[bucksone]

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.

 

[hardwareman]

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.

 

[bucksone]

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.

 

[hardwareman]

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

 

[bucksone]

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

 

[hardwareman]

into a drain pan under your refrig.

 

[bucksone]

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?

 

[bucksone]

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?

 

[bucksone]

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.

 

[hardwareman]

better call the repairman!

 

[obsidian231]

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.

 

[bucksone]

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.

 

[obsidian231]

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 .

 

[hardwareman]

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.

 

[beachgall]

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!!

 

[rookie2012]

Prolly bad connection in that back if it serves water

 

[kwadden]

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

 

[beachgall]

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.

 

[hardwareman]

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

 

[beachgall]

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!