Resolved my Coldspot 106 wet shelf problem following your excellent directions. The main ingredient for this repair is patience. Start to finish it took about an hour. Using a hair dryer I melted the ice plug in the drain down about 3/4 of an inch. When progress slowed I stopped using the hair dryer and started adding very warm (not hot) water then dipping water out with a soda straw after it chilled. This was repeated many times. The plug melted away just as Alberto said it would. An unexpected bonus is a much more efficient refrigerator. Many thanks Alberto for your public service video.
Super helpful -- really appreciate the time you took to put this together for us! Your approach worked like a charm! One thing --at --0:55-- -- instead of pulling that back panel down toward the opening of the enclosure, and causing the green ground wire to be disconnected, you can angle that same back panel sideways to stand up against the left wall of the freezer enclosure. That way the green wire stays connected. I only tried this because your excellent video showed how that was connected, so I thought of it while doing the project.
Just did my top freezer Whirlpool. Looks exactly the same. Thawed out and installed a bare copper wire looped on the heating element into the drain. Waiting for the results. Used a hairdryer.
I have a 105 model and had the same issue. This video showed me exactly where to find the drain hole. It was still plugged after thawing out, I tried using a coat hanger and some stiff wire but had to take off the back panel. I then pushed the wire down the drain and it finally opened up. I took some bleach and used an ear rinsing suction bulb to pour some bleach down the tube for any mold or fungus buildup. Used a hair dryer to dry all remaining water in the freezer before plugging in. Thanks for the tips.
Very helpful. I would recommend taking the bottom freezer panel off as well. It is just a plastic panel making up the floor of the freezer and is held down by two screws near the door. I had a large sheet of ice under it that had built up over time as the water overflowed over the lip of the evaporator pan and filled the space between that bottom plastic panel and the metal bottom of the freezer. The panel can be removed without removing either the back panel or ice maker. Depending upon the model you can actually see drain hole once it is removed. I had to let my fridge defrost for a day because that hole was completely frozen solid. Then I had to use my air compressor and wet vac to clear the hole from top and bottom. Small pieces of the styrofoam insulation had been carried into the hole and form little dams for the water to freeze until it fill the tube by what I expect was several inches.
Do you think it's easier than removing the ice-maker and back panel? I don't find those steps particularly hard, but if an easier way is possible, I'm all for it. I'll have to try that next time.
@@bird2002 It is definitely easier. And you can do it first. But I ended up taking the ice maker and back panel out as well. And I'm glad I did because it allowed me to remove the remaining styrofoam which was falling into the hole. I would try removing the bottom panel first and seeing if you can access the hole. I could. And if I had to repeat the process I will probably only take out the bottom panel. I have a small wet-dry vac called a Shop-Vac Hang-On 1.5 Gal because it is designed to be mounted on the wall. I bought a set of tools (Shop-vac Micro Cleaning Kit) for it that could be used to clean small items like vents in your car or a computer keyboard. Those tools came with a 30 degree bent tube that fit perfectly into the hole. So I was able to pour boiling water into the hole then suck out the luke warm water after a minute or two and repeat several times. This vac also allows you to blow by reversing the hose so you could actually blow down though that hole from the top. The vac speeds up the process immensely. To get the water into the hole I just used a large kitchen funnel. But one designed for Transmission fluid would probably be best.
This refrigerator model (Kenmore Coldspot 106.++) does not have a separate panel at the bottom of the freezer compartment. The entire interior of the freezer compartment is molded in one piece, including the back of the compartment. To remove it, it would be necessary to undo the cooling coils, and thus lose the refrigerant gas.
@@claudepage6214 Are you saying the fridge he is working on is a different model or there are variations among the same models? My Kenmore Coldspot 106 has a separate floor panel in the freezer as well as one covering the coils just like in the video.
@@robertanderson6929 I have a Kenmore Coldspot 106 (year 2006), which is in every way similar to the one in the video. If you watch the video carefully, you won't see any distinct floor panels, the only removable panel is the one at the back, the same one he removes towards the begining of the video. Depending on the year of manufacture, the same model may have evolved, it's like cars.
You should consider becoming an amz affiliate and list the steamer in your comments so we can click on it to see what kind you recommend. Ppl make additional money that way off of purchases others make based on those links. Anyway, just a suggestion. Thanks for posting this.
I want to say thank you very much for the video. I was having the exact same issue as you on the same model Kenmore. I went with the hair dryer option since I don't have steamer. Thank you again.
Me Too! Had the exact same fridge. Just put the back freezer cover on and hope that works. Also did the hair dryer and boiling water. Was all frozen solid.
