Common fault
Why is there water under my refrigerator?
Short answer
Almost all of it is one of two faults, and they announce themselves differently. Ice across the floor of the freezer, with murky water turning up at the front, is a defrost drain frozen shut and meltwater backing up where it should not be. Clear water at the front, with no ice anywhere in the cabinet, is a fitting that has given way on the ice maker supply. Both repairs are minor. In a Point Loma house with a narrow galley kitchen and wood beneath the floor, what the water gets into while a decision is being made is not minor at all.
Deal with the supply side today, because it does not pause for anybody. That line stays pressurized for as long as the appliance is plugged in and connected, so when a fitting goes it is not a drip, it is a feed. Find the shutoff, usually beneath the sink or in the cabinet alongside the unit, close it, and then call us. In plenty of Loma Portal, Wooded Area and Ocean Beach kitchens the refrigerator sits in a tight cabinet run, and water travels along under the base of that run before it surfaces, so the small pool you can see at one end says very little about the wet area you cannot.
The drain fault works on a slower clock. Defrost makes water by design, and that water is meant to leave through a narrow tube at the back of the freezer floor and land in a shallow pan above the machinery, where waste heat boils it away. Ice in the tube removes the exit. The water then freezes where it stands, a layer at a time, and weeks later a warm afternoon melts enough of it to run out under the door. Opening the tube, and testing the small heater on the models built with one, is the repair. Going at the ice with a screwdriver is a two-week reprieve and nothing more.
If that matches what your appliance is doing, say so when you call — it tells us which parts to bring, and most of these are finished in one visit.
Reviews
When our Sub-Zero refrigerator broke down during the holiday, their service was a lifeline. A technician was dispatched quickly to Loma Portal and resolved the issue the same day. Genuine 24/7 support that truly helps in emergencies.
- ★★★★★
Extremely professional service from start to finish. The technician in La Playa was courteous and knowledgeable, quickly fixing our freezer. Pricing was honest and upfront. Highly recommend their reliable team.
- ★★★★★
Our wine cooler wasn’t maintaining temperature. They understood the urgency, arrived the same day, and swiftly replaced a faulty sensor from the technician’s truck. Exceptional, efficient service near Sunset Cliffs.
Appliance down in Point Loma?
Tell us the brand and what it is doing — we can usually name the likely repair before we arrive.