French door refrigerator in humid place = water on floor (mullion, pools, heater)
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I don't know where else to post home appliance questions....
We live in a humid place and we have a french door style refrigerator with the freezer on the bottom. The air is so humid where we live (Maui) that it condenses in the gap between the two doors, drips down, and pools up on the top of the freezer door. It then flows towards the seal to the freezer and I can see is degrading the seal. When we open the freezer the water gets in there and of course turns to ice.
Other than dehumidifying the house, or perhaps trying a different brand refer, I am not sure what to do. I don't want to just start buying refers, hoping one won't do this, unless someone knows for sure that a particular brand works really well in a humid place. Ours is a Kitchen Aid.
What's the humidity average there? I'm asking because we live in very humid east Texas and we have a french door fridge. We were getting some leakage but it turned out that some sort of drain or plug thingie in the freezer section was stopped up with ice (don't ask me for any more details than that because I can't explain it!). The repairman who came out said this was a common issue with KitchenAid and Whirlpool french fridges (ours is Whirlpool). He replaced this plug and that was two years ago and we've had no issues since. He said it was a design flaw that was in place for several years but it was a very easy fix. The total cost to fix it was under $100 including the time and labor. He said it's such a common issue that he carries the replacement plugs around in his truck.
I've fixed two french door refrigerators that leaked and in both cases it was a problem with the drain in the freezer. Pretty easy fix and Utube instructions on the web.
Humidity isn't your problem- you have ill-fitted doors and they are not sealing properly. They could be damaged- but I doubt it.
9 outta 10 times its a combination of poorly adjusted doors, and/or level adjusters. Fridges have quite abit of flex to them- so if the box is out of square, seals maynot have full contact.
Thanks for the replies. I will check out the door seals for tightness.
To the posters who suggested the freezer defroster drain - this has nothing to do with the freezer. This is condensation forming on the outside of the refer, above the freezer and dripping down the doors next to where they seal to the refrigerator compartment. I had to replace a defective defroster drain hose a while back, but that was a different problem.
Could be the door seals as stated above or a strip (mullion) heater designed to prevent the sweating between the doors. Could be an insulation problem too.
OP - do you not use a/c in your house? How old is the unit? Is it still under warranty? My sister bought one of those refrigerators recently. She had to return the first two because the freezer wasn't getting as cold as it was supposed to. She never said anything about water leaking on the floor, however, she keeps her house at 76 degrees.
Could be the door seals as stated above or a strip (mullion) heater designed to prevent the sweating between the doors. Could be an insulation problem too.
Yep. The mullion heater is an absolute requirement in humid climates. Without it the mullion condenses out the water in the air (sweats) and you either get water as described or mold. Mine stays on all summer long.
Look for a switch that is labeled "door heater" or some such, flip it on, and the moisture goes away.
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