A cleanout is a capped opening in a drain line that gives access for a cable, a jetter or a camera. Plumbing codes require them at intervals and at changes of direction, and the type and position of a house’s cleanouts decide how a sewer camera inspection is done, how far it can go and whether it can go in both directions. From inside the pipe, each type has a recognisable shape, and recording them is part of a good inspection because the next person to open the line will want to know where to start.
Quick answer: the common types are the exterior yard cleanout, a capped riser on a wye near the foundation or at the property line that lets a camera go toward the street; the two-way cleanout, a double wye that lets the camera go toward the street or back toward the house from the same riser; the test tee at the base of the stack, a capped tee inside the house for the building drain; the interior cleanout on a horizontal run, a capped wye or tee in the basement or crawlspace; and fixture cleanouts, small plugs at traps and tub overflows. On camera, a cleanout appears as a side opening with light or a cap visible in it.
Exterior yard cleanout
A vertical riser from a wye in the lateral, capped at or just above grade, usually within a few feet of the foundation and sometimes also at the property line. The wye points toward the street, so a camera entered here goes downstream easily and upstream only with difficulty, because the rod has to make a sharp turn against the wye’s angle. This is the standard entry for a lateral inspection. If a house has one, the inspection starts here. Entering from a cleanout covers the technique.
Two-way cleanout
A fitting with two wyes back to back under a single riser, or a U-shaped fitting with the riser in the middle, that lets a cable or camera be directed either toward the street or toward the house. It is the most useful cleanout a house can have, because the whole lateral and the building drain can be inspected from one point, and it is what a plumber usually installs when adding a cleanout to a house that has none. On camera, from inside, it appears as two side openings close together with the riser between them.
Test tee at the stack base
Where the vertical stack turns horizontal inside the house there is usually a tee with a capped plug facing the room. It was put there for the plumber’s pressure test when the house was built and it serves as the interior cleanout for the building drain. A camera entered here goes along the building drain toward the lateral; a camera pushed up the stack from here is fighting gravity and rarely gets far. It is often the only access in an older house with no yard cleanout, and entering from the roof vent is the alternative for the stack itself.
Interior horizontal cleanouts
Capped wyes or tees on the horizontal building drain in a basement, crawlspace or utility room, at changes of direction and at intervals the code sets. Each lets the camera go downstream from that point. A house with several gives the inspector a choice of entries and the ability to inspect each section separately, which matters when one section is blocked.
Fixture cleanouts and other access
Trap plugs, tub overflow plates, removable P-traps and toilet flanges are fixture-level access, usually for a small-head scope rather than a full reel. A floor drain is also an entry, through its trap, for a small head. And where nothing else exists, the roof vent is an entry for the stack and, with a long enough rod, the building drain beyond it. Cleanout access for a sewer camera and cleanout vs roof vent vs toilet compare the options.
Recognising cleanouts from inside the pipe
A side opening with a cap, a plug or daylight visible in it. A wye shows as an angled opening; a tee as a square one. A two-way shows as two openings close together. Debris often collects in the riser. Note the counter reading at each, because the distances between cleanouts are the map of the line, and because a camera that stops at a defect can be followed by a cable from the nearest cleanout upstream of it. Inspection terminology covers the vocabulary a report uses for them.
Houses with no cleanout
Common in pre-1950 houses and some slab houses. The options are the test tee if there is one, the roof vent, a pulled toilet, or installing a cleanout, which is usually the first recommendation after an inspection that had to enter through a fixture. A two-way cleanout near the foundation is the standard addition and makes every future inspection and cleaning simpler.
Common questions
Where is my sewer cleanout?
Look for a capped pipe near the foundation outside, a capped tee at the base of the stack inside, or a round cover in the basement floor.
Can a camera go both ways from a cleanout?
From a two-way, yes. From a standard wye, easily only in the direction the wye points.
Should I add a cleanout?
If the house has none, yes. A two-way near the foundation pays for itself at the first blockage.
Related guides
See cleanout requirements in plumbing codes, how to use a sewer camera, and the best sewer cameras for residential inspection.