Toilet waste line freeze-up?
My toilet has not been giving me any problems before now. Night before last, the temperature got below freezing. When I went to bed in the evening, it flushed fine. The next morning, the line was blocked almost completely. When I would flush the toilet, the bowl would fill with water, then gradually flow through. It continued like this all day yesterday, and was still the same this morning. I flushed it intermittedly, with the same (lack of) results. Finally, this evening, I flushed it, the water acted as though it was going to do the same, then I heard a loud clunk in the line, and the water flowed out. I put hot water in the bowl, then flushed it again, and it is fine (although if freezing is the problem, then I suppose it could happen again tonight). I live in an apartment, and my manager says it is not possible for a waste line to freeze, saying I had to have been at fault (she says she has discussed the problem with a plumber who assured her of this). At no time since the onset of this blockage was there any waste in the toilet, or backup--the water has been clear. My apartment heat has been on. The pipes run underneath the floor, in a crawl space, between it and the ground. The crawl space has concrete walls, and is 2 to 3 feet tall. I live in Oregon, so although we do get freezing temps during the winter, especially at night, it is not like living in Alaska or Wyoming. Please tell me if a frozen waste line is a possibility, or, if not, what is likely to be the cause of the problem. I assumed the clunk I heard was ice breaking loose, or maybe even a pipe cracking. I cannot afford a plumber and need info to pass on to my apartment manager so she will call one if the need is there.
Thank you,
KRO
