Read this first
On an ALMO refrigerator, water inside the cabinet is meltwater that could not reach the drain, and water on the floor behind the unit is the supply line to the ice maker or dispenser. The supply-side leak is the urgent one because it runs at mains pressure with the machine idle. The internal one is slower, cheaper and almost always a frozen drain.
What you actually see
- A sheet of water or ice under the crisper drawers — Meltwater backing up because the drain is blocked. Internal, slow, and owner-fixable.
- A steady wet patch at the back wall — Supply side. Turn the household valve off before investigating anything else.
- Water appearing only in the hours after a defrost cycle — Confirms the internal path: the drain is receiving more than it can pass.
- Damp along the door seal line — Condensation from a leaking seal rather than a plumbing leak at all.
- NEAR MISS: water in the drip tray on the compressor deck — That tray is meant to hold water and evaporate it. Water in it is the system working.
Causes, most likely first
- A blocked or frozen defrost drain — First, because the drain is narrow, cold and shallow, and a partial blockage becomes a complete one within a week or two of ice.
- Ice-maker supply line or fitting — Second, and the one that does real damage: a compression joint that has been disturbed when the unit was moved weeps at mains pressure indefinitely.
- A cracked or displaced drip tray — Third. Usually caused by the unit being dragged rather than lifted.
- Door seal admitting humid air — Fourth. It makes condensation that overwhelms a healthy drain, so it looks like a drain fault at first.
- Water filter housing or its head — Last. Filters are changed with the supply live more often than they should be, and a cross-threaded head weeps afterwards.
The order to work in, and why
- Decide first whether the water is inside or behind — This is the entire branch point, and it takes one look with a torch.
- If behind: shut the household supply valve — Before any further investigation. A mains-pressure leak is not something to study while it runs.
- If inside: pull the drawers and find the drain outlet — You are looking for a cap of ice at the mouth of the tube.
- Check the filter housing if the unit has one — It is the last common candidate and the quickest to inspect.
What an owner can safely do
- Shut off the water supply to the unit if the leak is at the back — Trace the line to its valve and close it. Everything else can wait until the pressure is off.
Tools: torchAbout 10 min
- Defrost the unit fully to clear the drain — Food into a cooler, doors open, towels down. Warmth and time clear an iced drain with no tools at all.
Tools: cooler, towelsAbout 90 min
- Flush the drain outlet with warm water once thawed — A slow pour tells you whether the tube runs clean or is blocked further along.
Tools: jug, warm waterAbout 10 min
- Check the filter head and the line fittings for weeping — Dry them, then watch under pressure. Stop here rather than dismantling the sealed area behind the rear panel.
Tools: towelAbout 15 min
Safety first, and it is not boilerplate
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel — a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off, and the compressor deck is where the water and the wiring meet. Do not chip ice out of a drain with a screwdriver: the tube runs alongside the evaporator, and a punctured tube is the end of the appliance. Deal with wet floors before you deal with the machine, because a puddle in front of a mains appliance is the actual hazard in the room.
The line for a service call
Call when the drain will not clear after a full defrost, because the blockage is then inside the tube where warm water cannot reach it. Call promptly for any supply-side leak you cannot stop at a valve, since that is mains pressure and it damages floors and cabinets faster than it damages the refrigerator. If water has been running under the unit for weeks, have somebody look at the floor as well: the appliance repair is usually the cheaper half of that job.
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Where this page stops
This page is written for the ALMO refrigerator class and does not descend to a family or model line. It carries no drain-tube routings, no fitting sizes and no filter part numbers, because those differ between builds under this badge. Where a family- or model-specific page exists it carries the layout for that unit and is the better reference. The household water supply, its shut-off valve and the plumbing behind the unit belong to the installation and to a plumber rather than to the appliance.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
