# water leaking from refrigerator



## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

check inside the freezer to see if there is ice on the floor of the unit, sometimes the defrost drain tubes freeze up and the water will run inside your freezer and form a layer of ice, after a while it will build up enough where the water will start to run out the door.


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks for the reply, hardwareman. There is, in fact, a significant buildup of ice on the floor of the unit. How do I safely get rid of the ice without harming the fridge, and how do I prevent this from happening again?

Thanks.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

remove everything from freezer, get out a hair dryer. First remove all the ice from the floor , in the very back of the freezer is the evap. coil below the evap coil is a drain trough. Melt all that ice out until you can locate the drain hole. Clear the drain hole , pour hot water down it until you are sure it is flowing freely. Its not a fun task but necessary


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

Thanks for the instructions, hardwareman. I'll give it a try. I was wondering, though, where does that drain hole drain to?


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

into a drain pan under your refrig.


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

I guess what I'm getting at is when I pour that hot water down the drain hole to clear it, should I expect said water to end up on my kitchen floor?


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

New development! This morning we discovered that the freezer isn't freezing. A bunch of food has defrosted and had to be thrown away. That layer of ice is also melting and pouring out onto the floor. Could this be related to the original problem?


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

Ok, I've cleared out the ice and poured hot water down the drain hole. We had to take what frozen food we had that wasn't spoiled over to a relative's freezer. I put a couple of bottles of water in the freezer to see if the freezer is working again. If they don't freeze, I guess I'll call a repairman.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

better call the repairman!


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## obsidian231 (Jun 30, 2011)

These are just some of the things i would check from own experience. If after you pour hot water down drain tube and doesn't flow then it is plugged with either build up of dust at bottom end or plugged with bits of food in freezer part of tube. seen it a lot of times. Don't know what refrig you have but you can check your main coils if your freezer/refrig has a hard time cooling(especially on hot days) to see if they are packed with dust. I just take a vacuum and tape a small hose like a small section of garden hose to vacuum hose so i can get in between coils. if they are packed with dust then the fan can't push air through them to cool the coils down and frig won't cool like it is suppose to.


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

I used a hair dryer and thought I had melted any ice in the drain tube. Unfortunately, a week later, the ice and leak returned. We called a repairman. He came and corrected the problem. I'm not sure exactly what he did because I wasn't there and my wife wasn't sure. The invoice just says "drain tube clogged." When she asked him what we could do to prevent this in the future he wasn't able to give any suggestions. He said this sometimes just happens. 

Any suggestions to prevent this from happening again will be appreciated.


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## obsidian231 (Jun 30, 2011)

bucksone said:


> I used a hair dryer and thought I had melted any ice in the drain tube. Unfortunately, a week later, the ice and leak returned. We called a repairman. He came and corrected the problem. I'm not sure exactly what he did because I wasn't there and my wife wasn't sure. The invoice just says "drain tube clogged." When she asked him what we could do to prevent this in the future he wasn't able to give any suggestions. He said this sometimes just happens.
> 
> Any suggestions to prevent this from happening again will be appreciated.



most likely he took a flexible wire and pushed it through the tube to clear obstruction. You can buy a heavy duty large/wide plastic zip ties at most hardware stores that would work good to but measure and make sure it will fit in the tube before you buy. If you can find where your drain tube is at then you could take some plastic screen for windows and cut a piece and put it on or over the tube opening. The screen will still let the water drain but will filter the bigger chunks of food from getting in there and blocking the tube. I can't say for sure but this happens often and is a good money generator for repair/service calls so maybe that's why he didn't want to tell you. For preventive maintenance always make sure your frozen packages are sealed really good so food/crumbs cannot fall out .


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

obsidian231 said:


> If you can find where your drain tube is at then you could take some plastic screen for windows and cut a piece and put it on or over the tube opening. The screen will still let the water drain but will filter the bigger chunks of food from getting in there and blocking the tube.


 that would be the last thing I would ever recommend doing, you can not cover that small drain tube with anything and expect it to not freeze over with in a matter of days.

about the only thing you can do to prevent this problem is to make yourself a heat transfer strap that you attach to the heater and then insert the other end down the drain tube.


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## beachgall (Sep 6, 2011)

*Frigidare leaking but not clogged drain or ice buildup*

Hello, 

I'm responding to this thread as I have the same problem albeit a different refrig. 

I've read a lot of stuff on the web and blogs which gave approaches on how to possibly fix a water leak in my refrigerator. Water leaks below freezer compartment into refrig after and/or during defrost cycle. 

