We live in a Mobile Home and usually every winter the water pipes freeze. We were recently out of water for eight days, and the pipes finally began thawing out.

Midway through the freeze, I was able to get a few gallons of water from my parents house and was able to flush the toilets.

Today, the hot water was working, however the cold was still not working. We left the faucets on trickle, and left for a few hours, only to come home to standing water in parts of the house.

The kitchen sink was fine, no water, but both bathrooms were soaked. The toilets were overflowing, and the bathtub was full, and pouring out water.

Now, after some cleanup, the toilets won't flush, and the bathtub won't drain. I tried plunging the bathtub (worked before with clogs), but it only fills up the toilet next to it. Plunging does nothing to either toilet, and if I empty the toilet with a wet vac, it just fills right back up again.

Could the sewer pipe be frozen? I have trouble thinking it's just a clog, as earlier in the week it flushed fine when I put water in the back tank.

Any suggestions would be great, I really don't want to have to call an expensive plumber if it's something I may be able to do myself.

There should be a clean out located in the sewer line outside your unit. Open it up and tell me if there's standing water in the line. Regards, Tom

Yes, depending how the drain pipes under the mobile home to the septic or underground line were installed. If they have a continuous sloop from the floor to the ground they should not freeze. If they have low spots, in other words they go down and then go back up, where water can accumulate then they can freeze. Do you have skirting around your home? If you experience freezing pipes every winter I recommend that you insulate your pipes and install heat tapes to prevent freezing. Can't imigine what I would be hearing form wife is we were out of water for 8 days.

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Originally Posted by speedball1

There should be a clean out located in the sewer line outside your unit. Open it up and tell me if there's standing water in the line. Regards, Tom

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There are no pipes besides the incoming line that are outside the skirting. I crawled underneath the house, and found a large (3"?) black PVC pipe running along the bottom of the house, that 90's down into the ground. I couldn't find a cleanout of any kind.

The pipe has large icicles hanging from it where it comes out of the house, but I couldn't get all the way to that part to inspect it further. Could the pipe have frozen and burst?

Without opening up the pipe to see it's hard to make sure. It sounds like the water has froze in the sewer pipe and hung up everything behind it.Have you tried pouring boiling water down the drain to free up the flow? Good luck, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

Have you tried pouring boiling water down the drain to free up the flow? Good luck, Tom

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I haven't tried that, but only the two toilets and the bathtub won't drain. All the sinks drain fine. Would pouring boiling water down the sinks possibly help? Or should I try to bail out all of the water in the bathtub and pour in hot water?

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All the sinks drain fine.

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This tells me that the sewer line's clear and the problem's in the bathroom branch. Try pouring boiling water down the bathtub drain and see what happens. Good luck, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

This tells me that the sewer line's clear and the problem's in the bathroom branch. Try pouring boiling water down the bathtub drain and see what happens. good luck, Tom

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Would there be only one "bathroom branch" for the house? We have two bathrooms, and both toilets and both tubs are clogged.

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We have two bathrooms, and both toilets and both tubs are clogged.

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This puts the blockage downstream from both bathrooms. They both drain into a common main. You may have to send a snake down one of the bathroom vents to clear the line. Have you tried the boiling water or doesn't it sound like a iced up problem now? Keep talking! I'm learning something new every time. Regards, Tom

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Originally Posted by speedball1

This puts the blockage downstream from both bathrooms. They both drain into a common main. You may have to send a snake down one of the bathroom vents to clear the line. Have you tried the boiling water or doesn't it sound like a iced up problem now? Keep talking! I'm learning something new every time. regards, Tom

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I have not tried a snake yet (going to my parents to get one soon), and I have not tried the boiling water, because both tubs and both toilets are full of water. My parents also have a pump that I'm going to grab so I can empty everything out and try the boiling water.
And are you saying to put a snake down the tub drain or the vent on the roof?

I live in Florida so I don't have the snow and ice when snaking from a roof vent. However, a mobile home isn't all that high and snaking from a roof vent's the way to go. Good luck, Tom

I've gotten all the water out (as much as I could with a pump and wetvac anyway) and am replacing it with hot water. I emptied one bathtub, and with it, the other tub emptied, but there must be something blocking the pipe, because my plunger does nothing. It held water all through the night without any draining at all. I'm hoping there's some frozen water that's blocking it, otherwise I'm out of ideas.
I still haven't went on the roof and snaked the vent though.

Hey all... I was googling and ran across this topic and had to answer...

I have the same problem when my lines freeze..
Most likely your sewer line froze at the joint by your trailer.. The reason the tube and toilets are overflowing is not because of a clog but because they are one of the lowest parts on the system.. This is normal... Water seeks its own level, or i.e. it will flow to the lowest part of your house.. So since the tube is the lowest part of the house they are the first to fill, after it get so high your torliets will start to fill..

The best bet is to get a portable heater and raise the temp under your trailer.. See this link...

mobilehomerepair.com Articles

If this problem continues you may want to add heat tape to your sewer line and a layer of insulation..

What probably caused this was the same temp drop that froze you water line, and the fact that there was a small amount of water going down the lines.. (from using the toilets and anything put down the sink).. Hopes this helps..