When the toilet bubbles while the washer drains, or dirty water rises in the shower, the main sewer line is usually blocked. Target Plumbers opens your cleanout, clears the line to the street with a cable machine and cutting head, and shows you what came out. That debris usually tells us why the line clogged and whether it will happen again.
Your cleanout can tell you a lot before anyone arrives. If you can find the cap safely, unscrew it slowly with a wrench while standing to one side, because a full line can push sewage out under pressure. Then compare what you see with this table:
| What you see | Where the blockage probably is | Who to call |
|---|---|---|
| Water or sewage standing in the cleanout pipe, or spilling out of it | Downstream of the cleanout, between it and the street | A plumber to clear your lateral. If a manhole in the street is also overflowing, the public sewer may be blocked, so call the agency below too. |
| Cleanout pipe empty, but several fixtures back up | Upstream, between the house and the cleanout, or under the slab | A plumber. The line is cleared from the cleanout toward the house, or through a toilet flange. |
| Only one sink, tub or toilet is slow | That fixture’s branch line, not the main | Drain cleaning rather than a main line clean out |
| No cleanout anywhere you can find | Unknown until the line is reached another way | A plumber, who can go in through a toilet or roof vent. A permanent cleanout makes the next visit faster. |
Sewage coming out of a street manhole or onto public property is a matter for the sewer agency. These are the contacts for our service area:
Some sewer agencies ask plumbers to contact them before pushing a mass of roots from a private lateral into the public main (City of Laguna Niguel sewage spill guide). Where that applies, we make the call. If the cable can’t finish the job, for example with thick grease along the whole line or a dense root mat, we move to hydro jetting.
| Found on the cable | What it usually points to | Sensible next step |
|---|---|---|
| Fine, hair-like roots | Roots getting in at a joint in clay or cast-iron pipe | Camera check. Roots grow back through the same gap, so plan a repeat clearing or seal the joint. |
| A thick root ball | An open joint or crack that has been letting roots in for a long time | Camera check and a quote for a repair or liner |
| Wipes, paper towels, feminine products | What’s being flushed, not the pipe | No repair needed. Use the bin for anything that isn’t toilet paper. |
| Gray, waxy grease | Kitchen fats hardening along the pipe wall | Hydro jetting if the line keeps narrowing; scrape pans into the trash |
| Rust flakes and scale | Cast-iron pipe corroding from the inside | Camera check to see how much wall is left |
| Dirt, gravel or pipe fragments | A break or collapse letting soil in | Camera check and repair. Clearing alone won’t hold. |
| Nothing, but the cable stops hard at the same distance | An offset joint, a crushed section or a deep sag | Camera check to locate it from the surface |
Many older streets in Los Angeles have mature parkway trees, and their roots often find the sewer lateral. Clearing roots from inside your pipe is routine maintenance. Cutting a city street tree’s roots from the outside, for example to dig up and replace the lateral, is different: in the City of Los Angeles it needs a root-prune permit from StreetsLA’s Urban Forestry Division, and you apply after getting a service request number through MyLA311 (StreetsLA root prune). If the camera shows the line needs excavation near a street tree, we flag it before any digging is scheduled.
The California Plumbing Code calls for a cleanout near where the building drain meets the building sewer, either inside or outside at the lower end of the building drain and brought up to grade. A long sewer needs more of them: at least every 100 feet of straight run and at large changes in direction. A cleanout under concrete or asphalt has to be reachable through a yard box or sit flush with the paving (CPC §719). Most homes built to code therefore have one, though it often ends up under a planter, deck or new hardscape. If we can’t find yours, the visit still goes ahead, and we can quote a new cleanout afterwards.
You get the price before the cable goes in. Bigger follow-up work such as a repair or liner can be financed at 0% interest for up to 48 months with approved credit.
It depends on how we reach the line, how far out the blockage is, what’s causing it, and whether it’s after hours. A ground-level cleanout keeps the cost down. We quote before starting, and a camera check is priced separately if you want one.
Look for problems that involve more than one fixture: the toilet gurgles when the washer drains, water comes up in the tub when you flush, or the lowest drain in the house overflows first. Water standing in the cleanout pipe confirms it.
A blockage in the pipe that serves only your home is the owner’s to clear. If your cleanout pipe is empty while a manhole in the street is overflowing, the public main is the likely culprit, so call your city or county sewer agency.
Rental machines exist, but a cable can kink, snag on a broken joint or get stuck in the line, and you’d be working over raw sewage. If the clog is a break or collapse, no amount of cabling will fix it. Most people call a plumber once more than one fixture is involved.
For a main line clog, a mechanical cable or water jet. Chemical openers don’t reach far enough down the line to dissolve roots or wipes. They can also harm older pipes and burn anyone who opens the line afterwards.
There’s no fixed calendar. A line with no history of clogs may never need it. If roots keep coming back, routine clearing on a schedule set by what the camera shows is cheaper than emergency calls.
We can still clear the line by pulling a toilet or working through a roof vent. It takes longer, so many owners add a permanent cleanout after the emergency is handled.
Yes. Older homes and homes on raised foundations sometimes have one in a crawlspace, garage or basement wall. Code allows it inside near where the building drain becomes the sewer, as long as it stays reachable.
Call (844) 941-2727 for any clean out. The crew is sent from whichever of these offices is closest to your street:
Tell us which fixtures are backing up, whether there’s water in your cleanout pipe, and your city. If sewage is coming up right now, call (844) 941-2727 instead of using the form.