Frost, ice and water
Water on the Floor at the Toe Kick
Water appearing on the floor at the foot of the cabinet, clean and cold.
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| What you see | Likely cause | Safe check | When to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| A little water every few days, always in the same spot | The tray that catches melt water underneath is overfull or split | Note whether it appears after the cabinet has been running hard | This week |
| Water arriving steadily, wet again an hour after wiping | The supply line to the ice maker, or the fitting it connects to | Shut the wall valve behind the cabinetry if you can reach it standing | Today. Steady water is a supply question |
| A pool after a spell of heavy frost in the freezer | Melt water finding a path out of the cabinet instead of down the drain | Look at the freezer rear wall and floor before you mop up | This week |
| Water near the ice maker side, with ice in the bin looking wet | The ice maker taking on more water than it should each fill | Look into the bin for cubes frozen into one mass | Today, if it is filling the floor as well |
The table above sorts floor water by when it appears, because that is what separates the four sources. Row two is the one to act on tonight, and row one the one people live with for months. Viking Repair Service Los Angeles takes that call on (213) 799-7879, so have ready whether the water arrives steadily or in episodes.
Steady water and episodic water
Rows one and three are episodes: the tray beneath the cabinet takes melt water from each clearing cycle and lets it evaporate, and when that tray is cracked or overwhelmed a little reaches the floor. It follows the weather and the door traffic. Row two is different. A supply line keeps no rhythm; it arrives steadily whether the cabinet is working or not, which is why floor water is a call to make tonight.
What not to do about it
A built-in is heavy and usually fitted into joinery, and in the Beverly Hills kitchens where two or three sit in a run there is no safe way to pull one out. Shut the wall valve if you can reach it standing, and stop there. The tray and anything behind the machine grille wait for the visit.
Normal, not normal, and the line between them
-
Normal
A dry floor at the toe kick, even in a humid week.
Not normal
A patch you wipe up and find again the same day.
Time to call
Today if it returns within the hour.
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Normal
Occasional drips during a big defrost after the door was left open.
Not normal
Water arriving on a normal day with nothing unusual about it.
Time to call
This week.
-
Normal
Ice in the bin loose and separate.
Not normal
Cubes frozen into a block with water underneath them.
Time to call
Today. That is a fill that is not stopping.
A built-in should be dry underneath; anything on the floor has taken a route it was not meant to. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and describe the row you are on — that sentence is worth more than a guess at the part.
Safe checks before the visit
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Dry the floor completely and set a timer. Water back within an hour is a supply problem; water back in three days is the tray or the defrost path.
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If the valve that feeds the ice maker is reachable from standing at the wall, close it and see whether the floor stays dry. Never move the cabinet out or reach behind it.
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Put a towel down and keep it there until the visit. Water at the foot of a heavy built-in reaches the flooring before anyone notices.
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Stop there. Nothing further is an owner job on a built-in: the sealed circuit, the wiring behind the grille and anything that needs a panel off belong to the visit. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and say which of the checks above changed anything.
Asked about this one
- Should I switch the refrigerator off if it is leaking onto the floor?
- Only if water is reaching an outlet or spreading across the room. Otherwise leave it cooling and stop the water at the wall valve if you can reach it while standing. Turning a cabinet off means losing the food as well as the leak. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles and describe how fast the water is arriving.
- Written by
- Ambrose Fitzwilliam
- Role
- Service technician — refrigeration and sealed systems
- In the trade
- 25 years in the trade