I had some problems with my drain in January and eventually found my clean out under 10 inches of dirt and mulch. Thanks, speedball1, for advice for the cover.

Now my neighbor is trying to find her clean out. (She has had some drain issues in the past and the plumbers have told her they aren't sure which direction her drain goes without putting a hole in the walls.) Her unit has a different design and is a two-story townhouse-type with an attached garage. What are the specifics for where the clean out is likely to be? She has a 6 foot patio in a direct line from her toilets and roof vent before you get to a small garden bed, and a garage/driveway in a general direction from the vent, toilets and outside faucet. We've dug some in the patio flower bed down about 10 inches, but nothing. We're starting digging alongside the driveway, but mulch and plants are in the way, and belong to other people. We could dig them up and replant them afterwards, but would rather not if it's not necessary. Is there any archive of records where this is likely to be? (I've been asking others with the same unit if they know where their clean out is and no one I've asked knows.)

Any ideas or opinions gratefully appreciated.

~Shawna

Ok this is not as professional as speedball and the others, but when I could not find one, I lifted the toilet up, ran a snake down it and then used a metal detector to find the metal snake in the pipe, and you can even do the clean out though the toilet opening althouigh it gets messy.

That sounds like a good idea! We'll keep it in mind. Thanks!

Hi Shawna, Welcome back.

On slab houses code dictates that the plumber install a clean out not over 18" off the foundation and brought up to grade. On older homes with basements we installed a cleanout just before exiting the house. In time a cleanout may be built over and hidden with a addition or buried under the ground. When that happens we do one of two things to locating a lost cleanout. On slab houses we take a rod with a pointy end called a probe and began to poke around the section of the house that we feel faces the street sewer or the septic tank. Since the sewer's up near the ground level we will poke into a sewer pipe sooner or later.
In basement homes we determine where the main stack comes down from up stairs. Since we attempt to keep our drainage in a straight line we then establish where the city connects to the house sewer or where the septic tank is and plot a straight line from the basement stack to the terminal point and that will give us a pretty good idea of where to dig a lateral trench to locate the pipe or cleanout.
But I like Chucks idea also. Sounds like a lot more fun then the way we do it.
Good luck and let me know what how you make out. Tom

I'll keep this in mind. Right now, we're still willing to dig some. (We're also too cheap to rent anything yet!) If the digging doesn't work, before we dig up the plants, we'll use your ideas to try to track the pipe's direction. Thanks, guys!

On new installation,what is the maximum distance a clean out can be installed from house.

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on new installation,what is the maximum distance a clean out can be installed from house.

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In my area code calls for house cleanouts to be not over 18" off the foundation and brought up to grade. Is this what you wanted to know? Tom

In my area maximum distance is 24" inside or outside the foundation with the cleanout being brought flush to the floor or flush to grade, respectively.

Mark