How To Thaw Bathtub Drain ((better)) Today

If the ice is less than six inches deep in the trap, three or four pots will often melt through. You’ll hear the glorious gurgle of water draining. Stop pouring when it flows freely.

He watched the standing water. It began to rotate, a tiny whirlpool forming. Slowly at first, then with increasing speed, the water spiraled down the drain, taking the slush and salt with it. Within a minute, the tub was empty, the porcelain sighing as the weight was lifted.

Add a cup of salt to the boiling water. Salt lowers the freezing point and speeds melting. how to thaw bathtub drain

"Phase two," Elias sighed.

Before you grab a blowtorch (please don’t), take a breath. Thawing a bathtub drain is a slow, patient game. Here’s how to win it without calling a plumber—or burning your house down. If the ice is less than six inches

The air in the cabin was the kind of cold that hurts your teeth when you inhale. It was seven below zero, and the wind was howling against the logs like a disgruntled spirit, but Elias didn’t care about the weather outside. He cared about the three inches of grey, stagnant water standing in his bathtub.

A hollow, bubbling sound echoed from the pipes. It was the sweetest sound Elias had heard all day. The seal had broken. The air pressure had shifted. The ice had either been pulled loose or the salt and heat had finally breached the center of the plug. He watched the standing water

Also call a plumber if:

He went to the kitchen and returned with a cup of table salt and a stockpot filled with hot—not boiling—tap water. He poured a generous amount of salt directly into the standing water in the tub. It dissolved slowly, sinking toward the blockage like a heavy fog. Salt lowers the freezing point of water; it was the chemical equivalent of a siege engine, battering down the icy fortress.

If your pipes run through an unfinished basement or crawlspace below the tub: