Refrigerator Puddles

[MHenry]

I have a 1988 White-Westinghouse frost-free fridge that leaves occasional puddles in front of it. What causes this and how can I stop it? The fridge otherwise works fine.

Thanks,

Mike H.

[Joe Bobst]

Pull out the front kick plate and clean out the defrost drain tray. Usually evaporates during normal operation, but you have an overload from debris or teenagers leaving the door open while they peruse the snacks. Bet that will help.

Joe

[Art Begun]

A new refrig would probably pay for itself in a year or 2.

occasional

[TURTLE]

this is Turtle.

Art , awwwwww , My math does not match yours. The operating cost of the old and the new refrigerators are ruffle old $12.00 a month and ruffle the new is $8.00 . That would save $4.00 a month and on a $600.00 refrigerator it would be a 12.5 years to pay you back enough to buy a new one. But you do have a point to make anyway.

TURTLE

[Art Begun]

Latest refrigerators cost about $50 per year according to Consumer Reports unless my memory is worse than I think. A few years ago they were over a hundred per year in energy. His is from 1988 and uses much more power.

refrigerator it

[Desert Traveler]

If the old one has nothing seriously wrong with it, and has some years left, why not just keep it until it dies a natural death?

Or, I guess you COULD spend several hundred to save some money over the next decade............... and toss a working fridge.........

Steve

[Dan O.]

MHenry wrote

Top freezer, SxS, bottom freezer, single door?

Does it have a through-the-door water dispenser?

It depends, can you not locate where the water originates from? Sometimes laying a piece of cardboard in the area (possibly underneath) will show a water trail.

If it is a top freezer model, is there any water collecting beneath the crisper drawers?

If a SxS, any ice forming in the bottom of the freezer compartment?

In the latter 2 cases, a leak could be caused by a plugged defrost water drain. You can read about that on several different makes and designs of refrigerators at the following link:

For anything else, you're going to have to investigate to see where the water is originating from. Once you tell us that, we may be able to suggest a course of action to try and correct it.

Dan O.

- Appliance411.com

=Ð~~~~~~

[MSH]

And save energy, resources and pollution..

MH

[jeff]

Hi,

Depends on where the water/drip is comming from.

Any water inside? Icemaker?

Some common trouble makers...

jeff.

Appliance Repair Aid

[TURTLE]

this is Turtle.

Save Energy : How much crude oil / Natural gas does it take to burn to product 1 more refrigerator that does not HAVE to be producted? You would be surpised to know. How much energy does it take to dispose of properly the materials of the old one? this is truck hauling it, scrap yards taking care to remove the freon, and digging equipment to cover it with earth.

Saved Resources : How much raw material will it take to produce what material it will be to supply the material / oil / plastic / insulation / steel / freon / Packaging stiro-foam / copper / silver -- silver solider to produce the extra refrigerator which would not have to be produced if you just use the one that is already produced already? It will take somewheres near 200 pounds of raw material to make the refrigerator but the old one is there already.

Save pollution : How much enviro-damage will it take to dump 200 pound of plastic, Steel, stiro-foam, insulation, freon, refrigeration oil, rubber, card board, and last of all material dumped into the earth to fill the land fills which will fill up one day can cover the earth in another 100 years without us doing something about this to stop it? All the material that are dumped in the earth will go into the drinking water and food grown on the land. How about Rice grown in refrigeration oil ground and then you would not need gravy.

Now after you have all this stuff going on and impacting the earth , You can save about $4.00 a month by buying a new one but you still have to pay a extra $600.00 to buy a new one and it will take 12.5 years to get your money back and not concidering the interest on the $600.00 you put up which they say your money will double ever 10 years even in a pass book saving account. So this make it somewhere around 25 years to break even.

Just another thought on this issue.

TURTLE

[Art Begun]

You missed a thought or 2.

If he holds up with the old frige another couple of years, the next generation will be even more efficient.

On the other hand you are assuming the old one gets destroyed. It might go to some very poor person who cannot afford anything else.

But I mentioned the idea of replacement in case he hadn't considered the energy saving issue. Also, some places, like on Long Island, electricity is extremely expensive because they are paying for power plants that were never turned on.

properly the

insulation /

which they

[Charles Munger]

We had the same problem with our old GE frost-free side-by-side. I have defrosted and cleaned the drain tube many times, but it still freezes up again about twice per year.

"Desert Traveler" wrote: