There is nothing quite as jarring as stepping into a lukewarm shower on a freezing January morning, only to look down and realize the water is rising around your ankles.
If you live in a northern climate, you might be familiar with frozen pipes. But while most people worry about the kitchen sink or the basement bathroom, the humble is often the first to turn into an ice cube. bathtub drain freezing
Stay warm, and may your drains flow freely. There is nothing quite as jarring as stepping
Unlike your kitchen sink, which usually drops straight down into a heated crawlspace or cabinet, a bathtub drain runs horizontally for a few feet before connecting to the vertical stack. Often, this horizontal run is located just a few inches below the floor—or worse, inside an uninsulated exterior wall or a poorly sealed subfloor. Stay warm, and may your drains flow freely
The thin layer of organic sludge that lines your drain acts like a sponge. It holds moisture against the pipe wall. When freezing starts, that sludge creates a rough surface for ice crystals to latch onto. Within a few hours of your morning shower, a partial blockage can turn into a full ice dam. A frozen tub drain isn't just an inconvenience—it can be a disaster. When you run water to try to melt the ice, the water has nowhere to go. It backs up into the tub.
Here is why your tub drain freezes, why it’s dangerous, and how to thaw it out before you end up with a costly repair. We tend to think of our plumbing as existing entirely inside the warm envelope of our home. But the bathtub drain is a trickster.