When I opened the freezer back panel I had no ice or frost on the coils (but water was dripping off them a little bit), I put a wire went down the drain hole in refrig and the areas in the rectangular "hole" in the freezer with no issues, I poured warm water with bleach down into the metal tray below freezer coils and it went all the way down to the drain pan in a second and I adjusted the refrig to lean more towards the back. 

However, water still leaks but I believe drains are all clear.

One other comment - the refrig, during defrost cycle I believe, was very, very noisy for weeks before the leak started and now it's quiet.

Is there anything else I can do or must I call a repairman?

Thank you for your comments and thoughts!!


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## rookie2012 (Sep 6, 2011)

Prolly bad connection in that back if it serves water


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## kwadden (Sep 7, 2011)

*Don't call the repair man just yet!*

Don’t call the repair man just yet!!!


First check that it’s not a leak in the ice-maker, assuming it’s not your ice-maker or cold water dispenser check a few areas.


The drain tube and try you were talking about only works in HOPE that the water in the tray will evaporate quicker than it is filled up.


Try cleaning out the try, you’ll either have to pull your fridge away from the wall or pull the front cover at the bottom of the fridge. Also clean the dust from your refrigerator coils. When the coils are clean the heat from them helps to evaporate the water in the tray. 


Also check to make sure you have a good seal on both the fridge and freezer side doors and try not to open your fridge often or leave the doors open too long. 


Let me know how all these checks went! If you notice something that doesn’t seem right take note and I can provide further advice. :thumbsup: 
Also if you want to, take a look at this link for more troubleshooting help for your fridge http://www.partselect.com/refrigerator+repair+repair.htm


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## beachgall (Sep 6, 2011)

Thanks for your suggestions! As a note the water accumulation is about 1/4 - 1/2 cup per 24 hr. I collect it in a dish under the "cup area" in back of fridge under freezer compartment (I have a 7 yr old top freezer fridge).

I don't have ice or water dispenser so not an issue.

I get the part about the tray (assume you mean pan under fridge) and will investigate that one. However, I have never had water on the floor so think this is OK.

Did a not so good job cleaning out the dust from coils underneath fridge but will do a better one.

The tray, or better yet the trough, I was talking about is the one underneath the coils inside the freezer (I took the back panel off). This only guides the water to the drain area (with styrofoam around it) that then goes into the back of fridge, down the drain line to the drain pan under the fridge. This one is totally clear, no ice buildup, etc. (of course when I opened it I had the electricity off so it might have melted very fast?) However, I do feel this is the problem area...water cannot drain fast enough from this trough down to the drain line.

The seals are great...cannot see light or pull paper through.

I'll try cleaning the tray and coils on the bottom of fridge and let you know. I am discouraged though. It seems to truly be coming from the freezer to the fridge up top.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

may have gotten better responses if you opened your own thread. What brand of refrig? Some Frigidaire refrigerators would leak from the drain funnel during defrost, adding a new style funnel would cure the problem


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## beachgall (Sep 6, 2011)

*Frigidare Model GLRT186TAQ2 - Top Freezer*

I thought of opening own thread but there were a few of "leak ones" already and tried to not duplicate!

Model # above, about 7 yrs old.

That darn drain funnel looks OK (styrofoam tight) but water is "backflowing" somehow I guess.

Can you give me any info on a new funnel? Can I look at one online?

Thanks for your help!


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## beachgall (Sep 6, 2011)

*I think it's fixed !*

OK, after reading the responses here and really feeling I needed to think more why the water would leak into fridge from freezer if drain line was OK (maybe funnel issue as Hardwareman indicated) I decided to take off the fridge cold control/defrost timer casing AGAIN and look more closely at the opening in the back - sort of the styrofoam "funnel" I guess. 

The 1st time I took it off everything looked good but I had never done that before so didn't really know what I was looking for. Looked more closely this time and put a light along the styrofoam piece where it adheres to the plastic. I think this is the funnel area. Anyway, the styrofoam was slightly pulled away from the plastic (could see the light). I put caulking along it and it's been 48 hours and not one drop of water.

Hoping this is the fix for now anyway!

Thanks all for your feedback which made me think a bit more and double check that area!


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## kwadden (Sep 7, 2011)

Let's hope your found your fix!


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## corrinla (Sep 16, 2011)

a significant buildup of ice on the floor of the unit.


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

As the OP, I thought I would update. Sadly, the problem has returned again this summer. I set up a repair appointment. On that day, the repairman called first and had me describe the problem. He immediately recognized the problem and said it was common with this model of Maytag (MFF2258VEW2). He said since last summer there has been a service bulletin regarding this. Apparently there is some sort of cap on the tube that is defective and a new part to replace it has been devised. He told me to cancel today's appointment and contact Whirlpool to see if they would cover the repair. I called Whirlpool and got no satisfaction. I spoke with a customer service rep who couldn't help, then spoke with her supervisor, Lucas. I explained that even though the unit is out of warranty, I felt they should pay for the repair as it is caused by a defective part. I said why would they devise a new part if the original part wasn't flawed? He also said he couldn't help me and refused to let me speak with his supervisor! 

