Fix A Clogged Fridge Defrost Drain WITHOUT Opening Panels - How To
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- čas přidán 18. 04. 2019
- How To Unclog a Defrost Drain in a Freezer without opening any back panels, today on Lex’s Lounge. In this case we did this on a Frigidaire Gallery fridge, because on those particular fridges , even if you open the panel, reaching the drain is sometimes horrible. How hard it is varies by model.
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Holy cow, 350K views?! Top video on whole channel?! ...You guys REALLY need help with your fridges! Lol ...anyway, if you're new here Plz sub and look around...I actually have many far MORE useful videos than this simple fridge tip.
This is a lot more views now
YES...BECAUSE SAMSUNG DENIES THAT THEIR REFRIGERATOR HAS 2 HUGE DEFECTIVE ISSUES...
This will now be my first stop
So I did all this. Didn’t work. Do you have a video on how to remove the back panel and unclog it? We have that same fridge in white. And is the coil suppose to be glowing hot? Ours isn’t.
Subbed!
Thank you. I was about to call repair service AND to shop for a new frig when I found your video. I figured I had nothing to lose except a few minutes, so I boiled some water, got out the turkey baster and a knife, and after removing bottom ice and scraping ice away from bottom of the vent slots (this was iced over), I sent the boiling water down as directed. Much to my utter surprise and great delight, it worked! No ice collecting at bottom now, and it's over a week. Whirlpool says it needs a 'permanent fix’ of a new drain pipe, but for now, I'm happy and will deal with the permanent issue later if Needed. Thank you again.
This was SUCH a helpful video! We did NOT want to open the back of our fridge. Thanks to Lex, our drain is unclogged!! Pro tip: we also squirted some white vinegar in the drain as well, just to finish cleaning out the yecky stuff. Worked like a charm! Thank you again!!
I'd think twice before pouring vinegar solution down of any drain. It damages rubber and seals. You may want to boil some baking soda in water (or mix washing soda with hot water), and use that instead. It's an old way of unclogging all kinds of drains and it's very effective when used hot. I'd cool it before pouring into the toilet though, to avoid the thermal shock.
I just want to call out that I have fixed my refrigerator two times in the last 3-4 years using this method. I remember the first time I had this issue, I paid someone over $200 to fix it and now it takes me 30 minutes and I don't need to take anything apart. Thank you!
I never comment on youtube videos but i just wanted to say this helped me so much, I didnt have to remove any panels. I pumped hot water from the sink through a turkey baster, adjusted the piece over the hole so it wasnt covering it at all, and it fixed the issue. my fridge has been leaking/forming ice for over a year and I never figured it out. THANK YOU
Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!! I've been chipping ice out of the bottom of my side by side for 9 months or more. I bought me a turkey baster and followed your instructions. Well, mostly!!!! My turkey baster had an attachable injection syringe which I used to squirt the hot water down into the hole after I melted the ice in the tray above it. It took a little time to get 9 months worth of ice melted but...I kept at it and EUREKA!!! no more peeing fridge! Thanks so much. All of the other videos showed taking apart the whole freezer. This was the only one that didn't. I really wasn't up for tearing apart the fridge. So, Thank you Lex for posting this video.
I had to come back and say thank you! I did this on April 6th. I'm still amazed this was such an easy fix for what I thought was possibly something major. Plus, I thought I would have to take all of my food out but instead I watched your video, I looked up about my drain pan(I had no idea where it was or if I had one) but I do and I could kinda see it underneath so then I proceeded to remove food from the bottom only yay and saw I had a ziploc bag stuck to ice covering the drain hole! I poured the hot water repeatedly, then I could hear like a gulp of air and the water running to the drain pan! yay Thank you so much! I liked and subscribed too.
Credit where credit is due. This worked for me. No leaking and no ice build up on the bottom of the freezer. This is so easy that I don’t even mind if becomes a periodic fix. Thanks!
I have a Frigidaire. I firstly use this method, but it did not work, and continue to leak. Then, I open the panel a little bit, and found out that there is a layer of ice of half inch thick. I used a metal skewer to dig out inside the panel until I can see the drain hole. I pull hot water in, but it seems like the drain hole is still blocked. I used the same metal skewer to dig inside the drain hole, and get some ice out. After some iterations of digging and pulling hot water, it finally works. Thank you for the tips. My recommendation is to clear the start the process of pulling hot water at least you can see the drain hole (without being block by inches of ice), otherwise, the hot water won't be able to melt such big piece of ice.
