Frozen drain issue - Boston area

[Andy340]

Just back from San Diego (to Boston), perfect week - dropped into Summer Cycles in Del Mar to cap off a great week of cycling in the Sun. Left tap dripping and kept heat high (64 away temp) to prevent frozen pipes in the house.

Water all running fine but I discovered when I put a washing machine that my drain is blocked and it appears to be central drain as higher toilets when flushed will back up into lower floor toilet. Seems completely blocked as when I try and run hot water it back up into lowest toilet bowl.

Had a company come out and was told that there was nothing they could do (except of course charge me) as there was ice when the outlet was removed to inspect in the garage.

I am relatively new to the Boston area so any advice would be greatly appreciated!

[Peter Polack]

Put an Electric Water Pipe Heater on the pipes as close to the plug as possible. Be patient; it may take a as long as a day or more to thaw the pipe. Next time, install the pipe heater before you leave on vacation in the winter and you may be saved the aggravation.

[Sinclair]

It sounds like the drain is plugged under the garage and there really my be nothing you can do. With the extreme cold out there now even stuff buried under the frost line may be cold enough to freeze and the dripping faucet may have contributed, providing enough water to feed the plug, but not enough to flow and melt what was there. I'm guessing the pipe heater won't work because the drain is under the garage? If you know that's where the plug is, and if the line dips down deeper once it's past the garage you can try heating the garage up enough that the ground warms but this is a near impossible job because there's a huge thermal mass that needs to be heated and heat likes to go up, not down, so I'm not sure this is even possible without running monster propane powered job site heaters in the garage for a couple of days if not a week.

And then you have another problem, did the pipe crack? If/when the thing thaws out you'll have to get the guys with the camera in to inspect the pipe to see if it cracked and this might not be easy to do if you have ABS plumbing as the cameras aren't super high resolution and the ABS may be reasonable in appearance but slowly leaking with every flush and shower and if the crack is under your slab you may have a sink hole forming.

You're in a pretty crappy situation (no pun intended) and it may not be over yet.

If you have access to a clean out closer to the plug you can get a pump and pull out all the water/waste that isn't frozen by using a sump pump and lots of buckets. It won't be pretty and it will stink. And then you can boil large pots of salt water and pour them into the same cleanout. If you have a sewer machine (mechanical "snake") you can run that down the line with a root cutter head and it will agitate the softened ice face off the plug. As the plug melts it will cool and dilute your hot water salt mixture and you may have to suck it out again, add more salt and reheat it and repeat until the plug is opened. All very time consuming. Once there is no longer water in the line to suck out you might not be done yet, the water might be draining under the remainder of the ice plug which could rebuild itself if you're not careful so you'll want to run hot water until you're confident that the plug is completely melted.

Good luck.

[happycampyer]

I was going to note something similar. When you bought the house, did you have anyone inspect the drain with a scope/camera? How old is the house? If it's an older home, it's not unusual for roots to work their way into pipes, and eventually stuff (especially toilet paper) will catch on the roots and a clog will develop. Ice shouldn't develop in a free-flowing drain. I would definitely get a plumber to see about clearing the drain.

[Andy340]

Thanks all - House built 1937, inspection was pretty superficial from what I recall (i.e. unless a tree was visibly growing from the drain it was not going to be picked up). Seems to be a lot of plumbing / drainage issues locally so will wait for the next company to open it up if they can. Maybe an insurance type job if complicated.

I am seriously considering a permanent move to San Diego as a long term solution / New Years resolution - at least there’s only 5 months of winter to go!

[ides1056]

Our barn valve froze, buried four feet down, sitting on ledge, with heat tape on the water line out to the barn. I installed this, and everything was done right. We are having epic cold, but at least the wind hasn't been brutal. We've had the line to the septic freeze before when the tank has been pumped and its not creating heat.

Good luck.

[happycampyer]

For a house from that era, it's not unusual for the pipes farther away from the house to be made of clay, in sections. It's not unusual for tree roots to work their way in between the sections. That would make heating the pipe with an electric heater more difficult (the drain pipe in the house may be cast iron, which would conduct heat, but if the clog is where a clay pipe is, the heat won't conduct that far). Good luck. I was in Boston earlier in the week, and I think the high one day was 12°. And with the wind and being near the water, it always feels colder than the ambient temperature.

P.S. If you have septic, as ides mentions, that's a whole nother issue.

[Mabouya]

I have nothing truly constructive to add, other than to agree that plumbing problems suck, and wish you luck.

As disgusting as it may sound, I'll also add that a few years ago when I had a clogged main drain out to the septic tank I had to poop in a bucket a few times until I got them to come out and snake it. (wasn't that bad - lined a bucket with a trash bag, put some kitty litter in there and went to town - the trash guy never knew what he was taking out that week...)

[happycampyer]

If this is any consolation—and I'm no expert, just thinking aloud here—I would think that something freezing in a drainpipe is less likely to damage the pipe than water freezing in a water pipe, since there is some place for the frozen "stuff" to expand to. In a closed water pipe, the water is already under pressure, and has nowhere to go when it freezes. Whatever is clogging your drainpipe is not likely water (which would've drained), but probably a mixture of roots, toilet paper and waste. You probably need a "roto-rooter." Let us know how it works out.

[Andy340]

Had someone clear the ice with a Roto tool with ice tip - great to be able to flush a toilet for new year.
There is a crack at the base of the cast iron main drain as there is a small leak visible so that will be more expensive than just a cleaning as it will need repair\replacement - probably an insurance claim.