If you’ve never had to access your sewer cleanout, you’re one of the lucky ones! Plumbing problems can be messy, expensive, and an all around pain to deal with. Luckily, sewer cleanout cap covers actually make home plumbing maintenance a lot quicker and easier!
Sewer cleanouts are the access points to your sewer system, and are necessary to fix issues and gain entry. The cap covers are simply the top cover of the vertical pipe that forms the cleanout. However, they’re more crucial than you might think. In this article, we’ll cover everything you need to know about sewer cleanout cap covers, including:
- What is a Sewer Cleanout Cap Cover?
- Typical Location of Sewer Cleanout Caps in Homes
- How to Identify and Access Your Sewer Cleanout Cap
- Common Issues with Sewer Cleanout Caps
- Step-by-Step Guide to Removing a Stuck Sewer Cleanout Cap
- Tips for Maintaining Your Sewer Cleanout Cap
Let’s get down to it!
What is a Sewer Cleanout Cap Cover?
As mentioned above, sewer cleanouts are the vertical access points to your home sewer system. They exist so that you can get into the system to clear blockages, and perform other maintenance tasks.
The sewer cap covers are the seals on the top of these access points. They serve two very important purposes: stopping anything unwanted from coming into your sewer line via the access point, and stopping anything coming out.
Without the sewer cleanout cap cover, your sewers would be vulnerable to debris (and elements that can cause rust, corrosion and other adverse effects) getting in from the vertical access point. At the same time, you also don’t want glasses, odors, and other hazardous substances coming up from the sewers to the service.
Typically, swerve cleanout cap covers are made from plastic or metal. However, these days there are also several more specialized types, including:
- ABS fitting for suiting the ABS pipe
- PVC fitting for PVC pipes
- Polypropylene cleanout caps
- Reusable expansion cover plugs – These are used for reinforcing the seal on the metal made cleanouts
- Glass-filled plugs – More convenient and durable than the normal ones, these caps are acid and chemical resistant for increasing your health safety
- Threaded Raised Head ABS cleanout plugs
Which type you need depends on the material and structure of your pipelines, as well as your sewer system requirements, environmental conditions, and other factors.
Typical Location of Sewer Cleanout Caps in Homes
Most houses have at least one sewer cleanout, unless they are a significantly older build. Typically, your sewer cleanout will be located near the main drain – the drain that links your home plumbing to the municipal sewer system.
If you live in a colder climate, you can usually find this access point inside, in your basement, garage, or near bathrooms. However, if you’re in a warmer area, the main cleanout may be outside your home. It will generally be extending from the ground near the walls of your home, though it could be further out on the property, and is in some instances covered with a metal box from protection.
If you’re having trouble finding it, consulting your housing plan, following known drain pipes from their source (such as toilets or sinks), or consulting a plumber is your best course of action.
How to Identify and Access Your Sewer Cleanout Cap
Your sewer cleanout cap will be a fitted metal or plastic covering atop a vertical, protruding pipe. It usually has a threaded base, and may have a cube of plastic on the top of the cap, to assist with grip. If you’re really stuck, looking into local building codes will almost always point you in the right direction, as there is generally a set guideline on where to place sewer cleanouts, and the type of cap cover required.
If you need to access your sewer line through the cleanout, once you have found the cleanout, get all of your necessary tools ready and safety equipment on. Then slowly loosen your sewer cleanout cap just a little, and wait. You don’t want to get caught in any overflow, and that can happen with blocked pipes. Then you’re ready to access your sewer lines. If it doesn’t loosen easily, you may need to use a wrench, or there could be a problem with your sewer cleanout cap.
Common Issues with Sewer Cleanout Caps
Unfortunately, like with any piece of plumbing equipment, there can be faults and problems with sewer cleanout caps. Some of the most common include:
- Corrosion: Sewage produces a variety of corrosive agents, the most prevalent being hydrogen sulfide. Sulfides can build up on the surface of sewer cleanout caps (and other structures), and cause deterioration, cracking, and other faults. These can lead to gas and odor leakage, and long term damage to the pipeline. (source)
- Damaged Threads: Too much moisture in between the sewage cap cover and the pipeline can also cause the threads of the cap and pipe to become corroded, leading to an imperfect seal, or even for the threads of each piece to fuse.
- Sticking: The cleanout cap can also simply become seized, or stuck, due to a buildup of dirt, rust, or other materials.
While sometimes these issues are unavoidable, they can be greatly minimized by regular maintenance and inspections. Getting the correct type of sewer cap cover for your pipelines, and using a newer sewer cap cover, will also save you a lot of time and money further down the line.
Step-by-Step Guide to Removing a Stuck Sewer Cleanout Cap
Luckily, even if your sewer cleanout cap gets stuck, it’s still possible to remove it to gain access to the clean out. Make sure to gather all your tools before you get started, lay down some plastic or tarp if your access point is inside your home, and wear gloves and protective eyewear!
- Step 1: Apply Lubricant – Use a penetrating catalyst lubricant to loosen a rusted or frozen cap. Apply liberally between the cap and the interior of the pipe, let it sit for at least ten minutes, then try to gently twist the cap out.
- Step 2: Use Heat – If both the cap and the pipe are metal, you can loosen the cap by using a propane torch or other intense heat source. When you heat the metal pipe, it expands slightly, allowing the cap to be freed more easily. Make sure to not heat it for too long, or you risk damaging the pipe or cap. If you have a plastic cap or pipe, do not use high heat, as they will melt. You can instead try gently using a hair dryer on a plastic cap, to see if it will shrink just enough that you can pull it loose.
- Step 3: Loosen with a Wrench – Many sewer cleanout cap covers have a plug or nut on the top for this very purpose! Grasp it with a wrench, and turn counter clockwise to unscrew the cap.
Still stuck? If these methods did not work, your cap cover may be seriously corroded, fused, or seized. If that’s the case, your best bet is to call a plumber, as they will have professional tools to resolve the issue. If it’s a plastic cap and you’re determined to DIY, you can also just break it with a hammer. This will of course require you to purchase a new sewer cap cover, but you most likely would have had to anyway if it was that stuck. Plus, a more modern cap will require less maintenance going forward.
Tips for Maintaining Your Sewer Cleanout Cap
If you want to avoid having to try any unsticking hacks and or plumber call outs, it’s important to be performing regular maintenance on your sewer cleanout cap(s). To keep sewer cleanout cap covers in good shape, here are some top tips:
- Regular Checks: Try to check your sewer clean out cap for any signs of corrosion or sticking at least once a year. Simply locate your sewer cap, ensure there are no unpleasant smells detectable from near the sewer cleanout, make sure you can easily remove the cap, and then replace it.
- Protective Coatings: If you’re dedicated to maintaining your cleanout cap, try applying a light coat of grease to prevent future sticking. Any good rust retardant will be helpful in preventing a stuck sewer cleanout cap, though specialized products are available.
- Replacement Options: If you notice a bad odor, signs of wear, or sticking, it is time for a sewer cap replacement. To find the right kind of cap, measure the diameter of your pipeline, and get a cap with that diameter made from the same material as the pipe itself. If you’re in doubt, or want specialized advice, consult a plumber.
Conclusion
All in all, sewer cleanout cap covers are an often overlooked, but crucial part of your home maintenance. They keep debris and corrosion from entering your sewer line and keep odors and hazardous material from entering your home, while still allowing you easy access to clear blockages when you need it.
With good maintenance, sticking should be minimal, but if it does happen there are plenty of tricks you can try! Remember, if you come to an issue you can’t solve yourself, it’s always better to consult a professional plumber than to DIY yourself into a more complicated and costly problem later on!
