What you are actually seeing
- Condensation on the outside of the cabinet or on the door
- Water pooling under the fresh-food drawers inside the cabinet
- Not this fault: Water with a soapy or dirty look
Ranked causes on a Continental Electric refrigerator
- Door not sealing, producing condensation inside — Ranked here because: the moulded door and light gasket on this platform take a set within a couple of seasons
- Water supply line, connection or shut-off leaking — Ranked here because: these cabinets end up in alcoves, cupboards and under desks with no clearance at all
- Drain pan cracked, dislodged or overflowing — Ranked here because: this is a wear part with a service life rather than a component that fails at random
- Cabinet tilted forward so the drain runs the wrong way — Ranked here because: levelling is upstream of the door, the drain and the vibration path all at once
- Defrost drain tube blocked or frozen — Ranked here because: the single short drain tube behind the rear liner is the only water path in the cabinet
- Frost melting from a manual-defrost cold plate — Ranked here because: frost management on this kind of cabinet is partly an owner responsibility rather than wholly automatic
What to check, and in what order
- Put a level on the cabinet front to back and set it slightly higher at the front
- Dry the floor completely, then look at where the water reappears — front, back or inside
- Take out the bottom drawers and look under them for standing water or a sheet of ice
Steps you can safely do yourself
- Take out the bottom drawers and look under them for standing water or a sheet of ice — Tools: none — Estimated time: a few minutes
- If there is a water connection, close the shut-off valve and watch the floor for a day — Tools: none — Estimated time: a full day
- Find the drain outlet in the trough at the bottom of the evaporator area and flush it with warm water from a turkey baster — Tools: turkey baster, warm water — Estimated time: about twenty minutes
- Unplug the cabinet, pull it out and look at the drain pan under the compressor — Tools: flashlight — Estimated time: about ten minutes
Safety
Safety
unplug-before-service branch-circuit-15-20a
When to call a technician
the leak is at a pressurised supply fitting, because a weeping fitting becomes a burst one the drain will not clear from the inside and the evaporator panel has to come off the drain pan is cracked or the leak is somewhere in the sealed area
Nearest pages
What this page does not cover
Not this fault: the family pages for the cube and two-door compact lines Not this fault: model-specific pages once a model number is known
Links: - [Common Continental Electric Refrigerator Problems](/blog/continental-electric-refrigerator-problems) - [GE Refrigerator: Ice Maker Fault](/blog/ge-refrigerator-ice-production) - [GE Refrigerator: Controls, Display or Error Code](/blog/ge-refrigerator-control-fault) - [Continental Electric Refrigerator: Abnormal Noise or Vibration](/blog/continental-electric-refrigerator-abnormal-noise)
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
