The Top 7 Reasons Your Refrigerator Makes a Leaky Mess
You wake up, get out of bed, and groggily meander into the kitchen. You pad up to your refrigerator in bare feet, and then – ugh! You get a nasty wakeup when you step into a chilly puddle of water.
Your refrigerator is leaking. And it’s making rather a nasty and unpleasant mess. Time to reach for the phone to call the repairman. And time to reach for the mop.
So what might be responsible for this messy and annoying problem? The list below contains the most common leaky refrigerator causes.
#1. Clogged Defrost Drain
A drain line carries away any water generated from frost melted during defrost cycles. Sometimes this drain can become plugged. Debris of some sort can occasionally plug the line. But sometimes water in the line can freeze, effectively plugging the line. When the line becomes plugged from debris or from ice, melted frost will likely end up as a chilly puddle on your floor.
#2. Water Tank Leak
The water tanks on most refrigerators are constructed of plastic. And occasionally a tank assembly will spring a leak.
#3. Leaky Inlet Valve
The valve that controls the entry of water to your refrigerator might be leaking. The leak could be caused by a crack or a fitting that has loosened. But it can also be caused by low water pressure. Inlet valves require a pressure of 20 psi to close properly. So if your refrigerator’s inlet valve is leaking, it could be that your refrigerator is functioning perfectly, but your water pressure is too low.
#4. Leaky Water Filter Housing
Sometimes cracks can develop around the housing containing the refrigerator’s water filter.
#5. Leaky Water Filter Head
The water filter head can also sometimes develop cracks that permit leakage. And it’s not uncommon for a leak to be caused by a filter head seal that becomes damaged or less effective due to age.
#6. Water Filter
Sometimes the water filter itself can cause a leak. This is most likely to happen when the water filter is replaced and installed incorrectly.
#7. Drain Pan Problem
If your refrigerator is self-defrosting, it has a drain pan located underneath the refrigerator. Water generated from a defrost cycle flows into the drain pan via the defrost drain line. Warm air is blown across the drain pan to evaporate any accumulated water – that’s why the drain pan should never overflow, and never has to be emptied.
But occasionally a drain pan will develop a crack, allowing water to leak out onto the floor before being evaporated by the warm air blowing across the pan.