What is a cleanout, and why does mine need to stay accessible?
Quick Answer
A cleanout is a capped access point into your drain system, usually a round cap at ground level outside or a fitting on a pipe inside. It is the door your entire drain system gets serviced through, and keeping it reachable is also one of the simple responsibilities that keeps a lifetime warranty active.
The most important pipe fitting you never think about
Cameras, jetters, descaling tools, and liners all enter your system through cleanouts. When they are accessible, inspection and service happen through existing openings, which is the entire reason trenchless work requires no demolition. When they are buried under landscaping, decked over, or paved past, every future service starts with finding or creating access, and access surcharges are one of the three factors that move project cost.
Take ten minutes to learn where yours are. Outside, look for capped pipes near exterior walls, often between the house and the street. Inside, look near the water heater or where drains gather. If you genuinely cannot find one, that is worth knowing too, and an inspection will map the system either way.
The warranty angle
Our warranty guidelines ask three simple things of homeowners, and keeping cleanout access unobstructed is one of them, so our team can perform inspections and warranty service if you ever need it. It is the easiest of the three: do not bury the door.
The Homeowner Takeaway
Know where your cleanouts are and keep them reachable. Every service your pipes will ever need, including warranty service, walks in through that door.
