The short answer
A refrigerator makes water on purpose — every defrost cycle produces it — so on the CDWR line a leak is usually a drainage problem rather than a plumbing one. Where the water shows up is most of the diagnosis: inside under the drawers means the drain, at the front on the floor means the drain has already overflowed, and behind the cabinet with a dry interior means the supply.
The observations that matter on the CDWR line
- A puddle at the front of the cabinet, on the floor — The internal trough has filled and is running out under the door.
- Water under the crisper drawers — Classic blocked defrost drain: melt water backs up in the channel at the back of the compartment instead of leaving it.
- NEAR MISS — water plus a cabinet that is warming up — Deal with the cooling first.
What is usually behind this on the CDWR line
- The ice maker is overfilling, or the fill tube is spilling past the mould — Ranked first in this ordering because of its signature: a slab of ice where no ice should be, which later melts and becomes the puddle. Nothing else on the list leaves that evidence behind.
- The defrost drain is blocked or frozen, so melt water backs up — A silted or frozen drain channel sends every defrost cycle into the compartment instead of the drip tray. It ranks here because the checks above it are quicker, not because it is uncommon.
- The water supply line or its fitting is weeping behind the cabinet — Compression joints loosen with temperature cycling and with every time the cabinet is pushed back into place. It sits here because a dry interior is what promotes it, and a wet one demotes it.
- Condensation from a door that is not sealing, or a cabinet out of level — Last, but it is the answer to the leaks that come and go with the weather: humid days make condensation, and condensation is not a leak in the sense the rest of this list means it.
What to check first, second and third
- First — look under and behind the ice bin for a slab of ice — Ice where ice should not be says the fill is overshooting. Turn the maker off at the arm and see whether the water stops arriving over the next day.
- Then — find the drain outlet at the back of the compartment and flush it — Take the drawers out, find the trough and ease warm water down the outlet until it runs away freely. Nothing sharp: the channel is soft and a punctured one leaks permanently.
- Only then — pull the cabinet out and look at the supply joint with a torch — Dry the fitting, lay a sheet of paper under it and come back in an hour. A wet sheet names the joint with no tools and no guesswork.
- STOP here if the next check needs a panel off or a meter on live terminals — Everything above can be done with nothing dismantled; past it the checks need test equipment.
Models in the CDWR family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| CDWR15-1SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
| CDWR19-1SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
| CDWR28-1SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
| CDWR29-2SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
| CDWR34-1SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
| CDWR44-2SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
| CDWR48-1SWT | allavino:refrigerator:cdwr |
Safety first
Safety
Water and electricity share this space. Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before mopping under or behind it and before any panel comes off — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Do not run an extension lead across a wet floor to keep the cabinet going, and turn the water supply off at the shut-off before disturbing any fitting.
When to call a technician
Call when the drain will not clear with warm water, when the leak is at a plumbing joint you cannot reach or re-make, or when water keeps arriving a day after the ice maker was switched off. On the CDWR line, call rather than continue if the drain channel has to be reached from behind the evaporator cover. Call immediately if water is reaching an electrical connection, if the flooring is lifting, or if there is water plus a warming cabinet — that pair is the defrost system and it will not settle on its own.
Other faults covered for the CDWR line
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
