Outside Sewer Line Cleanouts Are Better — Here's Why

You’re sick of your home’s plumbing. Your drains are always clogged, your plumber says you have a blockage in your main line — and you don’t want to dig up your yard to solve it. You’ve read about the benefits of sewer line cleanouts, and you’re ready to install one — but where?

Our Master Plumbers strongly recommend installing an outside sewer line cleanout, instead of one inside your home. In their decades of sewer line repair experience, cleanouts outside the home offer a more convenient, less messy way to access and maintain your sewer line.

Let our plumbing experts guide you through the benefits of sewer line cleanout installation, and the benefits of placing it in your backyard (instead of your garage).

Interested in sewer line cleanout installation in Dallas-Fort Worth? Call Mother Modern Plumbing 7 days a week for expert local advice and fast scheduling.

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The Incredible Value of a Sewer Line Cleanout

A plumber uses your sewer cleanout much like your car mechanics use their service bay. It’s a convenient place to assess problems in your home’s sewer system, identify potential solutions, and conduct repairs.

It’s a much safer, cleaner way to diagnose and repair your plumbing problems than digging up and cutting open your sewer pipes — no trenches and no exposure to wastewater.

3 key functions of your sewer line cleanout

Our plumbers utilize residential sewer line cleanouts for 3 key tasks:

1. Sewer line inspections. It’s easy to run sewer camera inspections through your cleanout. We examine your clogged sewer line without digging or trenches.
2. Direct access for sewer cleaning. Your sewer line cleanout provides one access point for direct sewer pipe cleaning, clearing clogs and debris with no obstruction.
3. Trenchless pipe maintenance. One access point for sewer cleaning and underground maintenance means no expensive trenching or landscape repair required.

Choosing Where to Install Your Sewer Line Cleanout

Let’s look at common scenarios where homeowners choose to place their cleanout indoors or outdoors, why they make those decisions, and where their cleanouts are placed.

Outside sewer line cleanout installation: how and where it happens

Installing your sewer cleanout outdoors offers convenient, hygienic access to your main sewer line for repairs and maintenance. It also keeps all sewer repair work outside the home.

Why homeowners choose outdoor sewer line cleanouts:

• More direct access. Outdoor cleanouts provide closer access to external sewer line issues and blockages near the city sewer connection.
• Stronger equipment options. It’s much easier (and cleaner) to use hydro jetters and heavy-duty augers outside your house.
• Best for maintenance. Cleanouts outside the home are an ideal starting point for sewer camera inspections, annual sewer cleaning and other main line service options.

Where to install sewer line cleanouts outdoors: Outdoor sewer line cleanouts are installed in two ways: above ground, or at ground level.

Above ground sewer cleanouts are usually located near your foundation or property line. You’ll have a capped pipe several inches above your yard.

Ground level cleanouts are flush with your yard or the landscaping near your foundation. These are generally placed near your home’s foundation and covered by a small box or lid.

Inside sewer line cleanout installation: how and where it happens

Sewer line cleanouts are installed inside the home when outdoor installation isn’t feasible due to extensive landscaping, hardscape areas or difficult access.

Why homeowners choose inside sewer line cleanouts:

• Depth of sewer line. An extremely deep buried main sewer line can lead some homeowners to locate their cleanout indoors.
• Extensive outdoor living spaces. Concrete patios, outdoor kitchens and pool decks may make exterior excavation difficult or impossible.
• Mature landscaping. Some homeowners believe installing an exterior cleanout is disruptive to their landscaping (although this is rarely the case).

Where to install sewer line cleanouts indoors: Most indoor sewer line cleanouts are installed in the garage, basement, or utilities area. Of these, a cleanout placed in the garage near your connection between the main sewer line and sewer branch line is best.

Many homes sit on concrete slab foundations — especially in our Dallas-Fort Worth service area. This eliminates the potential of a sewer line cleanout in the basement.

