How to Find Your Sewer Cleanout (and What It's For)

What a cleanout is and what it looks like

The plumbing code defines a cleanout as an access opening in the drainage system used to remove obstructions; one common type is a removable plug or cap (2024 IPC, Section 202). Gwinnett County's sewer lateral page and the Clayton County Water Authority describe its job as giving access to inspect, clear or repair the line (CCWA).

Outdoors, a cleanout usually looks like a short capped pipe at ground level. Gwinnett's sewer lateral page describes the street-side cleanouts its standards require as having a plastic cap that may come up to the surface or sit under a plastic box set level with the ground. Henry County Water Authority's standards and specifications, for example, call for a green plastic cleanout box with "SEWER" on the lid.

Cleanout plugs may be copper alloy, plastic or another approved material, with a raised square head or a countersunk head, and a cleanout generally matches the size of the pipe it serves, up to 4 inches (IPC 2024, Section 708).

Who maintains a street-side cleanout depends on your provider; see who is responsible for your sewer line. Under Georgia's dig law (O.C.G.A. § 25-9-5(c)), a sewer cleanout within 10 feet of the public right-of-way also counts as a permanent marker of where the line runs.

Where to find yours

1. Start outside, where the main line leaves the house. Georgia's version of IPC Section 708.1.3 calls for a cleanout at or near the junction of the building drain and the building sewer, outside the building wall unless otherwise approved, brought up to finished ground level (Georgia amendments). Check mulch beds and shrubs along the foundation.
2. Check the front of the house and the basement. Atlanta's 311 service says that in homes built within the last 45 years, the cleanout is usually near the front of the house, under the basement floor where the drain exits, and that it can also be outside, covered by several centimeters of soil (ATL311).
3. Look near the street. Georgia's version of Section 708.1.2 adds a cleanout within 10 feet of the public right-of-way. Check near the curb, sidewalk and driveway edge; Gwinnett's resident-responsibility page notes that the right-of-way usually holds the water meter, a useful landmark.
4. Look for curb marks. On new connections, Savannah's service connection requirements call for an "S" cut into the top of the curb over the lateral, and Augusta's water and sewer standards call for an "S" in the curb lined up with the cleanout.
5. Follow the pipe's path. The IPC calls for a cleanout where a building sewer changes direction by more than 45 degrees, and cleanouts no more than 100 feet apart, so a long or bending line may have extras.
6. Get help if you can't find it. Georgia 811 notes that the utilities it notifies mark only public lines, and it counts the sewer line between your home and the public sewer as a private line, suggesting a private locator for it; your sewer utility must still help locate the lateral up to the edge of the public right-of-way (O.C.G.A. § 25-9-7(b)). Before anyone digs for a buried cleanout, request a free Georgia 811 ticket at least three business days ahead (Georgia 811).

One-way and two-way cleanouts

The IPC's general rule is that a cleanout must be arranged so the pipe can be cleaned only in the direction of flow, toward the sewer. Two exceptions are test tees and an approved two-way cleanout at the junction of the building drain and building sewer (IPC 2024, Section 708.1.9). Georgia's amended Section 708.1.3 lets an approved two-way cleanout at that junction serve as the required cleanout for both pipes.

In practice, a one-way cleanout gives a plumber access downstream, toward the sewer main. Because it serves both pipes, a two-way cleanout also gives access upstream toward the house. A plumber can tell you which type you have.

Checking it safely and keeping the cap on

Leave the cap on while drains are backing up. If the line is blocked downstream, sewage can fill the cleanout pipe and spill out when the cap comes off. Gwinnett County's backup procedure, for example, has investigators look into the right-of-way cleanout to see whether the county's pipe below it is backed up (Gwinnett procedure), and Atlanta's 311 service lists waste overflowing from a sewer cleanout as one example of a sewage spill, asking people to report possible spills right away (ATL311). Let the plumber or utility crew open it.

If sewage does come out, the sewer backup guide covers what to do next, including protective gear and safe cleanup. See a doctor if you feel ill after exposure. This is general information, not plumbing or medical advice; a licensed plumber, your utility or a doctor can advise on your situation.

When nothing is backed up, a quick look is fine. Check that the cap is present, uncracked and snug, and that the cleanout isn't buried or blocked. The code calls for at least 18 inches of clear space in front of cleanouts on pipes 6 inches and smaller, and says cleanout plugs must not be covered with mortar, plaster or other permanent material.

Keep the cap on in all weather. The Clayton County Water Authority warns that broken cleanout caps can let stormwater into the sewer and lead to an overflow, and notes that replacement caps are sold at home improvement stores.

Adding a cleanout

If your line has no outside cleanout, a licensed plumber can tell you whether and where one can be added. Georgia's amendments call for a cleanout near the building drain and building sewer junction and another within 10 feet of the public right-of-way, and the IPC requires a below-grade cleanout to be extended up so the top of the plug is at or above grade (IPC 2024, Section 708.1.11). When an old sewer without code-compliant cleanouts is replaced by pipe bursting, the IPC requires cleanouts to be installed as part of the job (IPC 2024, Section 716.6).

Code sections here come from the 2024 IPC and Georgia's amendments to it. Georgia has adopted the 2024 IPC with Georgia amendments. The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) gives January 1, 2027 as the effective date in its most recent announcement, from December 2025 (DCA), while an earlier DCA memo, from September 2025, said January 1, 2026. DCA's amendment chart marks Georgia's cleanout amendments as carried forward from its earlier amendments, so the cleanout rules are the same either way, and your city or county building department can tell you which edition it enforces.

Ask your utility before any work near the street: who may dig in the right-of-way, and who installs or maintains a street-side cleanout, depends on the provider (see who is responsible for your sewer line). For permits, licensing and choosing a contractor, see how to hire a drain cleaning company in Georgia.

Next step

Find your cleanouts this week, while nothing is wrong. Walk the foundation and the strip near the street, photograph each cleanout you find, and replace any cracked or missing cap; if you find none, ask your utility or a licensed plumber where your line runs.