It is the fridge part of a fridge freezer. It seems to come from nowhere. I suspect the door does not close properly, but can't see a gap at all. Is this worth fixing?
Sounds like your drain outlet in the fridge is blocked. Empty the fridge compartment and remove any obstructions from the drain hole at the back. Another way is to pull out the fridge and look for the hose that drips into a tray, lift it out and either clean it and blow back up it, or use some form of compressed air. cover the hole inside with a wet cloth first to catch obstruction ( usually food particles).
You could try and blow down it using a straw or turkey baster if you have one but you need to ensure a good seal around the rest of the drain hole especially if it is a firm blockage. When its clear you should be able to blow through it with relative ease.
You can test the door seal with a piece of paper/ bank note, close the door on it and you should feel a little resistance all the way round. If you suspect the door seal then check for any condensation inside the fridge, run a sheet of kitchen roll over the two side walls and the top, it should remain dry. Test the drain hole with a small glass of water and make sure it all runs away( it drains into the plastic tray at the back of the fridge which is evapourated by the heat from the compressor). Make sure the fridge is level or leaning back slightly and that nothing is in contact with the rear wall of the fridge that could cause water to track away from the back wall. Let me know your findings and the make/model of your fridge/freezer, also let me know if the freezer compartment is above, below or to the side of the fridge if it has one.
Apologies for the delay, You didn't mention if the inside walls or roof were wet with condensation or not. Can you let me know what the thermostat is set to and if there is plenty of ventilation around the fridge, I am trying to build a mental picture. I am assuming that the water is forming inside the fridge compartment and not on the floor outside. Does your particular fridge have a fan inside or is it just a metal plate mounted at the back? I'm sure we will get to the bottom of this but I don't want to bombard you with too many questions at once.
As for your question about frost free this is definately more energy efficient than conventional units but it has to all be frost free (the fridge and the freezer). When a conventional freezer starts to build up ice then the compressor has to continuously work harder to maintain the temperature thus resulting in higher energy consumption. I could go into more detail but it gets a bit boring.
3.5 is a good setting to have it on and giving it more ventilation at the back is perfect but lets get to the bottom of the water problem.
There is a slight possibility that the insulation layer between your fridge and freezer has become saturated but we need to prove or eliminate it.
Ok I need you to do a test for me, it involves kitchen roll and sellotape.
First you need to take out the bottom shelf and any salad draws it may have.
Tape kitchen roll around all three sides of the fridge below the level of the tray at the back which collects water, kind of like a skirt.
Then place kitchen roll on the bottom of the fridge but dont let it touch the sides or the other kitchen roll.
You can place your food on an oven tray for now if you like and place it on the bottom over the kitchen roll.
Leave overnight and check in the morning. If the bottom kitchen roll is wet but the side pieces are dry then it's looking like the insulation layer, but if you also have wet kitchen roll on the sides then it is possible that water is missing the tray at the back somehow and you may even be able to pinpoint an area where it is worst.
Just out of interest how bad is the ice build up in the freezer and is it in contact with the very top of the freezer.
Let me know your findings and we can take it from there. Andy W
Forgot to mention don't let the side pieces of kitchen roll touch the bottom of the fridge and don't worry about sellotape marks they will come off with a little nail polish remover on a cloth followed by a rinse. The sellotape is just to ensure that if water is running down any wall that it will make contact with the kitchen roll.
Glad you found it, have you managed to cure it?
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I found the holes but it is impossible to blow up them because of their position. I've tried to poke them with wire or pipecleaners but that does not work. I haven't got compressed air. I'll see if I can find some, somewhere!
I finally found a fitting hose and blew, but there is no obstruction. Water still forms.
The rubber seal on the door is a bit cracked at the top, but when I put a torch inside the fridge, I can't see light outside so I thought it did not leak air. But maybe it does anyway?
When I throw water down the hole, it comes out the other end straight away. Nothing is in contact with the back of the fridge.
Although the door looks as if it closes well, I can move the banknote freely up and down.
It is a fridge-freezer, Proline 226A, and the freezer is below the fridge. It was leaning forward ever so slightly (I think - I've moved it around a bit for all these tests) which I have just remedied.
Thank you for your patience! Love, A.
Water still collects, in spite of leaning it very slightly backwards.
Interestingly, since I moved it away from the wall for all this, it comes on much less often!
By the way, is it true that a 'frostfree' frige uses more electricity in all, than one you have to defrost yourself?
But the banknote also slides relatively easily down the freezer section, although there the rubber does not show signs of wear.
Thank you! AW.
It's set to 3.5. Since I started to mess around the back, I discovered there was very little ventilation, but I have now moved it forwards and it comes on less often.
The back wall has condensation: most of this drips down into the ledge which goes to the hole (which leads to the bottom at the back on the outside). However, the ledge with the hole is at the level of the lowest shelf. So if condensation forms below the bottom shelf, that would explain the puddle. But it has never done it before, and nothing else has changed.
There is definitely no fan inside.
I think I did not like the idea of frost free because they have a continuous hum and I hate the hum of a fridge. Have been trying to find a really quiet one on the internet, but have not found a useful site.
And I'm not easily bored: I like to get to the bottom of things, however long they take.
Thanks! Annemieke W.
I can see it now: it is coming down the back wall, below the ledge. No need for kitchen roll ... sorry, should have seen it before! xA
No! I now see where it comes from, but I don't understand why it happens now, while it did not before. However, the fridge freezer is, if anything, more efficient than it was before I took it out of its cubbyhole, so it does not matter really.
Many thanks for all your efforts, at least it is all clearer to me now.
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