Can't find the sewer clean out. What now?

[KPitcher]

I need to drain my pool but neither the pool pumping guy not I can locate our sewer clean-out and we can't pump into the street (city rule). My next-door neighbor tried to help (he knows where his is) and we even called the previous owners of our house. We looked where the previous owner said he thought it was but it isn't there. Could it be under the dirt? More that 2" or so? Would a plumber be able to find it? It seems crazy that none of us can find the dang thing.

 

[Reach4]

Did your neighbor know where his own outdoor cleanout is? Many houses do not have outside cleanouts. You could use an inside cleanout maybe. How about pumping into a toilet with a pump that is not too powerful, or even lift a toilet and pump into the closet flange? I am not a pro.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Standardairconditioner]

How about pumping into a toilet

Not going to happen. The amount of crap coming into it will clog it, regardless how many times a dedicated person stands there to keep flushing it.

or even lift a toilet and pump into the closet flange?

As long as the homeowner is willing to have a dirty and noisy tube running from their backyard into their home (through a window?) for a very very long time.

 

[KPitcher]

Did your neighbor know where his own outdoor cleanout is? Many houses do not have outside cleanouts. You could use an inside cleanout maybe. How about pumping into a toilet with a pump that is not too powerful, or even lift a toilet and pump into the closet flange? I am not a pro.

Our neighbor showed us where their clean out is and we figure ours must be in a similar spot on our property. I'd make this whole situation super easy and just ask him if we could drain our pool into their clean out but we just moved here and don't know them very well.

 

[KPitcher]

I guess I'll call a plumber & see if they can find it.

 

[hj]

If the neighbor has one, then she has one. Unfortunately, landscapers seem to hate sewer cleanouts and bury them whenever they can. It could be 1" or 13" down depending on how high the plumber installed it. However, plumbers do not have clairvoyance so they may not do any better than the homeowner. A camera inserted to the vent will show the point in the sewer where the cleanout is located and a sounder will pinpoint its location

 

[Craigpump]

If the clean out is cast iron a magnetic wand can find it in about 2 minutes.

 

[hj]

99% of the time it is plastic with a plastic plug.