Indoor vs Outdoor Sewer Cleanouts: Top 5 Use Cases

Our plumbers access your sewer line cleanout for 5 primary reasons:

1. Persistent clogs: Persistent, recurring clogs in your sewer system indicate deep blockages in your sewer pipes, not surface clogs in your drains.
2. Slow drains: Blockages and root intrusions cause poor wastewater flow away from your home, which leads to slow drainage in your toilets, tubs, sinks and water heaters.
3. Sewage backups in drains: Noticing backups in your toilet and tub or sinks? These are classic symptoms of a sewer line clog.
4. Wastewater in the yard: A leaky main sewer line causes wastewater to pool and create puddles in your yard. Look for unusually soggy, lush green patches, foul smells in the backyard, or damp spots that won’t dry.
5. Preventative maintenance: A sewer line cleanout offers the best possible access point for preventative maintenance, sewer camera inspections and annual sewer cleaning.

Outside sewer cleanouts have the competitive edge

Sewer line cleanouts located outside your home offer stronger, more direct solutions to 4 of the 5 main instances you’ll need to use them.

While cleanouts located inside the home offer strong access to clear sewage backup in your drains, external cleanouts offer the same level of access without making an indoor mess.

For deep clogs, slow drains, outdoor wastewater leaks and sewer line maintenance, outdoor cleanouts are superior.

TABLE: Inside vs. Outside Sewer Line Cleanouts, Use Case Comparison

4 Plumbing Repairs that Outdoor Sewer Cleanouts Make Easier

When you think of sewer line repairs, you think of mess. Excavating trenches, working around sewage — an altogether unpleasant experience.

Eliminate as much of that mess as possible by installing your sewer line cleanout outside your home. Plus, you’ll ensure none of that wastewater comes back inside your house.

Outdoor sewer cleanout installation makes these 4 sewer repair jobs much easier:

1. Sewer line camera inspections
2. Main sewer line clog removal
3. Tree root removal
4. Hydro jetting service

Dallas Pro Tip: Join Mother’s Pipeline Club and get a $300 annual drain cleaning coupon — that’s plumbing peace of mind you can trust.

Sewer line camera inspection

Sewer cameras offer a thorough, non-invasive way to diagnose every issue in your home’s main sewer line. A tiny, high-resolution camera is attached to a flexible cable and sent through your pipes to locate the precise reason for your plumbing issue.

There’s no better place to start your camera inspection than from an exterior cleanout. No mess, no fuss — just a direct path to diagnosing your sewer problem. Our plumbers offer the top-rated sewer camera inspection service in Dallas, and outdoor cleanouts offer the best access point.

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Main sewer line clog removal

A sewer line clog is most likely to occur at bends in transitions in the yard line. Once we identify your clog’s location, it’s easiest to address and remove the blockage from an outdoor cleanout.

It’s the ideal access point for snakes and augers to enter your main sewer line, with minimal disruption, no digging, and no reason to enter your home.

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Tree root removal

Tree root intrusions typically occur in the yard line at pipe joints or cracks. Without an outdoor cleanout, you’re forced to try to clear tree roots through a toilet, or to dig a trench to the affected pipe section.

Instead, our plumbers can auger or hydro jet the roots away from your sewer line from the cleanout. Then, it’s much easier to assess any potential damage — and we haven’t dug a single hole in your yard to do so.

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Hydro jetting service

Hydro jetting is a more advanced, powerful cleaning method that uses high-pressure water to scour the inside of your sewer pipes, removing even the toughest blockages and buildup.

Attempting to hydro jet your sewer line from an indoor location is a bit invasive, and the powerful equipment can cause a bit of a mess inside. It’s much better to address the problem from an outdoor access point and keep the entire process outside your home.

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Call Mother for Sewer Line Cleanout Installation in Dallas

A sewer line cleanout provides direct access to your home’s sewer system for inspection, diagnosis, and repairs. Install your new cleanout outside your home — it’s the best location for most sewer repairs, and prevents all that mess from coming indoors.

Once the problem is addressed, utilize your outdoor cleanout every 18-24 months for a thorough sewer cleaning and maintenance appointment. You’ll keep clogs out your sewer line, wastewater out of your drains, and nasty sewage backups out of your home and yard.

At Mother Modern Plumbing, our plumbers install dozens of sewer line cleanouts each year for Dallas area homeowners. We bring nearly a century of local plumbing expertise to each job, with a focus on modern solutions and lasting results.

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