Frost, ice and water
Water Under the Crisper Drawers
Water pooling under the produce drawers, wiped up and back within days.
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 shallow pool under the drawers, returning every few days | The fresh-food drain is blocked, so water backs up into the well below it | Dry the well and see how long the cabinet stays dry | As soon as it fills again |
| Water under the drawers and damp at the rear wall | Condensation running down the back instead of leaving by the drain | Feel the rear wall for beads of water once the shelves are clear | This week |
| Damp produce, limp leaves and moisture on the drawer lids | Humidity settings or a cabinet packed so air cannot move over the drawers | Move the humidity sliders, thin the load, and give it two days | If two days of space change nothing |
The table above separates water that arrives from inside the cabinet from water the room put there. Row one is behind most of these, and it is the cheapest of the three to put right. Call Viking Repair Service Los Angeles at (213) 799-7879 if the pool returns after two dry days.
The drain does almost all of it
Row one is the answer the great majority of the time. A refrigerator section sheds moisture continually, and that water is collected and sent out of the cabinet through one small path. Food debris, a stray seed, a build of mineral from the air: any of it narrows the path, and water then sits in the well under the drawers because there is nowhere else for it to go. Clearing that path is a short job, and it is the first thing a technician goes to.
When the room is the cause
Rows two and three are what a humid West Hollywood kitchen can produce on its own. Warm air coming in every time the door opens leaves its moisture on the coldest surface it can find, which is the rear wall, and crowded drawers stop air passing over them so nothing dries. That is worth ruling out before anybody books a visit, because two days of thinning the load and moving the sliders settles a fair number of these without a repair at all.
Normal, not normal, and the line between them
-
Normal
A film of moisture on the drawer lids in a humid week.
Not normal
Standing water under the drawers that comes back after wiping.
Time to call
This week.
-
Normal
Beads on the rear wall after the door has been open a while.
Not normal
A wall running wet with the door shut all morning.
Time to call
This week.
-
Normal
Produce staying crisp with the sliders where they have always been.
Not normal
Vegetables going slimy in a drawer that never dries out.
Time to call
Once two days of thinning the load have not helped.
A cold cabinet always makes some water; what matters is whether it can get out again. 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
-
Lift the drawers out, dry the well underneath completely and note the date. How long the cabinet stays dry is what tells the technician whether the drain is partly or fully blocked.
-
Clear the shelf above the drawers and look at the rear wall. Beads that run down and collect below point at drainage rather than at the drawers themselves.
-
Move the humidity sliders and take out a third of what is in the drawers. Give that two days before deciding it made no difference.
-
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
- Is water under the crispers the same fault as water on the floor?
- Usually not. Water held inside the cabinet has backed up at the drain and is still where the machine put it, which is the smaller job. Water reaching the floor has left the cabinet altogether, and that means the pan, a supply line or the ice maker. Viking Repair Service Los Angeles treats the second as the urgent one.
- Written by
- Ambrose Fitzwilliam
- Role
- Service technician — refrigeration and sealed systems
- In the trade
- 25 years in the trade