A white PVC plug comes just off the exterior kitchen wall. When water is running, water began to shoot out of this plug. Do you think this might be a city waste water issue or is this something within my own home plumbing system that is causing this?

Sounds like a cracked cleanout, possibly with a downstream blockage. Most blockages are the homeowners issue unless it is in the utility drain line. Do all the drains work OK?

That's a good question. I haven't checked if the water shoots out when we run other things like shower, toilet, etc. I will check that out right away. Thanks!

Water does not come out of plug when other sources are on, such as shower. Only when kitchen water is draining. The plug is visibly cracked. Is this a simple repair? Just pull this plug with a pipe wrench and replace? Or is it possible there are internal issues that CAUSED this fracture in the plug?
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Keep in mind we've had below freezing temps.

That is an easily obtained clean out plug insert. Unscrew and install a new one. Put some plumbers grease or Teflon sealer on the threads. Do not use any PVC cement! Could be freeze issue but only if filled with water. Looks more like a physical damage issue. Have you found the missing piece? Freezing would have popped it out on the ground.

If you look closely at the image, you can see the piece is actually slanted in. This is odd as it indicates the damage came from outside and the force pushed in. So the force did not push out as you might expect from water expansion freezing. Thanks for your input. I'll be removing the plug and heading to the hardware store today.

So grateful for this forum. Another online plumbing source was going to charge me $30 to give me this answer. I got this site bookmarked!

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Originally Posted by housedad63

So grateful for this forum. Another online plumbing source was going to charge me $30 to give me this answer. I got this site bookmarked!

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Glad we could help. If my answer was helpful, click on the green "helpful" icon.

Plug is now replaced. So the sinkwater is now backing up into the sink since that hole is no longer open to allow water to leak outside. There must be a clog somewhere. I took all the PVC pipes apart under the sink. I removed the new plug outside. I ran a plumbing snake tool in both ends to see if I could dislodge a clog. Put it all back together. Put Drano down the sink. Flushed with boiling water. Twice. Problem still not solved. Water backs up in the sink but then very slowly drains. Is it time for a plumber?

Did you run the snake up toward the sink or down toward the main line?
Should have been down toward the main. Since other water sources are not blocked, blockage will be in kitchen drain before it ties into main. Not the norm to have a clean out for a kitchen drain on the exterior. Someone has had a problem with this drain before, therefore an exterior clean out was installed.

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Is it time for a plumber?

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Either that or rent a power snake and do it yourself. May be able to do it with a manual snake if it is long enough.

The line under the sink goes out the wall right about where that exterior plug is. After inserting the snake all the way from one side, I checked the other end to see if the snake end was showing. In both directions, snake did not show at the opposite end. Therefore, I'm assuming the snake fed down towards the main. A couple of twists and pulling back brought some gray matter back up but not much. I'll try the snake again tomorrow with some vigorous twists. I don't have access to a power snake so I think if that doesn't work, I'll finally concede to the experts with the proper tools. Thanks so much for your guidance!

Hi Housedad

You can RENT a power snake from any tool rental store, or if Home Depot is close by they started renting tools in most of their stores a few years ago...try them. Be sure to use safety goggles and leather gloves, especially since you used draino, OK?

Now, to clear that drain, run hot water in the sink so that it overflows the cleanout in the yard (but doesn't back up in sink) and snake the drain vigorously back and forth, back and forth until you see the water stop overflowing the cleanout. At this time, you'll work the snake back and forth as you have found the area the blockage is in and you want t work the area real good. Run hot water faster now as you continue to snake the drain line a couple more times...should solve this for you!!

PS: Boiling water should never be introduced to the plumbing system...bad for the pipes!! Just FYI!!

Mark

This manual snake should be about $25 at Home Depot or Lowe's. As I said earlier, that clean out is probably there because someone has had this problem before. A service call in my area for this would probably cost about $150-200. Why don't I get easy calls like this one.

persistence = success! It took about 5 times of filling up the cleanout with water, pulling the plug, running 25 ft of snake into it, and spinning with a power drill at full speed. The clog FINALLY broke free!

Thanks so much for your QUALITY advice! I would've never come up with this solution on my own. I feel like a topnotch plumber now!

by the way, I purchased the 25 ft manual snake with the attachment to connect to a power drill for about $25

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Blockage must have been right at the 25' limit of your snake.