Building Drain Cleanouts: inspection, location, installation, use, repair
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Guide to building plumbing drain cleanouts used to clear clogged drain piping
Where should drain piping cleanouts be located?
Size, angles, access requirements for building drain pipe cleanouts
Where do we insert the plumbing snake to clear a clogged drain?
Questions & Answers about plumbing cleanouts
This article describes cleanouts used to access and clear clogged building drain pipes. Plumbing cleanouts are access points from which it is easiest to attempt to clear a slow or clogged drain line. If you need to diagnose and fix a clogged drain pipe, see CLOGGED DRAIN DIAGNOSIS & REPAIR. Our page top photo shows a main building drain cleanout at the location where it is most commonly found: where the building drain exits the structure.
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As we cited at DRAIN & SEWER PIPING, Plumbing codes define a building drain as "that part of the lowest piping of a building drainage system that receives the discharge from soil, waste, and other drainage pipes inside the walls [or upper floors] of the building and conveys it to the building sewer [or septic system] beginning two feet (0.6m) outside the building wall." This piping and its horizontal branches are required to have cleanouts, however no cleanout is required for any pipe or piping above the first floor of the building.
Where do I Find the Plumbing Drain Cleanout for Upper Building Floors?
If you need to run a plumbing snake through drain piping through pipes above the first floor of the building you will most likely need to open a sink trap, shower drain, or remove a toilet to most easily access the larger-diameter drain piping on upper floors. But most often plumbing drains clog at bends, elbows, tees, and in the longer horizontal runs often found on the first floor or between the building itself and the sewer line or septic system.
A Photo Guide to Plumbing Cleanouts & Cleanout Problems
Our plumbing drain cleanout photo (left) shows a sewer line cleanout under and building exit piping under construction at a New York Home. THe image illustrates a new plumbing drain cleanout access port being installed in a home. The in-building drains (not visible here) were 4-inch ABS pipe. The exterior sewer connection pipe was six-inch pipe. Photo courtesy Galow Homes.
When installing the plumbing drain cleanout the plumber continued the six-inch piping up into the building through the drain cleanout fitting, providing an easier-to-use wider drain cleanout opening.
The extra cost of continuing 6-inch piping up to this location was trivial and makes drain servicing much easier. At the left side of the photo the drain piping is adapted down to the 4-inch in-building drain size. Because of the larger diameter cleanout TEE installed in this case, the plumber installed a 90 degree cleanout tee. In most of our other plumbing cleanout port photographs you'll see that the cleanout access is installed with an angled fitting to assist the plumber in routing a plumbing snake in the direction most likely to be needed to clear a slow or blocked plumbing drain.
Because this plumbing drain exit point was located in the home's garage, local building codes required that we enclose the plastic piping in a chase covered with fire-rated drywall.
Even before the fire barrier drywall, the inspector also required that we use fire-block foam insulation to seal the pipe penetrations in walls, ceilings, and floors.
And because the fire-block foam could not itself be left exposed, where that material was used at other penetrations through the fire-rated drywall, those penetrations were sealed with fire-caulk.
Finally, the builder (Galow Homes) provided a metal plumbing access cover so that it would still be possible to access the plumbing cleanout if necessary.
Outdoor Cleanout Port for Sewer or Septic Line Piping
Often an outdoor cleanout is provided to permit snaking and clearing the building sewer line connection (circled area in photo at left). In this home which is slab-on-grade construction, there was no indoor provision for a building drain cleanout access in this wing of the home; the builder constructed this plumbing cleanout access just outside of a bathroom wall. Photo courtesy Galow Homes.
Building Plumbing Drain Cleanout Problems & Defects
Using the building drain cleanout to add a washing machine or sump pump drain connection is an overwhelming temptation because of the convenience (photo at left) but this installation gave no thought to the future need to inspect or clear a blocked drain line.
The result will be extra trouble and cost when drain de-clogging is needed.
When the finished building wall in this basement was removed as part of a mold remediation project we discovered that a house trap was leaky - it has been replaced in this photograph.
And because the original house trap and cleanout access had been buried behind a finished wall the cleanout was not readily accessible, nor was its location even known to the current homeowner.
Our two building drain cleanout access photos (below) illustrate a surprisingly common and both dangerous and unsanitary condition: the building drain cleanout is left open, risking entry of sewage and sewer gases into the building.
At left our photo illustrates a connection of copper drain to the cast iron building drain in a basement. You will notice that the copper drain line (circled at upper left) includes a cleanout access port.
Unfortunately the copper connection in the lower right of the photograph (arrow) is improper, unreliable, and perhaps unsanitary.
Also see these clogged drain diagnosis and repair articles:
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DRAIN & SEWER PIPING - building drain waste piping inspection, diagnosis, repair articles & procedures DRAIN LINE DEPTH - how deep should building drains be buried outdoors? DRAIN NOISES - how to diagnose and cure noises at building drains
FLOOR DRAIN / TRAP ODORS - building floor drains: odors, noises, backups, check valves, smells, problem diagnosis & cure FREEZE-PROOF PIPES - how to prevent frozen pipes in buildings; how to fix frozen pipe damage GAS PIPING, VALVES, CONTROLS - requirements for safe gas piping in buildings
LEAD PIPES in buildings - how to identify lead water supply or drain pipes in buildings, how to correct health hazards from lead water pipes
Transite Pipe Water Supply Piping - cement asbestos pipes used for piping at buildings; hazards, inspection, diagnosis, repair or replacement
VENT PIPING - what are plumbing vents, why are vents needed on plumbing drains; plumbing vent and drain noise, slow drain diagnosis and cure; plumbing odors
Eric Galow, Galow Homes, Lagrangeville, NY. Mr. Galow can be reached by email: ericgalow@gmail.com or by telephone: 914-474-6613. Mr. Galow specializes in residential construction including both new homes and repairs, renovations, and additions.
Books & Articles on Building & Environmental Inspection, Testing, Diagnosis, & Repair
Our recommended books about building & mechanical systems design, inspection, problem diagnosis, and repair, and about indoor environment and IAQ testing, diagnosis, and cleanup are at the InspectAPedia Bookstore. Also see our Book Reviews - InspectAPedia.
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Plumbing Diagnosis & Repair: Water supply, drainage, septic systems, water testing, water contamination, defective plumbing materials & products.
The Home Reference Book - the Encyclopedia of Homes, Carson Dunlop & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, 2010, $69.00 U.S., is available from Carson Dunlop. The Home Reference Book is a bound volume of more than 450 illustrated pages that assist home inspectors and home owners in the inspection and detection of problems on buildings. The text is intended as a reference guide to help building owners operate and maintain their home effectively. InspectAPedia.com ® author/editor Daniel Friedman is a contributing author. Field inspection worksheets are included at the back of the volume.
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