Hey same issue! Thick layer of ice, you broke that first ?
Thank you so much!!!
When I saw your video, at first I couldn’t believe that it might work, so I tried to follow the instructions on someone else’s video and opened the back panel of my fridge, but unlike their fridge, mine doesn’t have an access to the tube from the back of the fridge, being too scared to open the panel that’s inside the fridge, I finally decided to follow your recommendation, and wow! I see water finally dripping from the tube in the drain pan under the fridge, and 12 hours have passed and I haven’t seen any leaks any more.
Thank you so much. ( I used a plastic syringe to push the hot water in)
I am going to add another "Thank You!" I started on the inside and took off one shelf bracket and the back lower interior panel. I saw the condensation drain and then found your video. Because I had the panel off, I could dump hot water down. But the turkey baster (and having the panel off) actually allowed me to pressure the line a little to clear it out so that it drained.
On a side note, I concurrently have a rust stain on the back of the freezer that I thought might be the issue and I was running down a rabbit hole of manufacturer defect chasing remedies, spray foam insulation, cutting metal access panels, etc.... Turns out, just a clogged drain line... Thanks again!
Thanks Lex! You solved an issue on my friend's freezer with a simple solution! Keeps the fixes coming!
Okay, this worked perfectly to fix a problem I have been having for probably over a year now. This video helped me find the drain hole, and the pan under the fridge (which I was always wondering where it was). Turns out... The drain hole was completely covered with a layer of ice, and then was also plugged with ice too. I didn't have a turkey baster but I had a condiment squeeze bottle with a pointy tip that I was able to use instead and it worked great. Thanks for the video! I was so sick and tired of having to chip out ice from the bottom of my freezer!
I don't have a turkey baster either, so I'm going to try a haircolor bottle!
@@amitylayne5585 that will work as well, i used a meat injector syringe.
For those with a Maytag french drawer freezer it may be worth the extra effort to pull panels off so you can check for excessive ice buildup in addition to the drain problem. I had a huge chunk of ice in the upper right hand corner I had to thaw out and I put in some extra effort to do some cleanup maintenance while I had things pulled apart.
Worked for me! I have a french door GE with freezer at bottom. Been getting ice under bottom tray for a while. Defrosted vents, but could’nt get bolts off to take panels off. Saw your video, got a bulb syringe and some hot water, and gave it a go. After the 3rd or 4th time, heard a loud suction sound and that was it. Put a few more cups of hot water and some baking soda down there. Took some of the water out of drip pan to make sure it did’nt overflow, and fingers crossed that problem is solved!
OMG! I don't know how you figured out this technique, but it worked like a charm on my top freezer! THANK YOU!
Thank you for the helpful vid! Will definitely try this out before anything else because my island is in front of my fridge so I’m very limited when it comes to space for moving and dismantling.
Thanks! This video helped me fix the frozen drain and more importantly saved out engineered flooring we installed in the kitchen! Pulled the back panel off at the bottom and vac'd out all the buildup as well.
Omg you saved my freezer. I used this method but added some vinegar in the boiling water and I wasn't sure if it was going to work cuz I still saw a bit of clogged water but I think over night that vinegar helped also released what ever was clogging the whole behind that wall. All done with out removing any panel's.... thank you so much. It's so hard to get appliances with the pandemic and I was not wanting to have to replace it. Thx again
That almost worked. We had to put baking soda and viniger to break the the clog free. More then you demonstrated but it got us pointed in the right direction. Thank you very much
This is great! Is this the same process for the refrigerator side? I'm having water pool at the bottom under the veggie bins.
thank you lex for the video! we had a lot of ice blocking the drain hole so we used A LOT of hot salt water to melt the ice over the drain hole. my future father in law is very happy man!
By a lot...how much and how long?
Great fix! It only took me about 20 minutes! Thanks so much! 👍
Lifesaver! Simple, common sense solution that worked!
thank you so much!! i was able to fix my fridge in no time at all :)
This worked great. Thank you so much! Saved me a bunch of money for repairs.
