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?

Smoke 😂

This made me chuckle 😂

Seriously OP, do you remember your science lessons at school? 😳

Pah ha ha! I'm seriously chortling now! 🤣😅🤣

I do this all the time. Is there a leak the pipe now?

Just when I think I've read every dumb thing on MN...

Someone asks why boiling water causes steam...

Its fine OP

But...if you drain pasta or vegetables or whatever, don't you pour the boiling water down the sink?! Do you think kitchen pipes are made of different stuff to bathroom pipes?!

The pipes hold cold water boiling water steams anyway but when it hits the cold more steam is made

@ThatLilacHedgehog You still haven’t elucidated the difference between your bathroom and kitchen pipes. A house would generally be plumbed as standard but you believe yours has different materials for your bathroom and kitchen areas?

Poor guy lol

I use those and let them sit and then follow with boiling water.

has my husband caused problems?

No

Am I being unreasonable in being angry with him?

Yes, very. Even if it weren't the right thing to do - and, it actually was the right thing to do, but, even if it hadn't been - I presume he was trying his best to fix an issue. So you would still have been wrong to cause a huge row and be angry with him.
YABVU to be angry with him for following the advice that is given (by plumbers, by Google, by experienced householders) to try and clear a blockage.

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

No

I’d love to know how boiling water irreparably damages metal pipes, but somehow doesn’t destroy metal kettles on a daily basis.

They aren't metal pipes, they're PVC, which can melt if exposed to boiling temperatures. Pouring a pan of boiling water down an unblocked sink can eventually cause damage but as the water passes through quickly, the risk is quite low. There is a greater risk if you pour it down a blocked pipe because, if it doesn't clear the blockage, the boiling water will be sitting in the pipes.

If kitchen kettles were made from PVC, they would melt.

It is unlikely that the pipes would have been damaged here but it is possible.

Just how long do you think the boiling water STAYS boiling sitting in the pipes???

Don't know, but if you haven't already, try a plunger or a plumbers snake.

🤣

Smoke was coming out the pipes?
Steam! Omg this is ridiculous.

Not very long, although PVC is only designed to withstand temperatures of up to 60°C, so even when the water ceases to be boiling it will likely remain hot enough to potentially damage PVC for a while.

How long it would take to damage a pipe depends on a variety of factors - not all PVC is created even (in terms of heat tolerance). Some PVC pipes could likely be submerged in boiling water for several minutes without ill-effect, whereas others can soften and become very maleable quite quickly.

Ignoring the PVC itself, glue is often used to hold joints in PVC piping together, and that glue can be more quickly melted by exposure to boiling water. Provided the joint is easily accessible that's easy enough to fix, though.

I doubt the OP's pipes have been damaged by a kettle's worth of water, and the steam escaping is probably just due to the joints not being fully tightened, but there's a reason that it's generally not recommended to use boiling water to clear blockages in PVC pipes.

The only issue with boiling water in a bathroom sink or loo would be the possibility of cracking porcelain if he wasn't careful to pour it directly into the drain.

*Never pour boiling water into the loo.

My husband puts boiling water down our shower to unblock. Don’t think he has done anything wrong

I'd be interested to know what mistake he's made