At Fixya.com, our trusted experts are meticulously vetted and possess extensive experience in their respective fields. Backed by a community of knowledgeable professionals, our platform ensures that the solutions provided are thoroughly researched and validated.
Model: Hotpoint CTX18LYZDRWH
About 13 years old. Water drips from the top of the refrigerator compartment (under the freezer) and collects in the bottom of the unit (under the crispers). Freezer works fine, temp in fridge is fine. I assume that some defrost drain tube is plugged. We are moving in the next day or two. Is this inexpensively fixable, or should I leave the unit where it is?
- If you need clarification, ask it in the comment box above.
- Better answers use proper spelling and grammar.
- Provide details, support with references or personal experience.
Tell us some more! Your answer needs to include more details to help people.You can't post answers that contain an email address.Please enter a valid email address.The email address entered is already associated to an account.Login to postPlease use English characters only.
Tip: The max point reward for answering a question is 15.
That water is from the melting frost of the automatic defrost cycle. Their is drain in the freezer behind the back wall under the evaperator coil that is blocked, so instead of defrost water draining it's pooling in the freezer or in some case espically on models with the freezer on the top,the water is leaking from the freezer vents into the fresh food compartment. The way to clear the drain is remove back plate and remove all ice build up and GENTLY make a small hole in drain through then totally flush w/warm water. The exact location of drain is under the coil behind back freezer plate in the center
The problem is relatively simple to repair. The drain tube in the freezer is blocked so the water will drain down the back of your fridge. Often the drain gets blocked by ice build up. The defrost circuit in your fridge has failed and ice is building up on the evap coil in the freezer. When the ice builds up, it blocks the drain tube. The typical failures of the defrost is the timer failing to advance or the heater is burned out. Being that said it was probally manufactured at least10 years ago, and certainly a new refridgerator would be more energy efficient and cheaper to operate than using a 10 year old model. Whether you should repair or replace it depends on whether you have the money to replace it. Hope this helps you.
The defrost drain is located just under the cooling coils in the back of the freezer. You will need to unload the food and remove the shelves from the freezer. Take the back panel off from inside the freezer and you will see a hole just below the coils. Flush it with hot water using a turkey baster or small hose. See the link below for more details.
The evaporator coils frost up in normal use and every eight hours or so the entire unit shuts down and the defrost heater comes on to melt the frost. This cycle last about 20 minutes. The melted frost drips into a drain pan and through a drain tube to the drain tray under the freezer/refrigerator where it's evaporated by the condenser fan.
Your drain tube may be stopped up with ice at the upper end because it drains too slow because it's stopped up at the lower end in the evaporator pan under the unit at the floor. It can get dust and mold in it. Once you get the ice out at the top a little pressure with a turkey baster will usually clear it out. Flushing it out with hot water and clorox may help.
Make sure it drains quick enough to prevent refreezing. . The drain should be located below the evaporator coils on the back of the freezer.
If water appears on the floor in front of the refrigerator once or twice a day, it could be due to a clog in the defrost drain tube. The usual evidence of a clogged drain in a side-by-side refrigerator is ice under the bottom basket in the freezer compartment, in addition to a puddle of water on the floor. Try watching the YouTube videos like this one:
If the freezer is on top then empty out the freezer and remove the bottom and back liner of the freezer compartment usually phillips screws. In the back you will see the freezer coils along with a defrost element. Below these two items u will see a drip tray that collects water from the coils on defrost cycle, in the center of the pan will be a drain hole that connects to a hose that leads to a pan under the refrigerator.Normally the water is collected there and evaporated. The hole in the tray in the freezer is clogged. Thaw it and clean it until you can pour water in it and it goes to the pan down below. please rate me
If the freezer is on top then empty out the freezer and remove the bottom and back liner of the freezer compartment usually phillips screws. In the back you will see the freezer coils along with a defrost element. Below these two items u will see a drip tray that collects water from the coils on defrost cycle, in the center of the pan will be a drain hole that connects to a hose that leads to a pan under the refrigerator.Normally the water is collected there and evaporated. The hole in the tray in the freezer is clogged. Thaw it and clean it until you can pour water in it and it goes to the pan down below. please rate me
you can take a ook into the freezer sect its possible that the line has frozen, nad no longer is defrost water going into the drain but rather falling on to the floor of freezer and evnetually out the door
If the freezer is on top then empty out the freezer and remove the bottom and back liner of the freezer compartment usually phillips screws. In the back you will see the freezer coils along with a defrost element. Below these two items u will see a drip tray that collects water from the coils on defrost cycle, in the center of the pan will be a drain hole that connects to a hose that leads to a pan under the refrigerator.Normally the water is collected there and evaporated. The hole in the tray in the freezer is clogged. Thaw it and clean it until you can pour water in it and it goes to the pan down below. please rate me
×