The short answer
Support triages a leak by urgency first: appliance water or supply water. Establish which before you call, because a weeping supply fitting needs the stop tap turned off now rather than an appointment next week.
What you actually see and hear
- Water under the crisper drawers — Defrost drain. Not urgent, and often something you can clear yourself.
- Ice on the freezer floor — The same fault, and worth mentioning because it identifies the cause precisely.
- Damp at a supply fitting behind the cabinet — Urgent. Turn the water off before you finish the call.
- Water under the cabinet with the inside dry — Drip pan. Easy to check before calling.
- NEAR MISS - condensation on interior walls — Humidity, not a leak, and a chargeable visit will say so.
Causes, most likely first on this machine
- Blocked defrost drain — First in frequency, and frequently something the agent will talk you through clearing rather than booking a visit for.
- Drip pan displaced or cracked — Second, and also often handled on the phone.
- Supply fitting or inlet valve on a plumbed cabinet — Third in frequency and first in urgency. Say so early in the call.
- Door seal and condensation — Fourth. It is a common no-fault-found outcome, so rule it out before booking.
- Levelling — Fifth, and typically an installation issue rather than a warranty one.
- A genuine internal fault — Last, and the only one that reliably needs an engineer.
Check in this order, and why
- Work out whether the water is appliance water or supply water — It decides both the urgency and who should come.
- Look at the freezer floor for ice — It identifies the defrost drain precisely, which shortens the call.
- Pull the cabinet out and check the pan and the fitting — Two checks that pre-empt most of the script.
- Photograph where the water is — Pictures travel with the job and prevent a lot of misdescription.
What an owner can safely check
- Turn off the water supply if any fitting is damp — Do this before you finish the call, not after.
About 5 min
- Photograph the wet area, the freezer floor and the drip pan — Attach them if the support channel allows it.
Tools: torchAbout 15 min
- Try clearing the defrost drain with warm water from the freezer side — Agents often suggest this anyway.
Tools: turkey baster, warm waterAbout 30 min
- Check the cabinet is level with a slight backward tilt — Installation issues are commonly excluded from cover.
Tools: spirit levelAbout 20 min
- Photograph the data plate and find the purchase date — Warranty status decides who pays.
Tools: torchAbout 10 min
- STOP HERE if asked to remove the freezer rear panel — The defrost heater and live terminals are behind it.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel - a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Nothing a support line asks you to do should involve removing a panel. If you are asked to go behind the freezer rear panel or to test a terminal, that is an engineer's job: the defrost heater and live connections are behind it and a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off.
When to call a technician
Book a visit when the drain will not clear from inside the cabinet or when water is coming from somewhere you cannot see. Call a plumber rather than the appliance line for anything on the household side of the shut-off valve, and turn that valve off immediately if a fitting is weeping. Ask what is excluded before booking: levelling, household plumbing and condensation are common exclusions, and a visit that ends at one of them is usually chargeable.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This page is written for the full-size domestic refrigerator class, not for one family or model line. Where a brand- or model-specific page exists for your unit it is the more specific answer and it is linked above, so go there first if your machine is named. What is deliberately not here: part numbers, service bulletins, warranty terms and panel removal procedures, all of which differ by family and belong on the page for that family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
