How to Find Your Sewer Cleanout

A cleanout is a capped opening on the building drain or lateral that lets a provider run a cable or camera into the line without going through a toilet or sink.

Walk around the outside of the house. Look for a short pipe, usually 3 or 4 inches wide, sticking a few inches out of the ground near the foundation, often on the side facing the street. It may have a threaded plastic or metal cap.

Check the front yard between the house and the sidewalk, along side yards, near the driveway and under bushes. Some homes have a two-way cleanout near the property line installed during a later repair.

Older homes sometimes have a cleanout in a crawl space, a garage or a utility room. If there is none outside, check there.

Some older homes have no accessible cleanout. A provider can work through a toilet or a roof vent, but it is slower. Adding a cleanout during the next repair makes every future visit easier.

Do not bury the cleanout under mulch or pavers. Keep the cap intact; a broken cap lets debris and rainwater into the line. Mark it with a small stake if it is easy to miss.

If you open a cleanout during a backup, wear gloves and stand to the side. Loosen the cap slowly. If water pushes out around the threads, stop and tighten it.

A clear, accessible cleanout makes the city-standard lateral video for an older San Bruno home quicker and easier. See sewer lateral inspection.

A two-way cleanout has two openings, one pointing toward the house and one toward the street. It lets a provider clear or inspect in either direction. Many are installed near the property line during lateral repairs.

Gardeners sometimes cover cleanouts with soil, bark or pavers. If you are redoing the yard, mark the cleanout and keep it at grade with a visible cap.

A broken cap lets dirt, leaves and rainwater into the lateral. Replacing it is inexpensive and prevents trouble.

If your home has no outdoor cleanout, a provider can add one during a repair or as a standalone job. It makes every future cleaning and inspection faster.

Make sure others in the household know where the cleanout is. In an emergency, whoever is home can point the provider to it.

Most outdoor cleanouts are white PVC or black ABS with a threaded cap, sometimes with a square nub on top for a wrench. Older ones may be cast iron. Some sit inside a small round box with a lid, flush with the ground. If you find a capped pipe near the house and are not sure, a provider can confirm.

Irrigation valves, gas risers and electrical conduits can look similar. Never open anything you are not sure of. A sewer cleanout is usually 3 or 4 inches across, on the street side of the house, and in line with where plumbing leaves the building.

If you cannot find your cleanout, a provider can locate it, or add one during the next repair. Call (650) 360-4973.

If your home has an addition, its plumbing may join the building drain at a different point, sometimes with its own cleanout. Check around the addition's foundation too.

Find it, keep it uncovered and tell your household where it is. That simple step saves time in every drain emergency.

If you cannot find your cleanout, a provider can locate it or add one. Calls to (650) 360-4973 are answered 24 hours a day by independent local providers, who explain the likely cause and how the price is set before any work starts. You decide whether to go ahead.

Some San Bruno homes have a second cleanout near the sidewalk, often added during a lateral repair or for a point-of-sale inspection. It lets a provider work toward the main without going through the house line. Check near the front property line, under shrubs and beside the driveway.

Take a photo of your cleanout and save it on your phone with a note about where it is. In an emergency, you can show it to the provider before they arrive.

Five minutes finding your cleanout today can save an hour during an emergency. If a drain is backing up now, call (650) 360-4973 to reach a local San Bruno provider.