Husband poured boiling water down bathroom sink, huge row!

[ThatLilacHedgehog]

I have a blocked bathroom sink upstairs, my husband tried pouring kettle boiling water down the sink, I told him not to, but when he poured it, smoke from the boiling water was coming out from where the pipes are no water appears to be leaking, just steam from the pipes.

has my husband caused problems? Am I being unreasonable in being angry with him?

could the boiling hot water have melted or caused a leak in the pipes?

Yeah it's probably caused a big problem.
Caustic Soda is the thing to use not boiling water.

It will have caused no problem at all,

He was trying to help and he made a mistake.

I expect you've made some mistakes before too.

Boiling water doesn't melt pipes fgs. It's just not that hot. Maybe doesn't work but hardly a disaster

Why do you think boiling water would melt the bathroom pipes but not the kitchen ones?

I probably would have done the same as your husband.

do you think he has damaged the pipe, why was there steam?

Because the water was hot.

There was steam because the water was boiling…

Why was there steam? For the same reason a cup of tea steams...because the water is so hot!

If the boiling water had melted the pipes then why would that cause smoke?

Because boiling water is steamy.

What do you mean why was there steam?? Do you not understand what steam is? This is a bit silly OP

Would steam be able to come out of the pvc pipes?

He hasn't done anything wrong OP, I've just Googled and boiling water is top of the list:

Here are some ways to unblock a sink:

Boiling water

Pouring boiling water down the drain can help dislodge clogs caused by food and other debris. The heat can also change the pressure in the sink, which can help unclog it.

Baking soda and vinegar
Pour a cup of baking soda into the drain, then run a cup of vinegar. You can rinse the mixture with water to make sure it reaches the clog.

Plunger

Place the plunger cup over the plughole of a dry sink, and then suck the air out of the pipe before pushing it back in. A flat-bottomed sink plunger is more effective than a toilet plunger.

Drain snake

A drain snake is a tool that can remove clogs from small drains like sinks and bathtubs. Wear gloves to protect your hands, and then gently feed the snake down the drain. Get it as far down as you can, then pull it back out. Repeat as needed.

Water goes down. Steam goes up. The joins/overlaps in the pipes ensure they are watertight not steamtight.

Boiling water is fine, though I would say it’s probably a blockage caused by hair and soap, follow the pipe does it connect to the bath/shower waste pipe?. Our old bathroom did and when the shower got blocked the sink would show up blocked first. Look to see if the waste pipe from the shower.bath needs clearing

How can't you understand that boiling water doesn't destroy kitchen pipes, so it doesn't destroy bathroom pipes?

What?

How can boiling water cause smoke ?

I always use boiling water in the first instance when trying to clear any blockages in our sinks / bath . Sometimes it works and other times it needs a chemical cleaner but I prefer to try with the water to start .

Unlikely. Steam because it was hot

He's done nothing wrong. It's what's recommended to try for blocked pipes ffs! Why are you getting angry with him when you clearly don't understand how plumbing works?

Could it be that the steam was caused by condensation on the outside of the pipes ‐maybe not even palpable to the touch, just an inherent bathroom dampness that got heated up from the inside and steamed on the outside?

It’s fine OP. No damage has been done. Just go and apologise and laugh it off.

I don’t understand why you think boiling water is bad for bathrooms but not kitchens. Unless it’s the materials used in your bathroom?