Sewer lines are often hard to find. They are buried underground almost never to be seen again, until trouble strikes. Sewer lines can leak, break or collapse upon themselves. Whether you just moved into your home, or if you’ve never had trouble with the lines before, you may at some point need to find them. There are a few solutions to this without you having to dig up the entire yard to find them.
Locate the Sewer Vent and Cleanout Line
Go outside and find the sewer vent on top of your house. They are usually found in the area where your bathroom or kitchen is located.
Next find your outside cleanout line. This is usually a PVC pipe sticking out of the ground. In my back yard, it comes out of the ground at an angle, about 18 feet from the house.
Line up the sewer vent and the cleanout line. Your sewer line will run in a straight line out to the alley where it connects with the city’s main line.
Locate Where the Sewer Line Exits the House
Some houses do not have a cleanout line outside their home. In this case, you will need to find the where your sewer line exits the house. Your sewer line will be in the basement or crawl space below your home. Once you find where it goes out, make a mental note of the location.
To help you be more exact, measure the distance it is from a window, door way or the corner of your house. Take those measurements outdoors and transfer them measuring again from the same window, door way or house corner.
Mark this area in some way, like using a flag, rock or insert a stick into the ground at the location. To find where the line goes from there, and hooks up into the city’s main, find the city maintenance person. This person can mark the area where your pipe hooks into the city’s main line. Line up the two points, and you will find your sewer pipes underneath.
Dowse For the Sewer Line
You can dowse for the sewer lines. This is a centuries old practice that is still used today. Bend one end of a welding rod at a 90 degree angle to make a handle. You will need two welding rods, so do this with both of them. Grasp a welding rod by the handle and hold one in each hand. Don’t have a firm grip, because the rods need to move in your hand. Walk around your property slowly where you believe the sewer line is located. When the rods cross over to make an “X”, that means you have located your sewer line or other water source.
Examine the Infrastructure Map
If all this fails, go to your city’s sewer department. There they will have an infrastructure map. This map not only tells you where to find your sewer line, it will also tell you how deep it is.
Use a Sewer Camera
This last idea may cost you a bit, but it will help you find the sewer line. Contact a professional plumber that has a sewer camera. This is a special camera that goes down into and through the sewer line. It will tell you where your sewer is, the condition it is in and how deep you have to dig to reach it.
