The short answer
Leaks on the Costway EP refrigerator family sort themselves by position before anything else: under the crisper drawers, on the floor at the front, or on the floor at the back. Those three point at three different parts, and establishing which one you have takes a towel and one day.
What you see on the EP family
- Water pooling under the crisper drawers — The classic blocked defrost drain: meltwater that cannot reach the tray backs up into the bottom of the cabinet.
- A sheet of ice along the freezer floor — The same blocked drain seen one compartment up, where the water freezes before it can find its way down.
- Water on the floor at the back of the cabinet — The supply fitting, the inlet valve or a drip tray that has slipped its seat and is spilling instead of evaporating.
- Water on the floor at the front, with a dry cabinet — Usually the drain path overflowing forward, or a dispenser line where one is fitted.
Causes, most likely first on the EP family
- Blocked or frozen defrost drain — Ranked first on the EP family — water under the crisper drawers on the Costway EP refrigerator family is this fault and it is reachable from inside the cabinet without tools. Every cycle produces meltwater that runs down a small drain to a tray under the cabinet. Food debris and ice plug that drain, and the water then finds the cabinet floor instead. It is the most common refrigerator leak there is.
- Supply fitting, inlet valve or the dispenser line — Second — it is the cause of most floor water on plumbed cabinets and it is visible once the unit is pulled out. Cabinets plumbed for ice or water carry a connection behind them, and compression fittings weep slowly rather than fail suddenly. The puddle grows between uses rather than during them.
- Drip tray displaced, cracked or overflowing — Third — free to check whenever the cabinet is pulled out, and often found alongside a dusty coil. The shallow tray under the cabinet catches drain water and lets it evaporate on the warm condenser. Slipped out of its seat it spills, and cracked it leaks continuously.
- Door seals, humidity and a door left ajar — Fourth — and the one to suspect when the water is beaded on surfaces rather than pooled in one place. Warm room air meeting cold surfaces condenses. A hardened gasket, a door held open by a tall bottle or a very humid room all produce water that looks like a leak but is made inside the cabinet from the air.
- Body: Across a roster this wide the shared parts decide the ranking and the cabinet decides the exceptions, so the top of this list is the failure common to every code in the table rather than the brand-wide average.
Check in this order, and why
- 1. Dry everything and note where the water comes back — Under the drawers, at the back, or at the front. This single observation removes most of the list.
- 2. Empty the bottom of the cabinet and find the drain opening — It is a small hole at the back of the compartment floor. Water standing near it is the diagnosis.
- 3. Pull the cabinet out and look at the tray and the fitting — A tray out of its seat and a weeping compression fitting are both obvious once you can see them.
- Body: Across a roster this wide the panel layout is shared but the cabinet is not, so the order below is by access on the chassis and the last step is the one that changes with the model code on your plate.
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. Never force a stiff wire down a defrost drain — the tubing is soft and a puncture leaks permanently. Close the water supply valve before disturbing any fitting, and mop the floor before working on it.
Models in the EP family
Reference| Model number | Family key |
|---|---|
| EP22672BK | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP22672GR | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP22672WH | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP22680BK | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP23342BK | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP23342WH | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP23795 | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP23796 | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP24877BK | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP24877MA | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP24877SL | costway:refrigerator:ep |
| EP24877WH | costway:refrigerator:ep |
When to call a technician
Call when the drain has been flushed, the tray is seated, the fitting is dry and water still appears — at that point the drain tube is blocked deeper than a flush reaches, or the inlet valve is weeping internally, and both mean panels off on these models. Call urgently if water is reaching a wood floor, because the damage clock runs faster than the repair does.
Other EP refrigerator pages
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
