diy pipe thawing Archives

Hydro-jetting is currently one of the most-effective methods for clearing clogs from drainpipes. This process uses a high-pressure water blast to dislodge and wash away clogs inside a drainpipe. But is this method safe for cleaning old pipes?

In this post, we will explain how hydro-jetting works, what you should consider before you hydro-jet your old sewer lines and the alternatives to hydro-jetting.

How hydro-jetting works

Hydro-jetting is a non-invasive method for unblocking and cleaning pipes. The plumber does not have to dig a trench to access the pipe that is being cleaned. Instead of digging a hole in the ground, a powerful jet of water is shot into the pipe to remove all blockages inside it.

The hydro-jetting machine, also known as a ‘jetter,’ is made up of the following components:

A tank which holds the water to be used during the operation
A flexible steel hose that is mounted on a drum or comes in sections which can be joined to make them as long as desired
A range of stainless steel nozzles; the type of pipe and severity of the clog determines the proper nozzle to use
The mechanism for pressuring the water

To hydro-jet a line, the flexible steel hose is passed into the pipe with the nozzle attached to its end. The drainpipe is accessed through a cleanout or one of the drains in the home, explains the Peak Residential Management team. The drum is used to unroll and push the hose into the drainpipe while it is guided by the plumber’s hand.

While this is going on, a stream of water is shot into the drain via the hose and nozzle. The nozzle can direct the water forward, backwards, and against the pipe surface. It not only clears the clogs inside the pipes, the pipes are washed clean, as the debris inside them is carried away.

To do this, a hydro-jetting machine uses pressures of 1,500 to 5,000 psi (pounds per sq. inch). That is enough pressure to shear away any tree roots inside the pipes. For reference, when pressure-washing a brick wall, you are advised never to exceed 1,500 psi.

That is why before hydro-jetting a drain line, it is essential to conduct a visual assessment of the line first. That is typically done via a sewer camera inspection. Through this inspection, the plumber can check the condition of the pipes and determine if they can withstand hydro-jetting.

Should you hydro-jet old pipes?

Older pipes are more likely to have cracks and weak spots in them. The pressure of the water used in hydro-jetting can compound the existing issues with such pipes. For this reason, hydro-jetting is not always safe for old pipes. If pipes are fragile, do not hydro-jet them.

Old sewer pipes can be made from a range of materials, and as these pipe materials age, they may start to change in the following ways:

Cast iron: Despite its durability, the big issue with cast iron is its vulnerability to rust. A rusty cast iron pipe will not only slow your drain, it will become fragile.
Copper: Due to oxidation, copper pipes form pinholes over time and become vulnerable to corrosion.
ABS: Although similar to PVC, ABS is a polymer. It will become brittle if it is constantly exposed to low temperatures.
PVC: With frequent exposure to low temperatures, PVC will become brittle. This process does not depend on age; it can happen to PVC pipes of any age.
Clay: Clay pipes are particularly susceptible to root invasion. Tree roots can undermine the stability of the pipe.

Hydro-jetting old pipes will damage them if they are showing any of these signs. Before hydro-jetting a sewer line with old pipes, you should get a professional plumber to do a sewer camera inspection to determine if hydro-jetting is the best drain-cleaning option for you.

Alternatives to hydro-jetting

The best alternative to hydro-jetting is sewer rodding. That is a way to manually push or pull clogs out of the drain. Although no drain-cleaning method is 100%-safe, sewer rodding offers more control than hydro-jetting. A rodding machine can be maneuvered such that it doesn’t touch the pipe walls.

Sewer rodding is similar to hydro-jetting in some ways. When rodding a pipe, a long flexible tube (known as a ‘plumber’s snake’ or ‘drain snake’) is inserted into the drain. This tube contains a cable, the end of which is attached to a corkscrew auger that resembles a coiled spring or drill bit.

The tube is then hand-cranked to spin the corkscrew. A combination of twisting, pulling and pushing movements are used to snag any clog inside the drain and pull it out. Although it takes more time than hydro-jetting, a sewer rodding service is decidedly the better option when working with fragile pipes.

In Conclusion

Is hydro-jetting acceptable for old pipes? It depends on the condition of the old pipes. Before hydro-jetting old pipes, do a camera sewer inspection to determine their ability to withstand high water pressure. Depending on the inspection result, you may use or reject hydro-jetting.

