Frozen downspouts

We have a frozen downspout and water's coming down from the gutter to our driveway. Right now, our garage door is sitting in a pool of water. Can someone give me a suggestion on how to de-freeze downspouts? Thanks.

 

Only way to defrost your downspout is to pour something to unfreeze the contents like salt water. But requires you to get to the top which is not worth it. I suggest you hit a hardware store and buy one of those long tubing to divert the water to a lawn or somewhere where the water won't freeze and become a hazard.

-Teak

 

If it's frozen toward the bottom of the gutter, use a hairdryer to melt the ice Our neighbor did that & it worked very nicely. It was pretty funny to see the extention cord with a hairdryer blowing on the gutter, but whatever works

 

I hope your neighbor was careful because it's very easy to electrocute yourself with a hairdryer.

 

I used a propane tourch (the kind you solder plumbing with). Probably a lot safer then a hair dryer!

 

Based on some of the suggestions I've seen here (hair dryer, blow torch), I now understand why a recent article in the Wash Post concerning frozen gutters and downspouts said to let the ice melt or hire a professional (who I imagine are all busy now). Once the ice melts, clean out the gutters and downspouts so it doesn't happen again.

I know if I lived in a townhome and I saw an attached neighbor using a blow tourch on the home's gutters, I'd call the fire department. I'm sorry, but too many innocent people are displaced from their homes every day by careless neighbors. Now, if that neighbor wanted to use a hair dryer, that's a different story...

 

Our downspout had frozen ice from the bottom all the way to the top, thus clogging the entire waterway. IN addition, the gutter up top was full of snow and ice. This was back in winter of 2000 and caused the melting snow/ice to backup under the roofline and into the house. We had a ton of water buildup on the drywall in our ceiling. It took me 3 days to figure where the water was coming from and why. On a regular basis I now bang on the side of the gutters to knock ice and snow down the drains to prevent this from happening again. Just make sure that at the bottom of your gutters, they do not freeze solid or you may have the same problem we did......[B)]

DwArFlOrD

 

Speaking of frozen pipes, I've got an areaway (exterior basement stairs) drain that's frozen solid. I shoveled all the snow out of there but with the rain yesterday the areaway just filled up with water. Anyone know of a way to unfreeze the pipe in there? I've tried de-icing salt, hot water and anti-freeze and it's melted down to the elbow, but it still must be frozen way down in there somewhere.

 

Finally got it to drain after bailing/pouring >6 buckets of scalding hot water into the sucker!! Then I poured a quarter gallon of anti-freeze into it to hopefully keep it from happening again.

 

Sarcastic comment: I don't think the county would look too kindly upon your admission that you polluted our wastewater with antifreeze!

Practical comment: I have an areaway that is snow-covered, too. I'll definitely keep a close eye on it from now on after reading of your exploits. I might even take preventive "action" to prevent freezing

 

Typically these drain to the sump crock, which in turn will pump it outside. I believe having some green/dead grass in the area of the discharge is a better deal than having water pour into the basement, especially if its finished.[^]

 

Good point, DAD4. I didn't consider the sump pump angle. I agree with you 100%!