If your refrigerator has ice build up on the inside, here are a few things you can check yourself to fix the issue. A common cause for ice buildup is a faulty door seal. If a refrigerator has a bad door seal, the outside air will pass into the fridge and cause the ice build up problem you are experiencing.
Another cause for this could be that the door hinges are loose or not attached properly leading to outside air entering your fridge/freezer. Check to be sure the door hinges are tight and are attached and aligned properly.
Some other simple things you can do to try and remedy this issue are easy to try yourself. You can try moving the refrigerator away from the wall a little bit more to give it extra room for the air to circulate. The heat from the compressor should have sufficient room to dissipate. If the refrigerator is too close to the wall problems will occur.
Another solution may be to clean the vents on the back or below the fridge as they can be clogged with dust and debris. Clogged vents cause air circulation problems that lead to many common refrigerator problems.
If the ice build up is only happening in the freezer, the freezer drain is probably clogged. To unclog the drain you should first unplug the unit from the wall. Remove the freezer covers to expose the frozen drain. Pour hot water down into the drain hole until you see the water dripping into the drain pan under the refrigerator.
How to remove and replace the door gasket on a refrigerator
How to unclog a refrigerator defrost line
Modern day refrigerators are frost free. They should not have to be defrosted manually. If however you have an older refrigerator or you want to manually defrost your newer fridge, here is how:
- First remove food and store it in another fridge or cooler.
- Unplug the refrigerator from power and remove any drawers or shelves.
- Wedge the door to keep it open for the defrost procedure.
- Lay a deep pan or similar at the bottom of the refrigerator to catch the water when the ice melts.
- Leave everything sit until all the ice has melted (this is a good time to wipe down the inside of fridge).
- After the refrigerator is defrosted and the ice is gone, clean and replace the drawers and shelves.
- Plug in the refrigerator back into power.
- Set the thermostat dial to be sure the temperature is set correctly.
- Shut the refrigerator door.
- Once the fridge is cold you should watch for any ice buildup.
- Check to be sure the fridge is at the proper temperature and no ice has formed.
- Put the food back in the refrigerator.
- Periodically check fridge to be sure no more ice has formed.
If your refrigerator is still under warranty, make sure to call the company you purchased it from or call the 800 number of the company who manufactured it and schedule service. Find out if it is under warranty before doing repairs as doing repairs yourself could void the warranty on the unit.
NOTE: At times a powdery type of ice will form in your refrigerator if it is being repeatedly opened and closed. Keep this in mind as your only issue may be this and no repairs are necessary.
Other things causing this issue could be a defrost timer, bad temperature sensor or bimetal defrost thermostat. In this case you will most likely need to call a repair person or find someone who is experienced with diagnosing appliance faults and removing and replacing components.
Have experience with ice buildup in your freezer refrigerator? Please help out everyone who seeks information on this page by leaving a comment below.
Written by Keith Schneerer
Certified Appliance Tech · Founder, RemoveAndReplace.com
Keith has spent 30+ years repairing machines, starting as a military mechanic and later maintaining food processing equipment before moving into appliance repair. He founded RemoveAndReplace.com to share field-tested repair advice.
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I have a whirlpool upright freezer…a big one that I bought used. It was unplugged we I arrived and door was ajar and unit was cold inside.
Didn’t notice at the time but door doesn’t stay shut. Seals and hinges aligned okay. So I put straps onto it that keep door firmly closed.
Problem is that it ices up pretty quickly, on shelf grates and sides and collects frost too. I find it necessary to manually defost it way more often than I’d like to have to with a blow dryer and start all over again.
Recently we had a prob w a frozen drain in the church ref freezer and I helped with that and it got me to thinking maybe I could do sitting to fix this problem.
Please…any help you might offer or ideas I am willing to try.
How would I or what would I check for instance to find the reason(s) that the doors just won’t stay closed or see if seals are really intact…they look well.
..
Whirlpool Freezer
MODEL. NUMBER
EV2OOFXB000
SERIAL NUMBER
U32003822
UL V20
Thank you very much
I have a whirlpool side by side refrigerator. My problem is ice clumping in the ice bin.What could be the problem. I would appreciate any help you can give me.
karen hamilton,
Can you tell us what brand of refrigerator you are having ice maker issues with?
We would recommend to simply remove the chunk or chunks of ice without using any sharp tools.
Use a wooden spoon if possible.
Once removed, let the ice maker run as normal.
This issue may have happened since the refrigerator was not used for a long period of time since it is in a new built home.
Let us know if you fixed the issue, and if not we can try to assist once we have the model number and brand.
-RR
Have recently moved into new build home. 2 weeks after we moved in the fridge made a huge ice bulge at the top. Its an integrated fridge/freezer. Don’t want to chip away incase I damage the gas canister at back. Cant get any workmen or site managers out just now because of this horrible virus. Its driving me crazy… Any tips?
HEY THANK YOU !
I followed your directions and though it involved a most of the day, lots of labor defrosting behind the panel, and some learning regarding the parts, it was a successful result! Like you said – a few worthy tools, time, didn’t have to buy parts. Also, be careful with what is behind the panel, it covers the aluminum fins and metal tubing and wires. It’s all about defrosting the ice plug in the drain area – chip away at it cautiously and give it some time to melt. Once it’s clear – you just reassemble the parts and it’s good to go.
i have samsung fridge,, it has been building ice on the freezer,ice-blocking the damper and the drain line causing fresh food part to be warm but when l checked the evaporator,it does not have the frost meaning it normally defrost.l did manual defrost to clear the drain and the vent damper.it works but after sometime the issue occurred.i have done it severally. please what should l changed?
Abdul Gader,
Can you give us the model number of your GE side-by-side refrigerator?
It should be in the door frame on the top when you open the door.
Is the ice build-up from the heating element not functioning properly?
Have you troubleshooted the complete system?
More help here…Fix an ice maker that freezes up
-RR