the house feels too cold or too warm. A trained technician needs to determine why the equipment stopped doing its job before recommending the appropriate repair.

Mainstream’s combination of HVAC and electrical services is useful in situations where the source of a problem is not immediately obvious. The same broader approach extends to plumbing, drains, sewers, water heaters, electrical panels, and other systems that homeowners depend on every day.

“Thank all of you for taking great care of me and my house!! You inspected and I have you scheduled for wiring new light fixtures and replacing my furnace and AC system. It was way past due!! You are all so knowledgeable and felt like I was talking with old friends. Thank you very much!! Honesty and having a company to trust means the world to me!!! I have never had such great communication for service. Wow. You are all awesome!!” – Brenda J.

That range represents a substantial change from Mainstream’s early years. When the company added HVAC in 2016 and plumbing in 2017, it was responding both to customer requests and to a desire to build several strong service divisions. By 2018, the business employed 29 people and had recorded 90% revenue growth during the period Inc. considered for its first Inc. 5000 appearance.

A Brand People Remember

Mainstream has also developed a visual identity that is hard to confuse with another contractor. Its yellow-and-blue vehicles feature Zapp, the company mascot with a lightbulb-inspired design. By 2020, local business reporting was already describing those vans and Zapp as recognizable elements of the company.

Behind that recognizable branding was a business growing fast enough to need considerably more room. Mainstream moved from Post Falls to a larger Spokane Valley property around the beginning of 2020. Reporting at the time described the new three-building complex as nearly five times the size of its former 3,400-square-foot facility. The move provided additional warehouse, office, parking, training, and vehicle space as the company added technicians.

By 2022, Mainstream had reached about 80 employees. That year also marked an ownership change when Mainstream became a subsidiary of Radiant Plumbing & Air Conditioning. Todd and Elaine Damschen remained involved following the transaction, while the companies began sharing ideas and practices across their organizations.

Built for the Next Call

Twenty-five years is a long run in an industry where reputation gets tested one service call at a time. Mainstream Home Services has moved from a home-based electrical operation to a company capable of addressing many of the systems that keep Inland Northwest homes comfortable, functional, and safe.

Its history includes rapid growth, national business recognition, community projects, new service divisions, and a move into a much larger Spokane Valley operation. Yet the basic reason for its expansion has remained easy to understand. Homeowners needed help with more parts of their homes, and Mainstream kept adding the expertise to provide it. After more than a quarter-century of change, that local connection remains an important part of the Mainstream story.