How to Find Your Sewer Cleanout Before You Need It

What to look for

What does a cleanout look like?

Look for a round cap about 3 or 4 inches across. It usually has a raised square or a recessed square in the middle so it can be turned with a wrench. The cap may be black or white plastic, gray cast iron or brass. It sits on a short pipe that comes up out of the ground or sticks out from a wall.

Some are flush with the ground inside a small round or rectangular box with a lid. Others stand a few inches above the soil. A two-way cleanout has a U or V shape below the cap, which lets a cable be sent toward the house or toward the street.

Where to look

Where is the cleanout usually located?

The sewer line generally runs in a fairly straight path from the house to the street. Start by working out where that path is likely to be, then search along it.

1. Outside the bathroom. Go to the exterior wall nearest the main bathroom or the toilet. Cleanouts are often within a few feet of that wall, close to the foundation.
2. Along the front and sides. Walk the front and both sides of the house, looking in planting beds, behind shrubs and beside steps.
3. Between the house and the street. Check the lawn, the edge of the driveway and the area near the sidewalk for a small box or cap.
4. In the garage or crawl space. Some homes have the cleanout indoors, on the floor of the garage or on the main pipe under a raised house.
5. At the back, if the sewer is there. Where the public sewer runs along a rear alley, the line and its cleanout will head that way.

If you cannot find it

What if there is no cleanout?

It may be buried. Soil, gravel, paving and landscaping added over the years often cover the cap. Probe gently with a screwdriver in the likely spots near the foundation. A metal detector can find a cast iron or brass cap.

Some older homes were built without an outside cleanout at all. In that case the line can still be cleared by lifting a toilet or going through a roof vent, as described in our toilet snaking guide. Many owners choose to have a cleanout installed, which is plumbing work to be quoted separately by a licensed contractor.

Safety

Should you open the cleanout yourself?

Finding it is enough. Leave the cap closed, especially during a backup.

What you can do safely is keep the area clear. Cut back plants, move pots and make sure the cap is visible and reachable. If it is in a box, check that the lid lifts.

Why it matters

How does knowing the location help?

It saves time on the day. A technician who can walk straight to the cleanout can relieve a backup within minutes, working outdoors and keeping mess out of the house. It also allows a full-size cutter to be used, which gives a better result than working through a toilet flange.

It helps on the phone as well. Telling the provider that there is a ground-level cleanout at the front of the house lets them plan the job and quote more accurately. If sewage is already coming up indoors, follow the steps in our emergency drain snaking guide. For everything else, the main sewer line snaking page and our Huntington Park drain snaking overview explain what happens next.

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