The Vintage Reader

It has been pointed out to me (by Mr. Vintage Reader) that in relating the saga of the frozen drain pipe I did not give enough credit to the heat lamp, which was his father's suggestion. And his father, it should be pointed out, did indeed used to be a plumber. Honestly, I still think it was the combination of blow dryer, filling the sink with hot water so there's a constant drip, and the vacuum we set up by running water down the drain on the other side of the kitchen drain. But it could have been the heat lamp.

Oh, and a friend of mine who also used to do plumbing pointed out that salt is probably not the best thing for metal pipes, although in our case it was probably all right because the pipe is PVC.

If you've found this site because you're looking for advice on clearing your frozen drain pipe, here are the helpful links again:

Frozen Pipes Help from the UK
Indoor frozen pipes: advice for homeowners, from the Washington, DC Water and Sewer Authority.