About 3 months ago I had a break in a sewer line repaired. At the same time they added a curbside clean out access-not sure why because I already have one in the basement... the problem is this: My house is about 30 feet above street level so the pipe has a pretty steep descent to street level. At that point it makes a pretty sharp turn to level and then travels under the street to the main. Evidently there is a blockage under the street in the level area. Before the clean out was installed there were never-never- any issues with backups. Now I am constantly having to pour bottles drain cleaner down the clean out in the basement, and find the cleanout cap that keeps popping off and letting water out. Apparently the pressure from the gravity previously prevented any major blockages-and that pressure is now gone... so a couple questions. Is there any way to permanently seal that clean out valve cover-that will also withstand the pressure from 30 feet of water-so it stops popping off and restores the pressure? Should that even have been installed? Why is it just a cap that rests on top and isn't attached? etc.. Thank you.

Clean out by the curb is there so plumber can access the clogged section of pipe - in your case - located under the street. The closest to the clog it is - the better job he will do. If he uses clean out by your house than snake will loose some of its torque because of the distance.

Most likely, you have always had this problem. You just never noticed it because you didn't have that new clean out by the curb. Since your house is uphill, sewage accumulated in the pipe and thanks to the elevation, sewer had time to slowly drain away before it overflowed in your house.

Now, with new clean out, water column (backed up sewer) develops pressure on clean out cap and eventually makes it to pop off.

Proper clean out will not pop off. I am guessing you have "Jim Cap" type clean out cap. That's not too good for your situation. If your sewer pipe is ABS or PVC than glue in Female Adapter and screw in Plug with Teflon tape over its threads. If your sewer is Cast Iron than install Blind End fitting connected to the pipe with Fernco fitting tightened at 60lbs. That will do the job...

However, popping off clean out plug tells you you have quite serious sewer problem. You should deal with. At this point, you should have that section of sewer pipe ( from the new curb clean out to the City's main sewer pipe ) relined. That may be your only solution since City doesn't really care their pipes are clogged... at least in area where I live

Let us know how you did... Good luck... Milo

Thank you Milo. True, the town doesn't care about their clogged pipe, in fact all connections into the main, even under streets are owners responsibility here. Im not in a situation where I can afford re-lining right now but that sounds like a good idea. Assuming I can get those PVC parts and glue at a local shop I will give that a try tomorrow. Thanks again!

You can control it by having your sewer pipe periodically snaked by a professional sewer cleaning company. I think once every six months should do the trick... Good luck... Milo

Will do, thank you!


Ps. I just looked up a jim cap. That would be ideal compared to what is there now! I'm not sure what the cap on there now is called, but it is basically a pvc 'cup' with a square on top that just rests over the pipe. No connection, no wingnut, no gaskets, nothing. It just sits there.

Snap a picture of that cap and post it for us to see...

Hi Milo, I didn't get to the supply store today so I will take one tomorrow while I am trying to put a new cap on.

This is what the end of clean out pipe should be plugged with: Female Adaptor + Square Clean out Plug.

Well that is kind of what it looks like.. except its all one piece and it sits on top of the pipe... and now that I'm looking at it, I remember that the one on mine narrows under what might relate to the collar on the top in this pic and has part that fits inside the pipe.. still just sits there though, I looked online and didn't see any-though I'm not sure what its called.. ill send a pic tomorrow.

Well, the end of the riser Clean out pipe should end with Female Adaptor (threaded on the inside / see the attached pic ) . This adaptor is glued onto the pipe and plug is screwed in. There is no way this female adaptor and plug will pop off if installed properly. If you post good close up photo of your set up for me than I will tell you what's wrong with your set up... Back to you

Well, I guess that was for not. Thank you so much for your advice though! I called the company that put it in to ask the size of the pipe to make sure I got the right parts and they said they would come fix it. In the mean time I remembered that I took pics when they were repairing it... here is one, I guess there is no square on top-i must have been thinking of other pics I saw while trying to figure out how to fix it... http://www5.snapfish.com/snapfish/slideshow/AlbumID=2248788026/PictureID=83057674026/a=2619719026_2619719026/

Pic didn't show. Try again...

1. Go advance
2. manage attachments
3. Browse
4. (select photo from your computer )
5. upload ( here wait few seconds for pic to load )
6. submit answer

I don't think that worked. Here is another one.http://www.freeimagehosting.net/uploads/45b64ab4aa.jpg (http://www.freeimagehosting.net/)

Just saw your instructions. That would have been much easier, lol...