Plumbing self help

Bathroom sink drain is blocked, presumably on the external downpipe, and now frozen. I have no ladder tall enough to reach it.

Was thinking of pouring kettle full of boiling water from the window on to the pipe (window is directly above it I think). Worth a go or lunacy? Do plumbers have say heating belts for this kind of thing?

I’d just leave it until it thaws myself but have a lodger…who probably caused the whole thing by trimming his beard in the sink 😐

Worth a go with the kettle or, alternatively, wrap your lodger around the pipe!

It won’t take a lot of water flowing through to start defrosting the ice once you’ve done the kettle thing.

Kettle sounds good al, just remember to take your curlers out and put your teeth in before hanging out of the window.

Thanks guys. I’ll put my best nightie on for the postie 😀

Boo. My plan will create a nice sheet of ice on the path beside the downpipe 😐

no idea how to get round this.

Salt the water 🙂

Hot salty water?

In fact, will the shower hose stick out of the window, take the shower head off?

cynic-al – Member

Boo. My plan will create a nice sheet of ice on the path beside the downpipe

Salt

Plan aborted, sash window frozen shut & no time to give it a proper bash. May be reachable from a ladder on the outside.

Have plenty of dishwasher salt (quite a lot would be needed no?), cheers, wasn’t meant to be going back now till Sat but may have to to sort it for tenant.

Blockage must be in 2-3 feet of horizontal pipe before it hits wider downpipe. If it’s near the bottom/end and is of any length it may be v tricky to melt it sufficiently 🙁

I stink of bleach now. Oh well, better than just stinking.

Are you sure it’s an external blockage? Our bathroom sink gets blocked fairly frequently by a build up of beard trimmings in the trap.

Is it gone beyond the point where you can pour anything down the sink?

^ Wot he said. I’d check the trap first before risking life and limb defrosting outside pipes 🙂

“Bathroom sink drain is blocked, presumably on the external downpipe, and now frozen. I have no ladder tall enough to reach it.”

Why do you presume this? Have you checked the U bend / trap AND the plug pipe? both can get bunged up. I’ve cleared a plug pipe completely covered, but the trap was fine, it was hard to see due to the grating and dark but once the u bend was off I could stick my finger back up and feel it was all gunked up, then 5 min of pulling gunked up pubic hair out and it was fine.

P.S. If this is not the problem you can get a flexible drain cleaner to stuff down the drain if it is further down the pipe towards the soil stack

http://www.kozy-homes.co.uk/products/11999-00,15ft-drain-cleaner-flexible-steel-coil-pipes-sinks?sos=googleps

Of course I checked the plug and u-bend! Do you take me for some kind of n00b?

Sirs, I am verily offended! Take thine aspertions and cast them hence forthwith!

😀 😉 etc

EDIT thanks thebrick – I think the issue will be that it’s frozen, -14 here apparently.

Sorry it’s only because I made the mistake once. U bend was fine but plug was bunged, I just couldn’t see it it was only when I go busy with my fingers.

EDIT: Frozen, try a heat gun on the pipe if the water does not work.

What would be frozen in the pipe? Unless it’s a u-bend or trap?

Disconnect the pipe work under the sink. Pour salt down the pipe. Using a hair dryer blow hot air down the pipe.

may be useful

Frozen soil stack

http://www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=208093&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=30

Heat gun?…may try Mrs’ spare hairdryer 😛

What would be frozen in the pipe? Unless it’s a u-bend or trap?

Disconnect the pipe work under the sink. Pour salt down the pipe. Using a hair dryer blow hot air down the pipe.

It’s one piece lead (inside)/cast iron (outside) – no access. I am presuming that the blockage has frozen, given I can’t shift it with Mr Muscle and a good plunging, and the fact that it’s well below zero here at the moment.

Cant you just direct the bathroom sink waste into the loo till it thaws…long length of innertube jubilee’d onto the waste pipe.

I used to have a washing machine drain that went into the loo. Cold morning sessions on the throne were a pleasure with the machine on a 60c wash cycle. Like an ass sauna / steam B’day.

If it’s cast iron then easy, just run a propane torch round the outside side of the pipe. I was presuming a plastic stack.

Careful with the heat gun if there’s any plastic pipe ahead of the metal. A paint drying setting would be good.

So the pipe was partially blocked which has now frozen and expanded. I was doing some drainage alts on the kitchen sink of one of the tenants places and the whole waste pipe up to the stack was half full of grease. Not pleasant.

OK Ta thebrick, off to buy a heat gun!

takisawa2 – Member
I used to have a washing machine drain that went into the loo. Cold morning sessions on the throne were a pleasure with the machine on a 60c wash cycle. Like an ass sauna / steam B’day.

😀

Just spoke to plumber mate – apparently there is a risk of cracking the cast iron so warm heat gun or warm water the best bet.

Just spoke to plumber mate

So you are asking here?

my dad melted a plastic pipe with a heat gun. he was using it on the cast iron bit but the heat travelled back up.

hairdryer on a broom handle out the window ftw.