What will a plumber do that I can't?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Like most of the U.S., my own part of the county has been experiencing record breaking low temperatures–sustained record breaking low temps. And, like many others, I now have plumbing issues as a result.

The newer half bath downstairs (off the utility room, built over a concrete slab) has had issues before with the water pipes freezing, and I finally have that taken care of, without broken pipes, thank god, through a method which consisted of cutting a hole in the sheetrock to expose the copper pipes, using a hairdryer for about 30 minutes to thaw them out, and leaving the water running at a trickle.

However, now there’s a different issue, this time with only full bath upstairs. I’m on day two now, and it’s a rather odd situation of the toilet flushing (so cold water is getting there), the cold water in the tub working fine (so cold water is getting there), but hot water at the tub, and hot AND cold water at the sink are only a trickle–hot water trickle out of the hot water faucet, and cold water trickle out of the cold water faucet. I strongly suspect these pipes are old pipes (and not copper), and although I’ve had them trickling pipes turned all the way on for now two days, there’s no change in the water pressure.

I’ve tracked the pipes through the primitive basement, through the crawl space, and into the split where one set goes to the kitchen sink, one set goes to the half bath, one set goes to what I assume is the washer, but damned if I can see where the set to the bathroom upstairs goes. There’s no evidence of leaking water–no soft spots in the walls or in the kitchen ceiling (right below the upstairs bath), no water dripping anywhere. When I turn everything off and check the water meter, there’s no movement. (Movement on the water meter would indicate a leaking pipe, right?)

Right now, I have the bathroom closed off with an oil filled radiator heater like this one in the bathroom, with the faucets turned on to their trickle. (I should say, it’s a VERY small bathroom in a house built in the early 1920’s.)

Assuming I don’t have any hot water flowing in the tub, or hot or cold water flowing in the sink by Monday, and have to call a plumber, what will the plumber do that I haven’t? Is there some special plumber trick to thaw a pipe in the wall or under the floor of the bathroom (if they’re frozen). Or how will a plumber find if there’s a leak (if it’s not dumping water through a wall or ceiling or pooling in the crawlspace)?

I’m seriously at my whits end–I’ve been having actual nightmares about this–and I damn it, I need a shower.

2

buy yourself a heat-tape kit and go to town on your pipes. I’ve had to to that under a mobile home at midnight on Christmas eve. It sucks but having your pipes burst sucks more.

If you have one near a wall that is in danger of freezing take a rag and soak it in the hottest water you can stand and then put it on the pipe. This is the fastest way to transfer heat short of using a torch. If you’ve lost pressure then turn your faucets on full until they’re flowing again. you’re trying to transfer heat by running as much water through as possible to melt the ice.

Not sure what a plumber can do that you can’t except burn your house down with a torch.

3

Thanks, Magiver, but there’s really no pipe exposed to put the heat tape on it. (And as side note, earlier this week when I tore a hole in the wall on the downstairs bathroom to expose THOSE pipes, I did go to Lowe’s and Home Depot and both were sold out of heat tape.)

I think part of my challenge is that I’m not sure WHERE the pipes are–how they get to the bathroom. I’m guessing they go inside the wall, but not sure if they’re on the wall that faces the empty attached house next door, or the exterior wall. The lines to the sink come up from the floor, as does the line to the toilet, so I’m assuming the plumbing is in the floor (above the kitchen), but how it *gets *there…I have no freaking clue! Aside from tearing out my bathroom floor, which I’d absolutely rather not do, or my kitchen ceiling (ditto), I don’t know how to figure out where they are.

None of the lines in the basement and crawl space are frozen (from what I can tell). There’s water flowing in pipes to other places. It’s very frustrating!

4

A plumber may bring a device that resembles a welder (sometimes called a ‘rattler’), and attach a lead to two extremes of the frozen pipe. It can take awhile, makes a lot of noise, and it isn’t cheap. Do NOT use open flame to thaw pipes. Usually, leaving the tap open and applying heat via a hair dryer or portable heater will eventually do the trick, but it can take quite awhile.

5

Your sink has lines going into the wall. warm those up. If the sink is at a right angle to the outer wall then see if you can pull the baseboard off the wall to inspect for pipes. My water line actually runs along the base of the outer wall and through a cabinet so I pull the bottom drawer out to allow heat to get in.

One of the most common problems is outdoor faucets. They’re are often installed in a “T” configuration. As they freeze back towards the junction in the " T " it cuts off flow to the rest of the line.

