My refrigerator leaks a puddle of water on the floor. This water leak issue is intermittent and does not happen all the time. The water puddle is about 5 inches in diameter. Most of the time the water puddle is underneath the fridge and closer to the front door. When the fridge leaks a small puddle like this, does that signify a specific issue?
If your refrigerator leaks water intermittently, the issue may be from high humidity or leaving the refrigerator door open for long periods of time. A clogged defrost drain tube causes the water to overflow and leak out of the bottom of the refrigerator.
Read all the information below to understand what can cause your refrigerator to leak water… Have water under the drawers in the fridge? Water found under the refrigerator drawers
4 Common Causes Why A Refrigerator Leaks Water…
1. Refrigerator door was left open an excessive amount of time.
2. High humidity weather causes excessive moisture.
3. Defrost drain tube is clogged and overflowing.
4. Water line or inlet valve leak at back of refrigerator.
Safety Notice: Remove the power supply to the refrigerator before any maintenance.
1. Refrigerator Door Left Open
If the refrigerator door was left open for a long period of time, the refrigerator slowly builds up water due to the warmer air coming in. This can overwhelm the evaporator system and leaks can occur.
Solution: Do not leave fridge door open for long periods.
(If your modern refrigerator has an alarm that signals when the door is open for excessive periods, turn it on using the control panel.)
2. High Humidity Weather
Excess water in the air can accumulate with the existing water in the fridge and cause a leak. Water leaking out of the refrigerator is a common issue on excessively humid days.
Solution: Clean out the drain pan to assist with heat transfer so the water evaporates faster. This speeds up the evaporation and will lessen or eliminate the water leaking problem.
3. Defrost Drain Tube Clogged/Frozen
Modern refrigerators equipped with automatic defrost systems use a drain tube that allows water to flow to the drain pan underneath the fridge. Once the water is in the drain pan it evaporates back into the air. The drained water gets help evaporating by sitting on top of the hot compressor motor. This helps to heat the water and speeds up the evaporation process. If the refrigerator drain tube becomes clogged or blocked the water has nowhere to go but to overflow and cause a water leak.
Solution: Locate the drain hole at the inside back of your refrigerator. (Usually located on the back wall of the freezer) Clean out the drain hole using a turkey baster filled with hot water. Once the drain hole is clear and free of any blockages you will hear water flowing down and into the drain pan.
We recommend clearing out the drain hole every 6 months to prevent further water leaks.
Refrigerator Leaking – Defrost Drain Tube Clogged
(One some refrigerators a screw needs to be removed to get to the defrost drain hole. A plastic panel is held in place by a screw. Remove the screw and the panel and the defrost drain hole will be accessible.)
How to Unclog a Refrigerator Drain Line
4. Water Line/Water Inlet Valve Leak
The water line that connects to the back of the refrigerator may be damaged or loose and cause water leaks. The water inlet valve where the water line connects into at the back of the refrigerator may also have a slight leak that causes a puddle of water.
Solution: Unplug fridge from power and slide it out from the wall. Be careful not to pull out the water line when sliding out the refrigerator. Use a flashlight and check if the waterline or water valve has any leaks. If any leaks are found, either tighten up the leaking area or remove and replace parts or components as needed.
Water Inlet Valve & Water Lines Can Cause Leak
Can’t Find The Refrigerator Water Leak? If you suspect the components near the back of the fridge are leaking but do not see an obvious water leak, put some paper towels down underneath the components and wait a few minutes to see if any leaks appear. If the issue is a very slow water leak, you may need to give it an extended time frame to find where the leak is located. Once you identify the leak, repair or replace the component that is leaking. Continue testing for leaks to ensure the refrigerator leaks are repaired.
NOTE: These refrigerator leak repair methods will work with all models of refrigerators including GE, Whirlpool, Samsung, LG, Haier, Kenmore, Hotpoint, Sharp, Bosch, KitchenAid, Frigidaire, Toshiba, Panasonic and more.
If you have questions fixing your refrigerator leak, please leave your question or issue below and we will get back to you with professional repair assistance.
We have a Samsung fridge/freezer (with digital inverter) and we have noticed pudles of water on the trays inside the fridge. I just tried to locate the drain tube in the freezer where it was described on this website, to no avail. I only found a hole with a cap on it on the back wall of the freezer in the very top left hand corner. If it is a “drain” hole, wouldn’t it be on the floor of the freezer or on the base of the walls of the freezer? Sorry, i am definitely not qualified in this field but just asking
We have 20 yr. old Sears top freezer, refrigerator. Recently noted a white/slight yellow, granular substance back in the drainage tray (back wall bottom of freezer comp.) Such material was NOT something that had spilled previously in freez. comp. Such material eventually caused blockage of drain hole and backing up of water/ice to floor of freezer comp. Unit overall has been working well…no problems. Just wondering if the “material” could come from some kind of deterioration of insulating material, back up behind freezing unit…between same and back of cab. wall itself? Have cleaned clog, vacuumed everything, unclogged drain hole, got rid of all mysterious powdery material. Overnight, I do see just a couple of 1/16″ to 1/8″ diam pieces of material at back left corner of drain tray…almost as if such is dropping down from behind…into drain tray. Just wondering if you have ever had such experience(s). Thank you.
I have a Grundig fridge freezer.
There is water and ice under bottom draw.
I cannot find a drainage hole.
What is the problem?
I have an old “garage” refrigerator and need to clean the drain tube but I can’t find the drain hole. It’s an old ge freezer on top.TBF 18D. Any assistance would be appreciated.
My 2007 side-by-side Frigidaire is leaking water under the freezer.
The floor was Pergo, which rotted from mold, so we had a vinyl plank floor put in that part of the kitchen.
We had a refrigeration expert come in and he said there may be ice and to turn it off for 24 hours, then turn it back on.
That worked for several weeks, but now it’s leaking again.
We can’t find any hoses in the back or do we have to take the back off to find them?
There is a hole and the expert came back again and put a can under it to catch the water.
We can’t see well enough in there to know if the can moved when we pushed the refrigerator back or if that has nothing to do with the leak.
The expert said the pan is in the front of the right, but he can’t reach it without turning the refrigerator over on the side.
There is a tube in the front under the freezer, but even he didn’t know why that was there.
He suggested getting a new refrigerator.
Any ideas?
Any suggestions of how to fix the leak?
I have a samsung side by side model rs263tdwp.
I have a high pressure leak that is spraying water out the refrigerator rear edge seam on the icemaker side when I turn on water to the refrigerator.
This leak dumped lots of water while i was away during day. Suspect a ruptured water line or connection leading to ice maker inside of refrigerator.
Not sure what to disassemble to inspect this line.
refrigerator and freezer is working fine with water turned off.
any thoughts on how to proceed?
I have a Sears refrigerator with the freezer on top it leaks in the front right corner the strange thing is the coils and everything is dry under it I have no idea where the leak comes from it leaks one day and it can be a few days until it leaks again
What’s up when a FREEZERLESS refrigerator leaks weekly?
This is really annoying, and is apparently unfixable, at least according to the dealer.
There has been a puddle of water in front of cupboard next to fridge that has been getting larger everyday At first I thought it was ice cubes that fall from server on door but today the puddle was over foot round what can I check on my own?