The short answer
The order that matters here is a unit that defrosts by hand first, a blocked defrost drain next and the internal channel and the evaporator area last. On a compact import-channel unit the surroundings come first. There is very little mass and very little margin in these machines, so where one stands changes how it behaves. That ranking is the value of this page: the cheap causes are the common ones on Nova refrigerators, and the costly one is what people reach for first.
What you observe
- Water only after a hot day or a big shop — More defrost water than usual, which overwhelms a drain that is already partly restricted.
- Water at the back, near the supply line — A plumbing connection, which leaks whether or not the unit is running.
- A pool on the floor at the front — Water that has run forward along the cabinet floor, or a drain pan that has overflowed underneath.
- NEAR MISS — the floor is wet and the cabinet is warm — Read the cooling page first. A unit that has stopped cooling sheds its ice as water, and that is not a leak.
Causes, most likely first on Nova
- A unit that defrosts by hand — On a unit like this the leak is often the appliance working as designed and being left too long between defrosts. The drain, if there is one, is a small hole that blocks in one season. First, and the rest of the order follows from it: on a hand-defrosted unit this leads because the ice has nowhere to go until it is cleared by hand.
- A blocked defrost drain — Every frost-free unit melts frost off its evaporator on a schedule and sends the water down a small drain to a pan underneath. Second here, and on most machines it would be at the top: it is first because it accounts for most refrigerator leaks and because the water appears in batches, which nothing else does.
- Doors and seals letting humid air in — This is water that was never in a pipe. Third on this brand: this belongs above the mechanical causes because it costs nothing to test and it explains the cases where nothing is actually leaking.
- The internal channel and the evaporator area — Behind the freezer panel, melt water runs along a moulded channel to reach the drain. Bottom of the list, deliberately: it belongs at the bottom because everything above is checked with the cabinet intact and this one is not.
Check in this order, and why
- First: Defrost it completely by hand — Empty it, leave it off with the door open until all the ice has gone, and dry it out before restarting. It is first because it is the cheapest of the three to settle.
- Second: Look for water under the crisper drawers — Lift the drawers out and look at the floor of the cabinet, then at the drain hole at the back.
- Third: Do the paper test on each door — Close a sheet of paper in the door and pull. It should drag everywhere round the seal.
What an owner can safely check
- Defrost the unit fully and clear its drain hole — Switch it off, empty it, let the ice melt into towels, and clear the small drain hole at the back.
Tools: towelsAbout 60 min
- Clear the defrost drain from inside — Empty and remove the drawers, find the drain opening at the back of the cabinet floor, and flush it with warm water.
Tools: jug of warm water, towelsAbout 35 min
- STOP HERE if the next step needs a meter on live terminals — That is the line between an owner check and a service call, and it is not worth crossing.
Before you open anything
Safety
Unplug the appliance or switch off its breaker before removing any panel, and treat every capacitor as still charged: a capacitor can hold a charge after the power is off. Secure or remove the doors before moving a unit, get help with the lift, and never lay a refrigerator on its back. Do not put a heat gun anywhere near a cabinet full of plastic.
When to call a technician
The owner side here is the drain, the seals, the levelling and a look underneath. Past that the panels come off.
Nearest pages of this class
What this page does not cover
This is generalized information for Nova refrigerators as a class, not for one family or one model. No family- or model-specific page for this brand and appliance is published here yet, so nothing narrower is linked; when one is, it becomes the more specific answer and this page will point to it. Not here: wiring colours, torque figures, part numbers and panel-removal sequences, all of which differ by family.
Lead Appliance Repair Technician · 12 years experience
Experienced technician with 12 years specializing in washing machine and dryer repairs across all major brands.
