What's wrong with my fridge?

[Three~Little~Birds]

And what can I do about it?

Here's the scoop:

It leaks water throughout the inside of the fridge. Everything is soaking just about all the time. The problem started out small, but has recently escalated. All of the lids of everything have water sitting on them, and it drips down into all three drawers and soaks all of the produce, meat and cheese. I soak up/dump the water several times a day and it comes back in seemingly endless abundance. The water then proceeds to freeze - in various places. Some days in one location, other days, a different location - no rhyme or reason as to where/when.

Sometimes (about 4 times per week) food freezes. We have had to throw away more produce than I care to admit - if not for the freezing, then for the increase in humidity due to all the $^*@^# water! It's such a waste.

Other times meat goes bad in like 1 day!! We get it home for the store, and have to freeze it or cook it that same day, or else it goes bad.
I don't think that the fridge is set at the wrong temperature, as I have been playing with that for a couple of years. It's like there are hot spots and cold spots that move around like moving targets.
These problems occur whether or not the fridge is full or empty. Honestly - sometimes I am better off storing the perishables on the counter... it's pathetic...

Help!! Does anyone know anything about fridges? How can I get my fridge to start acting like a normal fridge again??

[Ola_]

Have you tried defrosting the whole thing?

Also, do you have a built-in water or ice dispenser?

[Three~Little~Birds]

No, I don't have a built in water/ice dispenser....

And, no, I haven't tried deforsting the entire thing. There doesn't *appear* to be any frost anywhere....would frost be evident??? Er...and how would one go about defrosting the entire thing? Unplugging it??

[katelove]

Could the door seals need replacing? If they're worn out they may feel hard or there may be gaps where the seal touches the metal frame when the door is closed. We just had our fridge seals replaced and it's made a *big* dfference.

[treegardner]

Is your freezer on top of the fridge or side-by-side? DH thinks it might be a condensation problem. Normally the condensation drains to a pan beneath the fridge and evaporates. That's the only thing he can think of.

[Ola_]

Originally Posted by Three~Little~Birds

And, no, I haven't tried deforsting the entire thing. There doesn't *appear* to be any frost anywhere....would frost be evident??? Er...and how would one go about defrosting the entire thing? Unplugging it??

I would try defrosting - it's magically fixed things for us before from leaking to my mom's fridge that stopped cooling. I think maybe the lines or whatever on the inside get plugged up or frozen? You never know and it's free to try.

Yup, you just want to unplug it. Of course transfer any cold/frozen perishable stuff to a cooler or another fridge or freezer. You'll also want to have some old towels on hand to soak up the water that will come out, certainly from the freezer section and from the sounds of it maybe from the fridge as well. One thing I've done with my upright freezer is put a container on the bottom to catch the drips and melting ice - it's easier to dump it out periodically than have a ton of wet towels. Our big freezer takes around 8 hours to defrost completely to give you an idea of timeline - you'll want to keep an eye on it during that time to prevent any leaks or damage.

[Denvergirlie]

Originally Posted by treegardner

DH thinks it might be a condensation problem. Normally the condensation drains to a pan beneath the fridge and evaporates. That's the only thing he can think of.

I would say this as well.

Read thru some of this:
http://www.repairclinic.com/Refriger...roubleshooting

[bigteamug]

I think there is a drain tube thing that can get plugged, maybe part of the defrost system? Some fridges also have issues with these by way of poor design - the one in our rental did, landlord had to have the repair guy out.

[4evermom]

Originally Posted by bigteamug

I think there is a drain tube thing that can get plugged, maybe part of the defrost system? Some fridges also have issues with these by way of poor design - the one in our rental did, landlord had to have the repair guy out.

That was my guess when my old fridge was doing that. I didn't try to get it fixed because it was 20 years old and a friend wanted to get rid of a newer one. Now that one has some problems with cold spots. Sometimes the salsa in the back on the top shelf freezes and sometimes produce does if it isn't in the drawers at the bottom.

[Three~Little~Birds]

Thanks for all of your feedback!

We (meaning DH) are (is) going to attempt a few 'procedures' this weekend. Hopefully we can fix it! I'll get back to you all and let you know what worked!