Ice makers
Ice Maker Overfilling or Dripping
Water in the bin, under the machine, or on the floor in front of the cabinet.
Viking Repair Service Los Angeleson site 8am to 8pm, every day of the weekcalls picked up 24/7
| What you see | Likely cause | Safe check | When to call |
|---|---|---|---|
| A slab of ice in the bin instead of loose cubes | The inlet is still passing water after the fill should have stopped | Look at the bin before anything else, and note whether the surplus is wet or frozen | This week, before the bin sets solid |
| Ice welded to the back of the tray, growing daily | A fill that overshoots, so the surplus freezes where it lands | Clear the tray once and see how quickly it builds again | As soon as it comes back |
| Water on the floor or in the cupboard below | A supply line split, loose at a fitting, or a drain that has backed up | Dry everything, lay paper down, and see where it wets first | Today. Water and joinery do not mix |
| Damp only in the hour after the machine has run | Melt water leaving by the wrong route rather than a supply fault | Watch the underside during and just after a drop | This week |
The table above sorts the water by where it shows itself, because that is what separates a valve from a split line. Row one is the common finding. If water is reaching the cupboard below or the floor, stop at row three and call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 today.
Too much water, or water in the wrong place
Rows one and two are one fault caught at two stages. The machine is meant to take a measured amount and then shut it off; when the shutting-off goes wrong, the surplus has nowhere to go but the tray and the bin, where it sets into something that must be broken out rather than scooped. That is not urgent on the first morning. It becomes urgent once the frozen surplus starts holding the mechanism itself.
Following the water to its source
Row three decides how quickly anybody should come. Water on a cupboard base or under flooring is a supply problem rather than an ice problem, and a supply runs at pressure whether the machine is working or not. Closing the wall valve costs nothing and buys the time. Row four is gentler: melt water leaving by a new route, which is drain work and rarely dear.
Normal, not normal, and the line between them
-
Normal
Frost on the tray and a little melt in the bin during a hot spell.
Not normal
Cubes bound into one mass you have to break with both hands.
Time to call
Once you have broken it apart twice.
-
Normal
A brief hiss of filling, then nothing.
Not normal
Water audible long after the fill should have finished.
Time to call
Today, before the surplus sets.
-
Normal
A dry floor under and in front of the cabinet.
Not normal
Any damp on the cupboard base, the toe kick or the flooring.
Time to call
Today, with the supply turned off at the wall.
An ice maker is meant to be wet inside and dry absolutely everywhere else. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and describe the row you are on — that sentence is worth more than a guess at the part.
Safe checks before the visit
-
Turn the water off at the wall valve or the shut-off in the cupboard nearby, and leave it off. Nothing inside the cabinet needs opening to do that, and it stops the leak while you wait.
-
Empty the bin and break out whatever has frozen into it, using a plastic scraper and warm water rather than anything sharp. Note how long the mass takes to come back.
-
Lay kitchen paper flat under the cabinet and in front of it overnight. Where it wets first tells a technician more than a photograph of the puddle ever does.
-
Stop there. Nothing further is an owner job on a built-in: the sealed circuit, the wiring behind the grille and anything that needs a panel off belong to the visit. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 and say which of the checks above changed anything.
Asked about this one
- Can I keep using the refrigerator with the water turned off?
- Yes. Closing the supply stops the leak and leaves the cold side running as usual, so the food is safe while you wait. You lose ice and chilled water until the fault is put right. Say on the phone that the supply is already off; it changes what the visit begins with.
- Written by
- Ambrose Fitzwilliam
- Role
- Service technician — refrigeration and sealed systems
- In the trade
- 25 years in the trade