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Posted on Jan 12, 2010
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Clogged Drain in the fridge causing ice buildup

Something in the fridge is causing water to seep out from the back and ice over the entire fridge. How do we go about solving this problem

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Charles T Nevin

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  • Master 4,070 Answers
  • Posted on Jan 12, 2010
Charles T Nevin
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Joined: Jun 30, 2009
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Normal 0 MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} Your evaporator coils frost up in normal use and every eight hours or so the entire unit shuts down and the defrost heater comes on to melt the frost. This cycle last about 20 minutes. The melted frost drips into a drain pan and through a drain tube to the drain tray under the freezer/refrigerator where it's evaporated by the condenser fan.


Your drain tube may be stopped up with ice at the upper end because it drains too slow because it's stopped up at the lower end in the evaporator pan under the unit at the floor. It can get dust and mold in it. Once you get the ice out at the top a little pressure with a turkey baster will usually clear it out. Flushing it out with hot water and clorox may help.
Make sure it drains quick enough to prevent refreezing. . The drain should be located below the evaporator coils on the lower back of the freezer.

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Related Questions:

0helpful
1answer

Ice buildup on bottom of freezer

Freezer /fridge water/ice in fridge and or freezer

Usually due to CONDENSATION due to bad door seals or a plugged evaporator drain line? Can use a soft flexable tubing and very hot water to clean it out. Bad door seals usually need replacement, but u can use a blow dryer and something to pry it closer to the door wall while blowing hot air on to it. To create a seal, to test for bad door seals place a dollar bill in between the door and wall of fridge where it closes. Then slide out the dollar bill with door closed. It should offer some resistance and not be easy to pull out.
Most all fridges have a drain. Look inside your fridge for a "V" shaped channel with a small hole. This hole leads to a tube and a small pan which sits on top of your refrigerator's compressor. The defrost cycle causes water to run into the channel, down the tube, and then it generally evaporates with the heat of the hot condenser/compressor.
However, if that tube is clogged with food crumbs, particles , debris etc, you will have to clear it to get back to a normal mode of operation. A toothpick, pipecleaner, straw or a cotton bud can often do the trick.
Even a frost free freezer will still ice up at times in the areas away from the heated defrost area and the drain line can freeze. This icing causes the pipe work to the compressor to ice over or sweat and cause a puddle. Or if the drainage has frozen over, it will need to be de-iced. ( usually the line is under the freezer bottom plate covering. Towards the back of the unit) And there is another inside the fridge area also.
Give the freezer a good overnight defrost until it's totally clear of ice in addition to making sure the drain is clear to the pan at the back and then restart the freezer.
0helpful
1answer

Water on bottom of freezer

CONDENSATION due to bad door seals or a plugged evaporator drain line? Can use a soft flexable tubing and very hot water to clean it out. Bad door seals usually need replacement, but u can use a blow dryer and something to pry it closer to the door wall while blowing hot air on to it. To create a seal, to test for bad door seals place a dollar bill in between the door and wall of fridge where it closes. Then slide out the dollar bill with door closed. It should offer some resistance and not be easy to pull out.
Most all fridges have a drain. Look inside your fridge for a "V" shaped channel with a small hole. This hole leads to a tube and a small pan which sits on top of your refrigerator's compressor. The defrost cycle causes water to run into the channel, down the tube, and then it generally evaporates with the heat of the hot condenser/compressor.
However, if that tube is clogged with food crumbs, particles , debris etc, you will have to clear it to get back to a normal mode of operation. A toothpick, pipecleaner, straw or a cotton bud can often do the trick.
Even a frost free freezer will still ice up at times in the areas away from the heated defrost area and the drain line can freeze. This icing causes the pipe work to the compressor to ice over or sweat and cause a puddle. Or if the drainage has frozen over, it will need to be de-iced. ( usually the line is under the freezer bottom plate covering. Towards the back of the unit) And there is another inside the fridge area also.
Give the freezer a good overnight defrost until it's totally clear of ice in addition to making sure the drain is clear to the pan at the back and then restart the freezer.
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Water is leaking out from the fridge floor onto the ground.

The drain pan in the back evaporates from the heat of the compressor. The freezer drain drains into this pan. If there is water under the bins it sounds like the drain is partially clogged and over flowing into the refrig section. But I need more info, like model , brand.
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Kenmore 10677181791 water dripping into refrigerator from freezer

probably an ice buildup around the drain tube not allowing proper flow thru to the drain. Try defrosting fridge for a while so the entire ice mass defrosts in between fridge and freezer
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GE 17.2 freezer on top fridge on bottom. Freezer is cold, but fridge is warm. Help!

Is there any frost buildup on the rear panel inside the freezer? If so you have a defrost problem of a bad defrost heater, defrost thermostat, or defrost timer/ control board. If no frost then you probably have a clogged defrost drain. Remove the rear panel to access drain hole.
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The freezer part of the fridge fills with ice and leaks so there is a small puddle of water on the floor periodically.

It sounds like you have a clogged drain. When the freezer defrosts the water goes out a drain in the bottom of the fridge. Something probably fell into the drain and now the water has no where to go but onto the floor. The freezer defrosts regularly so unless you clean out the drain it will only get worse. Hope this helps
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Water seeps out of freezer side of fridg onto the floor, I have totally remover the water line going to the ice maker and it still has water seeping out. It builds up Ice on the bottom of the freezer and...

Hello, this sounds like you have a blockage in the drain tube, remove panel back/bottom of freezer..you may see ice build up...melt ice with hair dryer/heat gun...you will see a pan below evaporator...melt ice in pan...dry water up in pan with paper towel...now you should see a hole in pan that leads to drain tube...pour some hot water in pan..wait a couple minutes..mop up water and repeat this step 2-3 times....once you have done this find some flexible curtain wire or electrical wire..poke down the hole until you see the water drain..now it is clear..put back panel back and you are good to go. The reason you see water in the fridge is because the water has been leaking into the freezer and down the vent into the fridge instead of running into the drain hole...Please feel free to comment again if you need any further assistance. Mike
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Ice buildup on freezer floor.auto defrost puts water on floor

You have a clogged drain. If you have a top mounted freezer you might have the drain line on the outside of the fridge. Look for a tube that is thicker than the water intake line and goes from back of bottom of freezer down into the back of the unit to a drain pan. Remove that tube and take it outside and use your hose to shoot a stream of water to clean it out.
If you have a side by side fridge, your drain is still at the lowest point at the rear of your freezer. You may have to removed the rear wall of the freezer to get at it. Remove the back cover to get at the other end of the drain tube. It needs to be cleaned out also.
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Samsung Fridge Freezer leaking water

hi August.
Cause: A blocked defrost drain is one of the most common causes of water leakage. This happens when food particles or other debris clogs up the drain hose, which can lead to ice buildup and, eventually, water leaking out of the freezer and refrigerator.
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The freezer drain hose will drain the defrost water into a drip pan at the bottom of the freezer. When this pan becomes full, it will leak water onto the floor. This is a regular maintenance task whenever the freezer defrosts. Empty the drip pan during the defrost cycle.
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Why is my fridge leaking water on the floor? If the refrigerator is leaking water it's possible that the refrigerator has a clogged or freezing defrost drain. If the defrost drain freezes the defrost water will overflow the drain and drip down to the bottom of the compartment, If enough water accumulates in the bottom it can run out onto the floor.
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you need a drain tube heater.it is like a chain fence tie made from alluminum,you can actually use the fence ties,wrap one side around defrost heater and stick the other side in drain.that will prevent it from happening again
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