A mainline cleanout is the capped pipe that lets a plumber reach your sewer line without pulling a toilet or digging up the yard. If your home doesn’t have one, if it’s buried under a lawn or patio, or if the cap is cracked, Target Plumbers can add, raise or replace it. You’ll know the location, the type of fitting and the price before any digging.
Many homes have one and the owner has never seen it. Check these spots before you book an install:
Can’t find it? We locate existing cleanouts as part of the visit, and you only pay for a new one if there isn’t one worth using.
| Cleanout | What it is | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Single (one-way) | One opening pointed downstream toward the street | Most existing homes; lets a cable or jetter run toward the city main |
| Two-way | Two openings, one facing the house and one facing the street | Lets a plumber clear and camera the line in both directions from one spot |
| Property-line | A cleanout near where your lateral leaves your lot | Shows whether a blockage is on your side or the public side; some cities ask for one when the lateral is replaced |
| Raised (extended to grade) | An existing buried cleanout brought up to ground level with a new riser and cap | Cleanouts lost under landscaping, soil or hardscape |
| Indoor stack cleanout | A capped fitting on the vertical drain inside the house | Older homes; useful but means opening the line indoors |
We expose the main line outside the foundation, cut in a cleanout fitting, run a riser to grade and cap it. On older cast-iron or clay lines, the new fitting connects with transition couplings rated for buried sewer pipe.
A single cleanout only reaches one way. Swapping it for a two-way fitting gives access toward the house as well as the street, which helps when the clog or damage is under the slab side of the line.
If yours sits under soil, pavers or a planter, we dig it out, extend it to grade and fit a new cap, with a ground-level box where foot or mower traffic would hit it.
A broken cap lets roots, soil and rainwater into the sewer and sewer gas out into the yard. We replace the cap, and the fitting if its threads are damaged.
Planning bigger sewer work? A new cleanout is usually added during sewer line repair or a sewer reroute, while the line is already open.
A straightforward outdoor install is often a one-day job. Deep lines, concrete or a line under a slab take longer
Larger sewer jobs that include a cleanout can be financed at 0% for up to 48 months with approved credit.
It’s a capped access pipe on your main sewer line. Removing the cap lets a plumber run a cable, jetter or camera into the line without going through a toilet or the roof.
Usually outside near the foundation on the street side of the house, or in a ground-level box between the house and the sidewalk. On older homes it may be indoors on the main drain stack, or buried under landscaping.
A short white, black or cast-iron pipe, usually 3 or 4 inches across, sticking up from the ground with a threaded or push-in cap, sometimes marked “S” or “sewer.”
Depth, pipe material, the surface above the line and the type of fitting decide it. Adding one while a sewer line is already open costs much less than a standalone dig. We quote after locating the line.
A fitting with two openings, one facing the house and one facing the street, so the line can be cleared and inspected in both directions from a single access point.
The fitting goes in at the depth of your main line, which varies by home. The riser then comes up to ground level so the cap is easy to reach.
Cutting into a live sewer line means working with sewage, the right couplings for old pipe, and often a permit and inspection. Most homeowners leave it to a licensed plumber.
Don’t force a corroded cap with a hammer; that can crack the fitting. We remove it safely and replace the cap or the fitting.
Each cleanout job is booked through the office nearest the property:
Tell us whether you have a cleanout, can’t find one, or need a new cap, and we’ll call you back with next steps. Sewer backing up right now? Call (844) 941-2727, day or night.