I'm not sure what I can do next. I'm considering contacting the Better Business Bureau and the state attorney general's office to file a complaint. I'll probably complain to Sears as well, since that is where I bought it. I certainly will never buy another appliance from Maytag or Whirlpool.


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## bucksone (Aug 7, 2007)

Another update. The new part turned out to be a wire that goes down the tube and is heated to prevent the tube from freezing up. It seems to be working fine so far.

Several weeks after I contacted the Better Business Bureau, I received a call from Whirlpool. After a little back and forth, they agreed to pay for half of the cost of the repair. While I felt they should have paid for all of it, I felt it was reasonable for me to meet them halfway, so I accepted their offer.


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## hardwareman (Oct 9, 2010)

that wire is an add on part that the first repairman should have put on. I never do a frozen drain tube repair without adding that. Its a 5 cent piece that will take care of a lot of future problems. Glad your fixed now.


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## Sharie (Oct 5, 2012)

*Maytag Refrigerator Leaks Water & Drain Freezes Up*



bucksone said:


> I have a Maytag fridge that is just over a year old. It has an icemaker, but not a water dispenser. Lately we have been finding water on the floor in front of it, coming from the area of both front corners. The freezer is on the bottom and is the type that has a drawer that slides out. The fridge is above. I'm looking for any advice on what might be causing this. I emailed Maytag and they just said that they were sorry.


We have the same problem. I am angry with myself for not purchasing the extended warranty. Before the warranty was up the freezer got full of frost and ice, called the repairman and he said the door was not fitting right so he adjusted it. We defrosted the fridge for 2 days and restarted. For awhile things were ok, then fridge started leaking, warranty up by then. At first thought maybe a spill so cleaned up and more time passed. Then it leaked again, thought it may be connection to ice maker so husband checked it and reconnected to make sure fit tight. A few days later another leak. He put new connecting tubes on for the ice maker just to make sure. A few days later another leak. So called Home Depot and was connected with Maytag and they set up an appointment with A&E. The tech came out. She did a lot of talking and did break the ice off the bottom of the freezer. She said our fridge needed to be leveled, but she didn't do that. Charged 198.00. We defrosted fridge again and leveled it. Well, so far it isn't leaking, but it will because noticed that there was ice again on the bottom of the freezer and the drain hole is frozen up. Oh by the way, when I defrosted it I used an pressured air can to blow down into the drain hole to make sure not plugged.
I contacted Maytag and they offered to pay for parts but not labor if I scheduled a repairman, but only have a week for the offer to be good. I also asked about still purchasing an extended warranty. Can't get the year one but a 3 or 5 year, terribly expensive. A&E was much cheaper on that, but I didn't like their service. But now I read your post about the faulty cap on the drain tube and wondered if you ever did that and if it worked and what it cost you if you did it. I agree I would not buy another or recommend a Maytag refrigerator to anyone.


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## Sharie (Oct 5, 2012)

*Maytag Refrigerator Leaks Water & Drain Freezes Up*



bucksone said:


> Another update. The new part turned out to be a wire that goes down the tube and is heated to prevent the tube from freezing up. It seems to be working fine so far.
> 
> Several weeks after I contacted the Better Business Bureau, I received a call from Whirlpool. After a little back and forth, they agreed to pay for half of the cost of the repair. While I felt they should have paid for all of it, I felt it was reasonable for me to meet them halfway, so I accepted their offer.


I saw your update and wanted to add to my reply that our Maytag model number is MFF2258VEW3 where yours ends in a 2, but problem is the same. What did the Better Business Bureau say to you? I probably should call A&E back too and complain to them as they actually did nothing for their 198.00.

Also see where Hardware Man has been responding to your posts and wondered if he could tell me if we can install that 5 cent piece ourselves.

Thanks in advance for your help.










a


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## Sharie (Oct 5, 2012)

Sharie said:


> I saw your update and wanted to add to my reply that our Maytag model number is MFF2258VEW3 where yours ends in a 2, but problem is the same. What did the Better Business Bureau say to you? I probably should call A&E back too and complain to them as they actually did nothing for their 198.00.
> 
> Also see where Hardware Man has been responding to your posts and wondered if he could tell me if we can install that 5 cent piece ourselves.
> 
> ...


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