Hello all, new to this forum. So im helping a family member with a problem and it has me completly confused. Bare with me, so my inlaws kitchen sink started to fill up with water from the drain due to a clog somewhere in the drain, but not in the kitchen. He went outside the kitchen and opened up the clean out and it drained the sink out. Just a typical clog down the drain somewhere. Here is the puzzling part. The water was turned off to the house due to water flowing out of the cleanout, but not from the sink, its coming up and out of the cleanout. When the water is off, the flow of water out of the cleanout stops, when you turn the water back on the flow of water comes up and out the cleanout again. The problem is no water is on anywhere in the house, no sinks, no showers, no toilet, no washer, no dishwasher, nothing is running water into the drains but when the water gets turned back on it starts to flow out the cleanout again. Something is draining water into the drains and coming out the cleanout, but nothing is running anywhere in the house. The clog is still there, but its actually helping by letting us know the water is flowing down the drain with nothing on. Can anyone help to figure out what and why water is going into the drain and no valves are open to let water flow into the drains.
Where are you turning the water off? Are you turning it off at a house side main water valve or at the water meter? When you turn the water back on and the water comes draining out of the clean-out did you go to the water meter and check the leak dial/leak function to see if water is actually flowing through the meter?
We haven’t checked the meter to see if water is flowing, but the situation happens whether the water is on and off at the main or on and off at the house. We’ve turned it off and on at both spots and still the same problem
Little chance of solving this problem without knowledgeable eyes on site. Hire a plumber who can determine the plumbing layout. Home Inspectors are not plumbers (with a few exceptions).
Something is being lost in the translation as your first post indicated that when the main valve (house side or at the meter) is turned off the flow from the clean-out stops.
Again go around the entire house and make sure nothing is turned on. If you have a water filtration system shut flow to it off as well at its input valve. If you have an irrigation system (sprinkler system) shut flow off to it at the backflow valve. Leave the main valve(s) on. Then check the water meter leak detection function to see if water is flowing.
Once that is done, and if you have no indication of flow at the meter, then go back to the water filtration system and turn it back on and again check the water meter leak detection function to see if flow is occurring.
Do you have a water filtration system? How about an irrigation system? Do you have a pool?
Could be several clogged areas.
I would suspect, when the domestic potable water supply was on, there was enough water pressure in all the drain lines above the kitchen so the sink drain did not backup, but came out the clean out. That would lead me to believe the main clog is downstream the clean out.
Just my 2 cents.