Refrigerators and Freezers
IF YOU TRY ANY OF THIS PLEASE UNPLUG YOUR UNIT AND TURN THE WATER SUPPLY OFF FIRST. thank you.
Freezers/fridges remove moisture from the air inside them while they work. At least in my unit the fridge and freezer compartments are connected by a couple little trap doors. One near the top works automatically. I assume it regulates the temp of the fridge part by using freezer air. The other is vented into the meat drawer at the bottom.
Moisture flows to the coldest part of the inside, much like humid air settles droplets on the outside of a cold glass in the summer. The coldest part is the coil assembly which would be behind a panel at the back of most freezers. Below this assembly and hopefully not covered by a panel is a drain hole. It needs to be clear for things to work properly. See if you can find it in the back bottom of the freezer.
If there is ice plugging it you need to clear it. Don't pick at it because the inside of a freezer doesn't like scratches and scrapes. Those create opportunities for rust if the unit lasts long enough. Put a few towels in the bottom of the freezer to catch overflow. Then pour the hottest tap water you can get slowly over the ice. Once it is clear the drain lets the water go into a pan underneath the unit and eventually evaporates. You will hear it when it clears.
Under normal operations this drain collects the water that freezes all over the cooling coils in the very back of the freezer. It is normally very little water. If it is blocked by ice this can point to a slightly bigger problem. You may want to see if you can remove the back panel of the freezer and check the coils for ice. This can a)take a while and b)have you removing a lot of assemblies just to get to one panel screw. So be prepared and don't start it when you have a freezer full of food. If you attempt it and find white fluffy looking ice all over your coils you will need to look below this stuff for an assembly that houses a heater. Mine looked like a long thin tube bulb, much like a halogen lamp. It's called the heater element and replacing it may just fix your problem. I got mine for about $50.
You might also want to make sure your fan and radiator assembly are clean. Inspect the air venting grill on the back. If that is gunked up or you can see that the radiator inside is gunked up, you should carefully remove the panel and vacuum as much as you can. This was a major problem for me because at one time because of indoor pets. If checked regularly it doesn't become an issue.
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