Seeing water leak out from your LG refrigerator can be quite concerning. A leak is a clear sign of a problem. While it might be challenging to find the root cause at first, this guide will help resolve it quickly.
A leaking LG refrigerator likely has leaking food or drink containers inside, a problem with the water filter or a clogged defrost drain. Leaks can also happen at the fridge’s incoming water supply, particularly the water inlet valve or the hose and tap that connect to the appliance.
This guide will explore each of those likely causes to help you understand why it happens and what you can do to fix it.
A leak coming from your LG fridge is not necessarily a cause for alarm. Still, you should troubleshoot your fridge to find the source so that you can fix it as soon as possible.
Here are the most likely reasons you see your LG fridge leaking water.
Leaking Food Containers
About this part: When troubleshooting a leak from your LG refrigerator, you should start the process with possible causes you can rule out quickly.
In this case, you should first focus your attention on the contents of your fridge. A standard household fridge is full of food and drinks containers.
Most of them hold a significant amount of liquids, which means that they could be the source of the leak.
How it leaks: Food and drink containers can leak for many reasons.
For example, the containers might not have been sealed correctly or have cracks that let fluids through. The same can also happen if those containers fall over instead.
As fluids leak or spill over inside the fridge, they will likely find their way through openings in the door and leak out onto your kitchen floor.
How to fix it: You can solve this issue by inspecting your LG fridge compartment. Some fluids make tracing back to the damaged container easy, while others might take more time.
Water Filter Issues
About this part: LG fridge models with an incoming water supply will have a built-in water filter. The water filter removes dirt, debris, and other impurities from the water as it passes through.
After that, the water will flow towards LG fridge features like the water dispenser and ice maker.
How it leaks: The water filter in your LG refrigerator can leak at the filter head and filter housing.
The most likely reason for a water filter leak is an incorrect installation. That will cause water to leak from the filter head.
However, cracks in the water filter housing can also cause water to leak into the fridge compartment and later out onto your kitchen floor.
How to fix it: A water leak from the filter head is more likely if you recently replaced the filter. You’ll need to shut the water supply off and remove the filter so you can reinstall it correctly.
Be sure to follow all filter installation instructions correctly. Then, check for leaks when you turn the water supply back on.
If you find that the water filter housing is cracked or damaged in any way, you will need to replace it with a new one.
Read: LG Refrigerator Error Code DH F – Troubleshooting Guide
Defrost Drain
About this part: LG refrigerators go through an automatic defrosting cycle every 4-16 hours. During that time, the fridge will melt away any frost and send that water out through a defrost drain.
The volume of water that results from this process will depend on how much frost has built up inside the unit.
How it leaks: Unfortunately, the defrost drain in your LG refrigerator does not have a heating element inside of it. To make things worse, the water that enters the drain is still close to freezing temperatures.
Sometimes, that water forms frost around the defrost drain’s opening. Then, as the buildup worsens, water can’t flow through the drain. Instead, that water builds up inside your fridge compartment before leaking onto your kitchen floor.
How to fix it: As mentioned above, the defrost drain has no heating element. So, you’ll have to melt the clog of ice manually.
The best way to do that is by pouring hot water through the defrost drain to melt away any ice. You should not use a heat gun or hair dryer, as the focused heat blast could warp or melt the fridge’s plastic panels.
You’ll find the defrost drain towards the back of the refrigerator compartment at the bottom. Accessing it will require you to empty the compartment and remove the shelves inside.
Once the fridge compartment is empty, you can reach and clear the defrost drain quickly.
