At our daughter-in-law's parents' farm, the washing machine drains externally, running through a hole in an outside wall to outside the house, sloping down to an underground septic field. (Not sure I've got the terminology right, but the significant thing is that the ABS pipe is blocked by ice.)
One possible solution would be to wrap a heating cable around the pipe.
Another fix would be to cut the pipe before the blockage, and let it discharge into a gutter or trough on the ground (to channel the water away from the house).
I wondered about speeding things up by pouring something down the pipe to melt the ice. (Hot water has not worked.)
Our techs at work used to have some success with windshield-washer antifreeze, but I don't want to use anything toxic. (The methanol in the WW solution is toxic.)
Is there a non-toxic ice-melting product that would work here?
Any other ideas?
Thanks.
One possible solution would be to wrap a heating cable around the pipe.
Another fix would be to cut the pipe before the blockage, and let it discharge into a gutter or trough on the ground (to channel the water away from the house).
I wondered about speeding things up by pouring something down the pipe to melt the ice. (Hot water has not worked.)
Our techs at work used to have some success with windshield-washer antifreeze, but I don't want to use anything toxic. (The methanol in the WW solution is toxic.)
Is there a non-toxic ice-melting product that would work here?
Any other ideas?
Thanks.