A cleanout is a capped fitting put into the drain for exactly this purpose, and entering through one is the easiest, safest and most complete way to inspect a sewer line. It is still possible to do badly: caps are broken, rods are worn through on the lip, cameras are sent the wrong way down a two-way fitting, and counters are zeroed three feet in. This guide is the routine for a cleanout entry that gets the camera where it should go and the rod back out undamaged.
Quick answer: find and identify the cleanout and its type; open the cap with the right tool and heat or penetrating oil rather than force; look into the fitting to see which direction leads to the main; set the reel close with a straight run to the entry; protect the lip with a guide tube or a sleeve so the rod is not sawn by the edge; put the head just inside the pipe and zero the counter there; push in short strokes with a short free length; and on finishing, clean the rod, replace the cap with fresh thread sealant and note the cleanout’s location and condition in the report.
Finding and identifying
Exterior cleanouts are usually a capped riser near the foundation on the street side, sometimes in a small box at grade; interior ones are plugs in the basement floor, on the stack or on the building drain. A two-way cleanout has a fitting that allows a rod to go toward the house or the street; a test tee or a straight cleanout leads one way. Knowing which you have decides the next step. Cleanout access covers the search and cleanout types the fittings.
Opening the cap
Plastic caps take a large wrench or a cap tool on the square nut; brass and iron plugs take a wrench on the lug and often penetrating oil, a tap around the edge and patience. Heat from a hot water bottle frees a frozen one. A cap that will not move is drilled and replaced, not sheared off with a breaker bar that cracks the fitting. Stand clear as the last turn comes off; a surcharged line releases pressure and sometimes sewage. A line full of water is what a wet cap warns of.
Which way
Look into the open fitting with a light. A two-way fitting shows two openings; the one that slopes down and away toward the street is the lateral, the other leads back to the house. On a single-direction cleanout the fitting’s sweep tells the direction. Sending the camera the wrong way is a common error that wastes ten minutes and sometimes a report.
Setting up the reel
Stand the reel close to the cleanout so the rod runs a short, straight path from the drum to the opening, with the drum free under a light drag. Put the monitor where the operator can see it while their hands are at the entry. On a sloping lawn, chock the reel. Drum locks and brakes and feeding technique cover the push.
Protecting the lip
The edge of a cleanout fitting, especially a cut plastic riser or a cast iron hub, saws through a rod jacket over a long inspection as the rod moves back and forth across it. A short guide tube or a length of pipe slipped into the fitting, a purpose-made entry sleeve, or at minimum a hand holding the rod off the edge saves the rod. Jacket wear at one point along the rod is this edge’s signature.
Zeroing the counter
Push the head in until it is just inside the pipe beyond the fitting, then zero the counter. Note in the report that distances are from the cleanout and which cleanout. A counter zeroed with the head on the lawn or three feet down the riser is wrong for the whole job. Calibrating the counter and distance readings explain why.
The first few feet
The fitting itself and the first joints are where the camera learns the material and the condition at the house end. Go slowly, look at the fitting from inside, and start recording before the head enters so the entry is on the file. A first-time buyer’s guide to the footage explains why the start matters to whoever watches later.
Direction and the second pass
On a two-way cleanout, inspect toward the street first, retrieve, then inspect toward the house. Two separate recordings, each zeroed at the cleanout, each labelled with its direction. The house-side pass is often where the stack base and the first bends are found.
Retrieval and closing
Retrieve with the drag set so rod goes onto the drum under tension, wiping it as it comes. Clean the fitting’s threads, apply fresh thread sealant or tape to a plastic cap, and replace the cap snugly, not with a wrench’s full force. A cap left loose leaks gas; one overtightened cracks. Record the cleanout’s location, type and condition; the next inspector will want to know. Cleaning the reel covers the rest.
When there is no cleanout
Pulling a toilet, a floor drain or a roof vent are the alternatives, in that order of preference, and installing a cleanout is the recommendation for next time. Cleanout vs vent vs toilet compares them and cleanout requirements explains why codes want one.
Common questions
How do I open a stuck sewer cleanout cap?
The right wrench or cap tool, penetrating oil, a tap around the edge and patience. Heat helps. Do not shear it off with a breaker bar.
Which way should the camera go in a two-way cleanout?
Toward the street for the lateral, which is the opening that slopes down and away. Do a second pass toward the house if required.
Where do I zero the distance counter?
With the head just inside the pipe beyond the fitting. State the cleanout as the reference in the report.
Related guides
See screen size for a sewer camera, pre-purchase inspection, and sewer line locators.