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Bottom Freezer Drawer Leaking Water

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Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
13068 posts
3758 upvotes

Bottom Freezer Drawer Leaking Water

I have a Whirlpool french door and the freezer drawer at bottom constantly leaks some water

My guess is the ice build up from drain at back of freezer as I see some ice at bottom of freezer drawer and ONLY water leaks from bottom of door area, not bottom of fridge.

I read online you can dismantle the freezer and melt the ice but I am wondering if I can just defrost the freezer part only. I read somewhere you can only turn off the freezer drawer and NOT the fridge.

Is this possible?

Thanks!
10 replies
Deal Guru
User avatar
Nov 18, 2005
11955 posts
3699 upvotes
Kingston
It is common for the freezer drawer to the the only area that is cooled and cold air from that is used to cool the fridge. If that's what your unit does, you won't be able to keep the top cool while you defrost the freezer drawer.
Sr. Member
Dec 4, 2009
837 posts
875 upvotes
Flamborough
I had this on a Kitchen Aid fridge (Same OEM), there was a problem with the defrost drain and it spilled over into the freezer. Google your model to see if there is a TSB and some repair kit of parts to remedy the problem. Amre.com is a good source for parts…
Deal Addict
User avatar
Nov 9, 2003
1528 posts
325 upvotes
Grimsby
We had a similar problem with water on the floor. I got behind the freezer and removed the vent panel to look around. The drain pipe had a rubber bit on the very end which the manufacturers had flattened the end leaving a tiny slit. If yours is the same simply remove the rubber bit, defrost VERY WELL and you should be good to go. I placed a hair dryer in the freezer for a few hours to be sure all the ice was melted from the evaporator coil.

The issue was the tiny slit which over time got clogged with small particles of dust etc till it was completely blocked.

Worth a look in case yours is the same, good luck.
Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
13068 posts
3758 upvotes
Owbist wrote: We had a similar problem with water on the floor. I got behind the freezer and removed the vent panel to look around. The drain pipe had a rubber bit on the very end which the manufacturers had flattened the end leaving a tiny slit. If yours is the same simply remove the rubber bit, defrost VERY WELL and you should be good to go. I placed a hair dryer in the freezer for a few hours to be sure all the ice was melted from the evaporator coil.

The issue was the tiny slit which over time got clogged with small particles of dust etc till it was completely blocked.

Worth a look in case yours is the same, good luck.
Thank you!
Deal Guru
User avatar
Mar 13, 2004
13840 posts
5545 upvotes
Ontario
We had a similar issue too but it was the drain at the back of freezer bottom that was full of ice so it could not drain. Removed the ice and made sure it was clear and the issue went away.

While you are working on it be sure to clean the coils on the bottom/back of the fridge which helps it work properly. If it gets very dirty then it wont cool properly and could burn out the compressor.
Deal Fanatic
Nov 17, 2012
5381 posts
5003 upvotes
Toronto
Ice maker in the freezer? My KA french-door bottom freezer model's ice maker failed and more or less flooded the freezer which then dumped on the floor when it was opened.

I decided it wasn't worth replacing the various parts that may have contributed to the problem so I just turned the water supply off and gave up on the ice maker.

If you have an ice maker I'd turn the water supply off to avoid a more serious leak till you find another source of the water.
Deal Guru
Dec 11, 2008
13068 posts
3758 upvotes
torontotim wrote: Ice maker in the freezer? My KA french-door bottom freezer model's ice maker failed and more or less flooded the freezer which then dumped on the floor when it was opened.

I decided it wasn't worth replacing the various parts that may have contributed to the problem so I just turned the water supply off and gave up on the ice maker.

If you have an ice maker I'd turn the water supply off to avoid a more serious leak till you find another source of the water.
No ice maker is in fridge section
Deal Fanatic
Aug 29, 2011
9928 posts
7090 upvotes
Mississauga
Todd96srv wrote: I had this on a Kitchen Aid fridge (Same OEM), there was a problem with the defrost drain and it spilled over into the freezer. Google your model to see if there is a TSB and some repair kit of parts to remedy the problem. Amre.com is a good source for parts…
Had the same thing happen to our French door KitchenAid. It’s due to a rubber part called a “duckbill” that gums up over time and stops the flow of water to the evaporation pan during the defrost cycle.

Real smart engineering there.
Sr. Member
Mar 19, 2013
728 posts
228 upvotes
Prince Albert, Sask.
Owbist wrote: We had a similar problem with water on the floor. I got behind the freezer and removed the vent panel to look around. The drain pipe had a rubber bit on the very end which the manufacturers had flattened the end leaving a tiny slit. If yours is the same simply remove the rubber bit, defrost VERY WELL and you should be good to go. I placed a hair dryer in the freezer for a few hours to be sure all the ice was melted from the evaporator coil.

The issue was the tiny slit which over time got clogged with small particles of dust etc till it was completely blocked.

Worth a look in case yours is the same, good luck.
Had the same issue with our Kitchen Aid French door model. Removed the rubber bit, trim it to create a bigger slit. That was 3 years ago, problem solved.
Member
Jun 2, 2009
283 posts
98 upvotes
The repair kit basically gets rid of the rubber bit, I believe it was a hard plastic tube that goes through the defrost drain. Good DIY. It's incredible that this thing has been popping up for years.

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