You can pretty much guess the .layout ouf your water lines if you can get down into the crawl space and trace out the routing. By default they will take the path of shortest distance once they go up into the house. In my house they leave the basement in 2 directions, one for the kitchen and one for the upstairs bath.

6

We have a problem spot inbetween our basement ceiling and pantry floor which cuts off the water to a couple lines. The fix for us was real easy - run a fan in the basement blowing air into the “cold alcove”. Enough of the warmer air, and some of the warmth itself, filters in and keeps the pipes free-flowing.

7

Actually, all the water lines (and the drain) go directly into the floor, not the wall. And the shut off valves are about 1 inch from the floor, so there’s virtually no water line visible. Without tearing out my bathroom floor, there’s no where to aim a hairdryer or to wrap heat tape.

The crawlspace is a hot mess and although I’ve managed to trace the water lines for the kitchen and the downstairs half bath, and the laundry room, I’ve not found the lines for the upstairs bath. I wish it were that easy to identify them. Unfortunately, none of the “continue” from the other.

This whole thing is becoming ridiculous. The water tickling out of the faucets is hot–how can a pipe be frozen, yet trickle HOT water?

8

Perhaps it’s frozen through a longer length than you think, and the trickle has managed to find a way through?

9

That’s what I’d thought, but wasn’t sure if that was even possible.

This is not looking good though…the water has been trickling all day (about 10 straight hours). Surely it would be thawed by now.

10

The water is trickling through, but for two days won’t run free.

You have old pipes. Not copper.

I’ll bet that the freeze in the old pipes broke up rust/corrosion and it moved trough and has clogged either the valve in the sink cabinet, or the valve on the faucet itself.

11

You’re right–those pipes are old. Sometimes if the water hasn’t been turned on in a couple of days, it starts out as rusty.

Any suggestions on how to unclog them?

12

HOLY FUCK, YOU’RE RIGHT!!! Ohmygod.

So after my last post (sorry for the double post), I unscrewed the aerator on the faucet on the sink, and there was a ton of rust particles caught in it. I turned on the water in the sink and IT WORKED. Nasty rusty water flowed, then clear. I cleaned out the aerator and screwed it back on.

Now I just have to figure out how to do the hot water handle in the shower. It looks like this one. PLEASE tell me how to clean out this one (and I can take a shower again!).

I’ve thought it for years, but my fellow Dopers are awesome. Oh, god, I’m crying. Seriously.

13

NM

14

There are two different styles of tub/shower sets on the link - do you have a diverter spout (pull the tab on the tub spout up for shower) or a mixer valve (3 knobs)?
In either case, you will need to shut off the hot and cold lines. Which you may not wish to do, lest the lines freeze.
Have you pulled the shower head and checked for flow? Just as the aerator can clog, so can the shower head.

15

I have a diverted spout.

The cold is working just fine, so I’ll only do the hot. (I’d rather not borrow trouble.)

I’ve watched a few videos on YouTube, and think I can do it (although I hate plumbing). I’ll go to Lowes tomorrow and get new washers, as I’m sure the washer will need to be replaced and I’ll do that while I’m in there. (The faucets are horribly old.) I’ll check. the shower head, too.

16

Look, please just be VERY gentle with pipes. Just a small amount of torque too much on an old pipe and it will crimp and crush like a paper tube… and then you’re into real money.

17

The shower head will just unscrew - wrap a rag around it and use a pair of pliers to turn it. The rag is to protect the finish from the pliers jaws.

If the packing nuts on the faucets (which you will be opening) are deeply recessed, find a deep socket to put over the valve shaft and onto the packing nut.

While you are getting (both cone and flat) washers, also get some packing wick - used to be paper impregnated with (?), now is a teflon string. This is wrapped around the end of the thread so the packing nut compresses it and formss a waterproof seal.

18

Bravo.

ETA not sarcastic.

19

Glad I could help.

For myself, unsolvable problems are fixed when you stop thinking about what must be causing the problem.

20

it’s unlikely the valves will clog up regardless of type. If there are chunks of rust they are more likely to create the opposite problem and jam on the rubber seal making it leak. Take the shower head off first. Fyi, I’ve had terrible luck with the teflon string. used on a friend of mine’s house and there was so much water pressure it squirted out like toothpaste. Ended up cutting down a compression washer to fit.

If this is a house you own and you have old galvanized pipe (like 80 years old) then start thinking of replacing the lines at some point. I cut a foot long section out during a repair and couldn’t see any light through it. It was that corroded. I had to do my entire house all the way to the street. I did it in stages so it was less painful. You don’t have to run the lines along the same route as the old pipe. New plastic lines are much easier to route.