How to Unclog a Frozen Drain

Unclog your frozen drain.

An unfortunate result of living in climate that is subject to very cold temperatures is that sometimes your drain pipes will get frozen. A frozen drain will clog up your plumbing system and cause a great inconvenience to your household. It can make simple tasks like washing dishes and taking a shower impossible because the water will back up and not run down the drain. However, there are steps that you can take to unclog a frozen drain and regain the use of your plumbing system.

Things You'll Need

• Small hammer
• Salt
• Hair dryer (optional)
• Electric heating pad (optional)
• Portable space heater (optional)
• Towels (optional)

Instructions

1. Locate the frozen drain pipes that are causing the blockage. Look in the places in your house that are more exposed to cold air than normal. The pipes that are outside of your house, in your basement and any crawl spaces are areas where freezing may occur.

2. Test the pipes for frozen sections. Take a small hammer or another solid object and very lightly tap on the side of the drain pipes. If they sound hollow when you tap them they are okay; if however they sound solid they are blocked with ice. Take your time and check the entire length of the pipes as there may be more than one section frozen.

3. Boil 4 to 5 gallons of water and add 2 cups of ordinary table salt. Stir the mixture and pour it down the drain connected to the affected pipe. The salt is an effective ice melter and the hot water will help to unfreeze the clog.

4. Apply heat directly to the frozen section of the drain pipe. The Red Cross recommends trying a heating pad, a hair dryer, a space heater, or hot towels.

5. Run hot water from your faucets. Turn on two or three faucets that send water directly into the clogged frozen drain and run them "hot" for 10 minutes. This will help to equalize the temperature in the pipes to the ambient temperature of your house, and also make sure that the drain pipes are indeed unclogged.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not attempt to thaw a drain pipe with an open flame because you will run the risk of burning your house down. Also use caution if using a space heater to warm your pipes, keeping the heater away from any flammable objects.

References

• American Red Cross: Preventing and Thawing Frozen Pipes
• Keidel.com: The Safe Way to Thaw Frozen Pipes

Resources

• State Farm Insurance: Preventing Frozen Pipes