Should I defrost this?

[CharlieandLolaCat]

I think it is that t-bar thing which is frozen, should I defrost it or leave it? I have heating and so am slightly loathe to do anything but not sure if I should? Any advice gratefully received.

Isn't the ice just snow melt which has dropped down the downpipe and frozen hanging off the kitchen(?) waste pipe? As long as your kitchen sink is draining okay - stick some hot water down it if you're not sure then I don't see there's a problem. You can knock the ice off.

I can't really make out what it is.

the vertical pipe appears to be insulated so it might be the condensate pipe from your boiler. The horizontal part appears to be uninsulated so will be very prone to freezing. If you know it is frozen, pour hot tap water over it from a watering can spout (this is preferable to boiling water from a kettle which may cause cracking.)

Measure the diameter of the uninsulated frozen pip, and buy some plastic insulating pipe lagging for it. Outdoors, a good brand is Armorflex, which is a sort of black synthetic rubber. The grey, stiff plastic foam is cheaper though.

I imagine the DIY sheds will be awash with it in a few weeks when they have had time to order it in. Usually they only carry the 15mm and 22mm sizes which are used for copper pipe.

p.s.

If it is frozen inside the insulation, you would have to cut off the cable ties to heat it, and replace with new afterwards. Any frozen part is more likely to be where a joint has left a gap in the lagging. You can get matching tape for small joins, or stuff an offcut into bigger gaps.

spelling.

"Armaflex"

But I just checked and it is very expensive.

You have to buy lagging to suit the pipe diameter, you may find it cheaper than here but plumbing merchants carry a wide range.

Thank you, that's really helpful. I don't know it is frozen so will leave and check it when all defrosted. Will then properly insulate!