Great fix. Thanks. I didn’t have to empty the entire freezer to
get at back panel. ..... I gave the drain a shot of Clorox too.
"And if that doesn't work, well then, you're screwed." LOL!
Not really unplug frig 48 hrs it’ll fix 👍🏽👍🏽
@@simono.1970yeah and lose all your food . 😃👍
Great Lex you saved the day..worked as shown
Thanks, I have the exact same refrigerator, same problem.
Lex world I have been watching u for my meds lol ur a man of many hats. But always good advice ty
Might be a good idea to add some baking soda to the water You're boiling (it will convert it to sodium carbonate aka soda ash solution), since it softens the water and comes highly recommended for removing clogs from all kinds of drain pipes (shower, sink, etc.; for the toilet I let the solution to cool), it's safe for seals and rubber too. Thawing of the fridge beforehand might be helpful, if not crucial, for some fridges I guess. Never tried that myself though, just an advice I've heard.
Anyway I'm having the same issue as You do with my old European style of a fridge, made by LG, where freezer is in the bottom compartment and the refrigerator is in the top. The only drain hole I can find is at the bottom of an upper (fridge) compartment, covered with a white plastic grill, similar to yours. I need to find a way of removing this grill in order to be sure my water-soda solution goes where it should.
great tip will try that first. Tks
Dude, thanks so much for the pro tip. The hot water baster along with a small gauge pipe cleaning wire did the trick!
Thank You for making my life easier. This simple little tip worked out very well for me. One more time THANK YOU..........
Thank you so much for your fridge fix.
I could see through that grill that i had 2-3" high ice, so i took the four screws off that hold that panel on, then slid it up about a foot* (it flexes)
Then i used lots of hot water and used the baster directly on the drain hole for the hose till it flowed through. :)
But YOUR video showed me the problem and how to fix it. Thumbs up!
Using boiled water worked perfectly. Thank you so much:) Blessing to you!
Almost worked just like you said we have been having problems for like 2 years.....boiling water didnt work but a air compressor did and cleaned out the drain hose.......GREAT VIDEO THANKS FOR THE INFO......
Helpful vid. My fridge repair guy suggested I do this but didn't give me the specifics of how. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this video. I was able to fix my defrost drain and my problem because you had this great video on here.
Thank you
Thank you! You are amazing!
Worked like a charm! Thank you!
So simple and helpful. Thank you.
Awesome tip. Thanks for posting.
Thank you. It worked perfectly!
This was really helpful, worked like a charm
Thank you very much for the hot water solution. Best advice ever for this problem.
Your video helped guide me to the easiest solution. I had an iced up drain pipe and used the boiling water and turkey baster after pulling off the panel and ice maker and I got drainage!
Thanks! This method worked like a charm with some modifications
Thank you I appreciate the videos.
Going to try this on my fridgidaire gallery. Did not know they had a drain pan, what happens to the water if it works normally? Does it evaporate?
I use it it works! Thank you smart idea!
Very simple!! Thanks
Thanks Turkey Baster man, did the job for me in one go , fab job, eternally grateful to you !!!!
I tried the hot water but it was still clogged. I got a metal shears and cut an opening at the drain area. I jiggled a long piece of plastic tubing back and forth thru the drain line and it started draining. Thanks for your good help.
same message as James...i have the same fridge with the same problem...gonna try your solution shortly...thx....
used the turkey baster method, and WALAH....water came through the drain hose...THX AGAIN
Thank you for this video. I’m having a hard time finding the answer to my question. My freezer seems to have this noise that when I find out it’s origin, there’s like a puff of missed that gets spit out. It seems to be louder than I’ve heard it in the past so I didn’t know if I should be concerned. I’m thinking it’s justThe part of it that keeps it defrosted, but I’m not sure. Can you give me any information please?
This works great!!!! Didn't have to tear anything apart either!!
Dude, you just saved me a pile of grief - thank you!
Thank you.
I took the additional step of removing the rear panel from the INSIDE of the freezer. Then I used an outdoor flexible, gas grill snake to snake the tube to clear it.
Then I ran hot water down and everything worked good .
Thanks for the info, this helped solve our problem today.
Thanks! Easy fix before checking out my water filter housing!
My friend, you just saved me 2500 dollars. You're amazing, thankyou so much!
Thank you 🙏 for the info. Enjoyed the video.
