Adding a cleanout to dump at your home in LA

[SFVdave]

Has anyone looked into the legality of adding a clean out to the sewer line on your property in Los Angeles? I'm sure there are many that have done it and use it all the time. Wonder if there is a fine. I suppose if it's done discretely and there is no spill you can get away with it. But if a neighbor turns you in and hazmat comes, oh boy!
I tried calling the city and got transferred around, left messages but no return call.

[ramyankee]

I am in Northern Ca, the northern Sierras.
I put one in at our place. At that time a permit was not required but we are talking about california and their codes. And their penchant for changing codes.
I don't understand you not having a call returned.....Not good business.

[RTBabich]

tahiti16 wrote:
Rule up here in Ventura county is you can have a clean out but you can not label it a RV dump.

We have several clean outs. I think the requirements are to have a clean out where the line leaves the footings and then every 50 feet after that. The concerns for clean outs are probably not having to use a snake longer than 50 feet and chemicals that get to the sewage treatment plant.

[leeper]

One house I had, I called the city and requested they install the required clean out that was missing and they did. The house I am now at has a clean out in the front and another in the back yard. I use the back one with no worries of noisy neighbors or smells, I can't be seen!

[SFVdave]

OutdoorPhotgrapher wrote:
Now when we moved to RI, my popup was in the drive for the first couple days while I got my garage settled and we were reported to the home owners association. My response: "the moving van left yesterday. It's going in the garage this weekend." Their response: "you have 24 hours to get it out of site." And I've found that some neighbors don't like that you can see it through the garage window. Thankfully I'm a renter passing through on military orders.

I would never buy or live in a house with such restrictions. We live in the old suburbs of LA. New ones have those CCR's. Can't even change the color of your house.

Tahiti16 wrote:
Rule up here in Ventura county is you can have a cleanout but you can not label it a RV dump.

Same here in LA.

[OutdoorPhotogra]

I lived in Central CA for five years. Our house had a cleanout that was convenient to my RV parking although I never used it since never upgraded from a pop-up to a TT. For all CA's regulations, our proximity to the National Parks meant there was a high percentage of home owners with RVs. I installed a gate and paved parking with a 30 Amp hookup which was convenient for me and a huge plus when selling.

Now when we moved to RI, my popup was in the drive for the first couple days while I got my garage settled and we were reported to the home owners association. My response: "the moving van left yesterday. It's going in the garage this weekend." Their response: "you have 24 hours to get it out of site." And I've found that some neighbors don't like that you can see it through the garage window. Thankfully I'm a renter passing through on military orders.

[tahiti16]

Rule up here in Ventura county is you can have a cleanout but you can not label it a RV dump.

[ernie1]

The houses built in the Sacramento area have two cleanouts in the sewer lines. One is located out in the front yard close to the main sewer line and the other is close to the house. I use my cleanout that is located out in the front yard so that I can park my rv in the street and dump away via a tight line with no spillage. Have been doing this for years with no problem. I can only think of a potential problem being from a neighbor who doesn't understand the process of waste disposal and would call the health department where I used to work as an inspector who would field these types of complaints. Heck we didn't care if a person dumped his rv down the sewer. That's where this material is supposed to go. We would be concerned if there was some sort of permanent type connection where a person was living in an rv in violation of zoning codes or if there was some sort rv dump station built and connected to the cleanout illegally. Otherwise I see nothing illegal about having a cleanout for your sewer line which is required by law.

[slomark]

I use a macerator pump, an old garden hose, and remove the kitchen sink clean out plug on the exterior of the house.

[C_Schomer]

Any other RV dump site in the city would go to the city waste water treatment so I don't know why it would hurt. I teed into my cleanout riser and ran 50' to my RV pad. I think technically the riser should be vented cuz I now have a 50' dirty arm. I don't know what the length limit is for a 3" dirty arm but it never causes any vent siphoning. I imagine all the other vents in the system are preventing siphoning at the individual fixtures. Anyway, it works great! Craig

[RollandB]

Thanks Soundguy, that is the exact one I had in mind. I appreciate the link.

[hawkeye-08]

I would have no problem installing cleanout and no problem using them to dump, but I would not leave it connected other than to dump...

[SoundGuy]

BurbMan wrote:
... but what you are doing is exactly the same that would be going down that pipe from the house sinks, showers, and toilets. It's not like you are dumping toxic waste or used motor oil....

Exactly. When I first got my waste macerator and hadn't yet had the opportunity to install a T into the house system I simply ran the output hose to the bathroom toilet located on the main floor of the house just off the my workshop. Of course I had to temporarily secure the hose to the toilet so it wouldn't flip out from the pressure but with the hose end sitting below the water line there was little odour at all, 'though I did vent the bathroom by opening the window. Of course the permanent intake stack was the best solution as there's just no odour at all to the process but the end result is the same - all you're doing is putting grey / black water from your trailer instead of your house that would go into the system anyway, how it gets there should be irrelevant to the city, town, your neighbours, etc.

[BurbMan]

riven1950 wrote:
Local laws vary a lot, but I would think plumbing clean outs are common most places. Now legally using one to dump is another question.

Exactly....I wouldn't hesitate to add a cleanout since it is allowed by code. Nobody has to know that you dump your RV tanks there, but what you are doing is exactly the same that would be going down that pipe from the house sinks, showers, and toilets. It's not like you are dumping toxic waste or used motor oil....

Now if you are not neat and cause a stinky mess on the lawn every time, then expect the neighbors to complain. I would look for a discrete place to locate the cleanout so you're not in full view of the neighbors.

[SoundGuy]

Old Duck wrote:
I think it's time to shop for a macerator....:)

That's easy ... FloJet Waste Macerator. I've had mine for 10 years now, wouldn't ever consider servicing my trailer tanks any other way, whether here at home or when camping. Highly recommended. :B