frozen drain pipe in kitchen sink

[Donald]

So I looked through the access hole. The pipe from the kitchen sink is slanted horizontal for about 15' in my crawl space , then vertical where it meets the 4" main which is fine. I looked through the access hole and also aimed my IR thermometer. The last 2' of the vertical pipe is 28 degrees but the rest is above freezing. I put a small electric heater in the access hole blowing into it. But the pipe is 15' away. Its 26F outside today.

 

[SHOZ]

Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: tdpark
Make a brine

BINGO!
OP, i used that last winter.


Will that flow down into the pipe where its frozen. I am sure there is standing water before its frozen.

This is day 4, still frozen. Dishes are piling up.


The salt water will be heavier than the ice water and sink to the lowest spot.

Salt is also the most effective root killer FWIW........

 

[eljefino]

If you make a brine, boil it, you'll dissolve lots more salt.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: SHOZ
Originally Posted By: Donald
Originally Posted By: pandus13
Originally Posted By: tdpark
Make a brine

BINGO!
OP, i used that last winter.


Will that flow down into the pipe where its frozen. I am sure there is standing water before its frozen.

This is day 4, still frozen. Dishes are piling up.


The salt water will be heavier than the ice water and sink to the lowest spot.

Salt is also the most effective root killer FWIW........


Why won't it just get diluted with the unfrozen water thats on top of the ice?

 

[fdcg27]

IMHO, you do have a frozen drain.
We've had this happen a couple of times in prolonged very cold weather.
I came home from work a week or so ago and found standing water in the sink. The drain had been running fine prior to this. I applied the trusty hair drier and the water drained after about twenty minutes, so I think I had a frozen spot in the drain line.
Once you do get a frozen drain, it'll stay frozen for some time as long as ambient temperstures remain below freezing, unless you apply a little heat to the right spot.
Remember that any trap will always have water in it, since that's how it's intended to function to block any gases which might otherwise come up the drain pipe and into your home, so even a drain that had been running just fine could have water frozen in a trap.
You might try salt water, although heat would probably be more effective.

 

[Donald]

SUCCESS. I came home from an errand and the water was drained. Ran water and it was running slow and after a minute (must have melted remaining ice coating) it was fine. Running dishwasher.

Thanks for the suggestions. The frozen section was probably 15' away from the sink in an unheated crawl space. The trap is under the sink in a cabinet in heated area.

The outside temp rose today to about 26 degrees and I ran a small electric heater/fan in the small opening (about 10"x8").

The access to get into the crawl space for a person is outside and I need to take some screws off a panel and get in that way. Through 2' of snow. So I avoided that.

I will avoid letting the frozen blocks of ice (from dogs water bucket) melt in the kitchen sink. But honsetly, who would have thought that would have caused an issue? No issues with the temp below zero, so I am sure its related to the blocks of ice melting.

 

[eljefino]

Originally Posted By: Donald

I will avoid letting the frozen blocks of ice (from dogs water bucket) melt in the kitchen sink. But honsetly, who would have thought that would have caused an issue? No issues with the temp below zero, so I am sure its related to the blocks of ice melting.


I've had heat pipes, washing machine feed pipes, and drain pipes freeze and have various, paranoid "rain dances" to keep the same from happening again.

Your fix might be as simple as leaving the cabinet door open so the trap sees more room air, and so the water you send down the line is pre-heated more. Or the room air finds its way down the hole in the floor (for your drain) and helps the crawl space a little.

You'll know success if you feel cold air creeping out of the cabinet... warm air's creeping in.

 

[larryinnewyork]

The Internet:
Can be used for Good or Evil.

It amazes me that people from all over the Country (or World) can now offer help to strangers.
And others can learn in the process.

 

[SHOZ]

May be the trap is partially clogged too. You can buy 99% lye (sodium hydroxide) powder and add a cup down the drain. It will generate a lot of heat, turn the grease into soap and dissolve hair.

 

[Donald]

I was talking to a plumber about putting in a Techmar control for my boiler and told him about frozen drain.

He has seen a similar thing when people leave the water dripping in the sink so the supply water lines do not freeze, but the drips in the sink are slow enough for each to freeze and plug the drain.
This is if there is a spot where the drain pipe itself gets below freezing.

He said he was recently dealing with someone who had a completely frozen line running to the septic. But thats 4", so a big plug is needed.

Time for spring