I have a Frigidaire Gallery Model # FGHS2631PF2 and this worked great for me!! Thanks so much for posting your video!!
Is that paper and envelope looking stuff taped to the condenser coil? If so that seems like it will cause more energy use or not allow you fridge/freezer to get cold.
Thank you. My drain hole was frozen to to on/ off power outages. Used boiling water and thawed it out. It’s draining now. 👍🏻
It worked! Thank you
Thank you its happening right now to me
Thank you so much!!!
Thanks, it really worked!
Thanks
Brilliant!!
Thanks!! Followed this video and it worked!! Yay!!
Thanks, It worked like a charm.
Can't believe but that actually worked for me within seconds of pouring the hot water in. Thanks
Do you have to unplug it?
Worked awesome thank you! Some little chunks of ice got down there and clogged it up.
Worked! Thank you!! 🙌🏽🙌🏽
Nice job. I will be doing that this week.
Just did mine today. I used an ice pick to break up about a 1/4 inch of ice in the top aluminum pan. Then melted it all with the hot water as soon as the drain hole melted. The drain hole is about 1/2" in diameter, and it's right in the middle of the aluminum catch pan where you put the hot water.
If hot water does not do the trick, try using an air compressor connected to the bottom drip tube to see if you can get air flowing up through the drain in the freezer. We just did it this morning after having issues for several months. Ours is a top freezer. After a few short moments running the air compressor, the freezer drain started to bubble and some water and ice shot out. Then the air started flowed freely up through the drain hole. We kept the air going a few minutes and immediately tried flushing water down the freezer drain and whoosh, the water went right down. And I flushed a LOT down to be sure. We used a bucket and noticed that several tiny pieces of styrofoam came out with the water. That had to be what was clogging the drip tube!
Yes this worked for me, hot water alone didn't do it. Hairdryer thru the vent & comressed air up the defrost tray drip tube:
On a Kenmore bottom freezer style:
Remove only the lower back panel, identify the drip pan (not at 1st obvious) is it wet? That's the best clue. Identify the downtube or angled trough, look for a rubber nipple above the trough, clean it, and the tube coming to it. If necessary compressed air to blow the ice up. Melt with the hairdryer and Vòila, water runs into the tray below.
I had to use air compressor as well.
1 month later, still clear of ice buildup & water on the floor. 👍🏻Wish I'd found this uTube video a year ago! I almost bought a new fridge! 🤦
Thanks so much! It worked 🙌🏽
You are my hero! Thank you!
THANK YOU!!! 🙏 Single mom here...money is tight and worried what I would do... THIS WORKED!!
thank you so much i really did not have money to buy a new fridge right now
Yup, that was it.
Of course my turkey baster couldn't get enough water through the vent. I had to take off a panel inside the freezer to get to the drip tray that had a huge block of ice in it. There was also some ice above the fan that came loose. Every situation is a little different I guess.
Thank you much!
It worked for me. Thx a bunch!
i wish I would've found this video before replacing my icemaker and fill valve and it still not working. I then did your trick, but with hot isopropyl alcohol, and it worked flawlessly. Had I seen your video ahead of time, it wouldve saved me $75 for a new icemaker and valve!
THANK YOU!!!! I was pre-paired to take the whole damn back apart, I tried your method and it worked! 😁😁😁😁
Thank You Very Very Very Much , Great video
Seems to have worked , hope the defrost motor did not burn out first. Too bad all the food in my freezer seems to have defrosted before I found your page. Cooking up all the steaks, etc.. and frozen foods before they go bad from refreezing.
did you hear sounds after draining?
Thanks! Wish me luck!!!
Just did it and it worked! Hot water alone didn’t do it, so I added vinegar and baking soda. Also had a mini drain snake, pushed it down several times. Checked the hose down at the pan again and it was dripping! Happy! Thanks!
Thank you the vinegar and baking soda I heard a big flesh and then there was finally water.
How much vinegar and baking soda did you add?
@@caripokrassa5027 I didn’t measure, enough as needed I guess. It was 2 years ago I barely remember doing it! 😅
Thanks for video... Your method worked....
This was fine little video I needed I hope to fix customers freezer drain
I like your idea, best one yet. I use hot water from the coffee maker
Thanks man
Thanks it worked