Frozen water pipes are a constant threat during winter. If the only issue with frozen pipes is the temporary disruption of water supply to parts of your home, the problem would be easier to endure. But frozen water in your pipes can leave you with damaged pipes and expensive repairs, warns Liberty Real Estate Services.

Water expands when it freezes and can exert pressures of over 2000 pounds per square inch. This is enough force to rupture your pipe or, at the very least, weaken them. Typically, you don’t even know this is happening until the ice thaws and your basement is suddenly flooded.

The result is damaged walls, ceilings, and floors that cost tens of thousands of dollars to repair. This problem mostly happens to pipes that are connected to outside-facing walls, pipes in under-the-sink cabinets, unheated basements or crawlspaces, and outdoor faucets.

What can you do if a pipe in your home is frozen but not ruptured? Is there a way to thaw the frozen pipe without damaging it? Yes, you can thaw a frozen pipe without damaging it. Below are the steps to do this, depending on the location of the pipe inside your home.

Frozen pipes inside walls

Pipes embedded in the walls or ceilings of your home may become frozen. Unfreezing them is harder than thawing pipes that are exposed. If you find that one of the pipes inside the walls or ceilings of the house is frozen, here is what you can do:

Turn up the heat in your entire home – Ensure you leave the cabinet door open if the frozen pipe is in a wall inside your bathroom or beneath the base cabinet for your kitchen sink or vanity. This will let warm air in your home carry heat to the wall.

Open up the wall section – If you cannot wait to let the heated air in your home defrost the pipe, maybe because you think a burst pipe is looming, use this solution. Cut the section of wall or ceiling directly above the pipe and use the same methods you would use to thaw an exposed pipe (explained in the next section).

Thawing exposed pipes that are frozen

If it is an exposed pipe, thawing it is easier since you can apply the steps above directly to the pipe. There are three ways to thaw exposed pipes. Regardless of the one you choose, always start by applying the heat from the faucet side of the pipe or the side closest to the water main and move forward to the frozen area.

Using a hair dryer – This method is the easiest and safest. The items you need are things you already have in the home. To help direct the heat to the backside of the pipe, place a cookie sheet behind the pipe. When defrosting a frozen pipe with a water heater, apply the heat using a sweeping motion across the frozen pipe section.

Use a portable heater – You may also thaw frozen pipes with a space heater. Turn the space heater to its highest setting and let it warm the air around the frozen pipe. Remember to open the doors of the cabinet if the pipe is in a cabinet under the kitchen sink or bathroom vanity.

Use an electrical heat tape – The third way to thaw frozen pipes is with a heat cable; a freeze protection cable you place directly on pipes to unfreeze them. To use the tape, attach it to the copper or plastic pipe with electrical tape, making sure the thermostat is directly on the pipe to sense its temperature.

How to prevent your pipes from freezing

The best way to deal with frozen pipes in your home is to not have them at all. After thawing the pipe, here are a few simple steps you can take to make sure you don’t have this problem ever again.

Keep faucets dripping – If it gets really cold and you think a pipe in your home might freeze, leave the faucet dripping to keep the water inside the pipes moving. This will prevent freezing.

Open the cabinet doors – Keep cabinet doors open to let warm air from the rest of the house circulate into the colder areas inside the cabinet. This will usually be sufficient to keep pipes from freezing.

Wrap the pipe with electrical heat tape – If a pipe is in the habit of freezing, wrap it permanently with electrical heat tape and turn on the heat if the weather starts to get cold.

Add insulation to pipes – To keep pipes in unheated spaces like basements and crawlspaces from freezing, wrap them with foam insulation. But this will only work if the rest of the room is not cold.

Install a permanent space heater – Permanently installing a space heater in unheated spaces in the home – garage, basement, and crawlspace – will keep exposed pipes or pipes inside the walls from freezing.

Disconnect garden hose in winter – If your faucet is not frost-proof, it will be vulnerable to freezing. Prevent this by turning off the water supply to the faucet and removing the garden hoses connected to it. If the outdoor faucet freezes it may need a repair or replacement come Spring time.

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A Professional Perspective on the Safety of Hydro Jetting for Old Pipes