What exactly is the pipe in my yard?
If you are walking through your front or back yard and spot a 3-to-4-inch PVC pipe (usually white or black) sticking a few inches out of the ground with a threaded cap on it, you are looking at your main sewer cleanout.
Every time you flush a toilet, run the dishwasher, or take a shower, all that wastewater travels through your home's plumbing and exits into a single underground pipe called the main sewer line. The cleanout in your yard is a vertical pipe that connects directly to that main underground line, giving plumbers a straight shot into the system.
Why does an outside cleanout matter so much?
If you have a sewer backup, you want it resolved as quickly and cleanly as possible. Here is why having an exterior cleanout is a game-changer for homeowners:
1. No Raw Sewage in Your House Without an outside cleanout, a plumber has to access your sewer line from inside your home. This usually means hauling heavy, dirty drain-snaking machines down your stairs, into your basement, or through your bathroom. When the cable comes back out of the drain, it is often covered in raw sewage and tree roots. An outside cleanout keeps all of that mess out in the yard where it belongs.
2. Faster, Cheaper Emergency Service When a plumber can drive up to your house, unscrew the cap in your yard, and immediately start clearing the clog, the job gets done much faster. If we have to pull a toilet off the floor or crawl into a tight basement space to find access, the job takes longer and adds to your labor costs.
3. Better Camera Inspections In older Dayton and Centerville neighborhoods, tree roots are the #1 cause of sewer line collapses. To see what is happening underground, we send high-tech fiber-optic cameras down the line. An exterior cleanout gives us the perfect entry point to inspect the health of your pipes all the way to the city street.
What if my older Dayton home doesn't have an outside cleanout?
Many homes built before the 1970s do not have exterior cleanouts. Instead, they usually have an indoor cleanout located in the basement, or worse, no cleanout at all. If you don't have one, a plumber has to either remove a toilet to snake down the drain or climb onto your roof to run a cable down the plumbing vent stack (which is dangerous and highly expensive).
The Solution: We highly recommend having Honey Go Fix It install a two-way exterior cleanout. We excavate a small section of your yard, tap into the main sewer line, and install a dual-directional pipe that allows us to clear blockages going toward the street and toward your house. This upgrade is a massive selling feature if you ever put your home on the market!
Mini FAQ
- Can I cut the cleanout pipe flush with the grass or cover it? You can use a faux landscape rock or a small bush to hide it, but never bury it in dirt or concrete. Plumbers need immediate access to it during a sewage emergency. If it sits too high and you are worried about hitting it with a lawnmower, our team can lower the pipe and install a flush-mount protective box.
- Should there be water inside my cleanout pipe? No! If you unscrew the cap and see standing water or toilet paper near the top of the pipe, you have a severe main line blockage. Stop using your water immediately and call Honey Go Fix It before it backs up into your home's drains.
- How much does it cost to install an exterior cleanout? Depending on how deep your sewer line is buried (some are 2 feet deep, others are 10 feet deep) and the landscaping above it, a professional installation typically ranges from $2,000 to $3,800.
Honey Go Fix It provides residential plumbing services for homeowners in Dayton, Beavercreek, Centerville, Springboro, Xenia, and nearby suburbs.