The shower drain and pipes can freeze when the temperature drops in freezing weather, which also causes clogging and cracks inside the drain pipes.
How to Thaw a Frozen Shower Drain? You can thaw a frozen shower drain using vinegar and baking soda, heating pads, space heaters, and heating lamps, or increase the thermostat temperature. Some people also use boiling water and table salt and wrap a hot towel around the frozen pipes to let the icy water flow into the sewage pipes.
People usually love to enjoy winters, but the snowfall and temperature of minus degrees cause many problems, especially the freezing water inside the drains. The grayish water from the pipes is a sign that your drain pipes are frozen or blocked by the ice.
Therefore, it is better to thaw the frozen water to avoid damage to the drain pipes and the horrible situation of clogging and flooding.
How can you thaw a frozen shower drain?
You can unfreeze a frozen shower drain using the following techniques. All of us have experienced this annoying situation of frozen drains in winter.
Use vinegar and baking soda
You can use a homemade remedy to unfreeze the shower drain without damaging the pipes. Put one cup of baking soda and half cup of vinegar into the drain. The chemical reaction between the acidic and basic product will occur and thaw the freeze pipes.
Keep the Vinegar and baking soda sit in the drain pipes for 15-20 minutes, and pour one to two bowls of boiling water. Turn the hot water faucet on for 20-30 minutes to properly melt the ice inside the pipes.
The vinegar and baking soda solution thaws the freeze pipes and cleans the debris and foreign particles inside the drainage.
Use heating pads
Some people use heating pads around the pipes to provide adequate heat to thaw the ice. However, the heat from these pads can get transferred to the frozen water inside the pipes, and it starts melting after a few minutes.
This method can take one to two hours to completely thaw the ice water and let proper water flow down the sewage. You can keep the hot water faucet on while placing the heating pad around the pipes.
Heating pads contain a pad that remains heated for a while, and some use electricity to keep the heat inside the pads.
Use the electrical equipment around the water sources carefully, or avoid using the electric tools if you have doubts about their correct usage around them.
Space heaters or heating lamps
Space heaters are devices that use electricity or gas to heat the rooms, and you can place them in any appropriate position because they are handy and easy to move.
Heating lamps serve the same purpose as heating rooms and are portable because they are lightweight. You can use the heaters and the heating lamps to warm the environment and thaw the frozen shower pipes.
Keep the heater or lamp in the frozen pipe direction and let it stay there for 40-60 minutes to melt the frozen water inside the pipes.
Avoid placing them too close to the pipes and cabinets because it can cause damage to them and the risk of fire. Instead, it is better to use the fan space heaters, as they will blow the hot air and minimize the fire risk.
Increase the temperature of the thermostat
A thermostat is a device that can automatically set and regulates the heating system in the house to turn it off and on. It offers you to adjust a desired temperature on the device to heat the place.
Increase the temperature of the thermostat and open the cabinet door to allow warm air toward the frozen pipes.
Pour boiling water into the shower drain
Hot water can work well to melt the ice in the freeze pipes and is one of the simplest and easiest methods to thaw them.
Pour boiling water slowly into the drain, and repeat the procedure to add two to three more containers to thaw the frozen drains properly.
You can run a hot water tap for a few minutes if you want, as it will help to clean the sewage pipes, and water flow will take the wastewater into swage.
Wrap hot towels around the pipes
Some people use the typical method of wrapping a hot towel around the freeze pipes and allowing the heat from the towels to transfer to the ice water.
Take hot water in a bowl and dip the towel in the water. You can wear rubber gloves to avoid hot water splashes on your hands.
Wrap the towel around the frozen pipes and keep it there for 5 minutes until it transfers the heat to the pipe.
Again dip the towel in a hot water bowl and repeat the procedure three to four times to melt the frozen water in the pipes.
Use table salt
I often use table salt to thaw the frozen shower and other drains in the bathroom.
The salt can lower the melting point of the frozen water or ice in the shower drains and causes the water to flow down the sewage lines.
Take a hot water bowl and mix half to one cup of table salt in the water. Pour the solution slowly into the shower drain and leave it for a few minutes. Run the hot water faucet to let the salt and ice water flow into the sewage pipes.
Why would the shower drain freeze?
Shower drains freeze because of low environmental temperatures in freezing weather. The water goes below freezing point and starts forming ice inside the pipes.
The cracked pipes also cause the pipes to freeze, and the water inside them will start freezing and block the water flow.
Moreover, less water usage and low water pressure also cause them to freeze, and you have to face different problems because of the poor water flow into the sewage.
What happens if you do not thaw a frozen shower drain?
Water expands when it freezes, and there is a risk of pipe rapture. The water blockage inside the drains indicates that the pipes are frozen, and you have to thaw it to fix this issue.
There are chances of clogging in the plumbing pipes, which can cause flooding in the bathroom, and you have to face a horrible mess around this place.
It is better to thaw the frozen drains because it can damage the plumbing system if you leave the freeze pipes to thaw on their own.
The plumbing pipes can burst if the ice blocks inside them are big and you do not solve the issue soon. More water will convert into ice, and in the end, the pipes will get cracked, and you will have to repair the entire underground plumbing system.
Professionals recommend pouring hot water daily into the shower drains, especially in cold weather, to prevent frozen drain pipes.
You can call a plumber to efficiently deal with this problem without any damage if the frozen plumbing system is in a worse situation.
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