Home Maintenance and Repair
Tips for doing your own home maintenance and repair
Do You Know Where Your Clean Out Is Or What It Is?
What's a cleanout you ask? Your home has a sewage system for carrying the grey water away from your home. You will have either a septic system or you will have a main line connected to the cities sewer system. The septic system is a large tank in the ground in your yard somewhere it can be made of brick, cement, plastic. The tank will have a door in the top that will be buried.
The sewer line is large pipe running under the street and you will have a line running from your house to a connection at the edge of your property. Each of these systems will have a cleanout next to the house, the sewer system is supposed to have one at the house and one at the connection at the edge of the property. These cleanouts are usually marked by a box made of concrete, or plastic and are usually 4" round with some sort of cap. This cleanout is what the roto rooter guy will use to snake out your connection to either the septic tank or the sewer line.
There are several reasons you may have to have the plumber come and unclog your sewage system.
Little Johnny flushes anything from silk shorts, action figures, tennis balls, wades of toilet paper, etc down the toilet.
Flushing used tampons or pads wrapped in wads of toilet paper down the toilet.
Old sewage pipes that have calcified build up in them that causes restriction.
Tree roots can and will grow into the pipe and cause restriction.
A pot of rice poured down the garbage disposal will plug your pipes.
You can do many of the repairs necessary to keep your sewage systems working your self. There are tools you can buy at the local hardware store such as wrenches, snakes, etc. There is also no reason you can't call a professional to help you out as well.