I just saw a video with something very interesting. The repairman placed a copper wire shaped like a candy cane, with the hookpart over the element and the straight end down inside the very small hole where the drain pan runs across. The element will heat up the copper and keep the water from freezing.
THANK YOU! I love my steam cleaner so much so I was excited to see it could do that! It was really quick. I went ahead and used it to clean the fridge before I put everything back together. Extremely helpful video.
Thank you Alberto. Have the exact same model as in your video. Just put it all back together and hope it works. It was driving my wife crazy constantly clearing ice from the dripping water from the freezer to the fridge. Yes! it was totally blocked with ice.
No one on here has mentioned that there is a missing drain clip that needs replaced. This video is just a temporary fix. Replace the drain clip that rusted away and the repair will actually last.
Thanks for the information. You are absolutely right about the steam cleaner. But unfortunately I don't have one, so I had to use a hair dryer to speed up the thawing of this drain.
Thank you for this! We’ve had this problem for months and your video was spot on for us and our fridge is great now…thank you again!!! This was Awesome!!!
Thank you. Exact same problem. The the various vents into the fridge area froze over and the fridge was at 60 degrees until I got everything thawed out.
Exactly like my refrigerator and my issues that I just repaired. I put ammonia dwn the drain with hot water in turkey basin. My drain tray was dry but after sticking a thin wire down the spout to unclog. It's draining now.
Yo!! super helpful! Hopefully this does the trick, our kenny was bunkered down with ice. Thanks for making this video my friend! That's good karma for you!
Alberto awesome video! My issue is that i unplugged the fridge and took out all the built up ice inside the bottom of drain of the freezer with a blow dryer. Then i placed boiling water inside the rubber drain and the water just lays there and doesnt move even when i inserted a straw. Any advice Alberto is deeply appreciated!
We are trying to send a man to Mars but we can't make refrigerators that don't clog. Sheesh. I think something happened because I never had a fridge leak until eight years ago when I bought a new one.
I have the same issue.. decided to allow the frig to defrost overnight.. also how do you clean out the drain pan at the bottom of the frig? I have a big bubble of water that is bouncing on the bottom inside below the storage compartments.. Thank you!
Amazing to come across this video man thank you! Question, what brand is the jet steamer you have? Looking to buy a good reliable one!!! Thank you again🙏🏽
I have exact same fridge except black color. Question. Do I do need to remove the ice maker and back panel to do this or could i just try unplugging it to see if it's by drain hole plugging up with ice? I was going to unplug it and let it sit over night and see if it does the trick?
That’s definitely an option, it just takes forever. But it will definitely avoid you having to remove the ice maker and back panel. So yes, you can definitely use that easy approach and it should unplug your drain. I only removed mine so I could knock out the problem quickly and show the viewers at home the root cause. They are both good options, just have to choose which one is best for your situation.
I have done all this and second time I adapted a copper wire and spun it around the heater and put a stub down the drain hole well is frozen again. Guess I will look at drain and check for a hole .
You’re right, I’m only treating the symptom and not the root cause. I want to say it’s either a design flaw, or just the fact that this fridge is 20yrs old it no longer heats hot enough or fast enough to flush the water all the way before it starts re-freezing. As a result, as begins to form in the drain and it eventually plugs. There’s a video somewhere on RU-vid where a guy took a copper wire and attached it to the heating element and hung it into the drain hole. That way, when the heating element comes on, it heats up the copper wire down the drain and *should* clear any clogs. I’m tempted to try this myself. If you do it, let me know!
@@bird2002 I ended up doing a little more. Googling and came up with a piece of copper wire wrapped around the heater and inserted a couple inches in the drain tube seems to be working so far.
well, a wrench technically isn't required, but you will need a 6mm or 6.5mm socket to remove the back panel. I can't remember which size it is off the top of my head. You might ask a friend, relative, or neighbor to borrow their tool set to try it.
I forgot to mention, you might also try unplugging the fridge, open the doors, and leave it defrosting for 24-48 hours. That should give the drain plug enough time to thaw out. No tools required.
Yes it will, sadly. It definitely fixed the leaking inside my fridge, but the problem will return. If you know a way to keep it from coming back, please let all of us know. I think the whole community would benefit from a permanent solution.
@@bird2002 Hey thanks for this - just defrosted mine as well. Cheers from San Diego. If anyone comes up with a permanent fix, I'd love to hear it. Seems to be a design flaw with the drain being either too small or not sufficiently protected via the defroster to not freeze up.
@@bird2002 🚨THE PERMANENT FIX!!!🚨 "Install a Heat Probe" (To prevent the drain from getting clogged with ice, in the first place, causing the problem) "You need to install a, Thick heavy Gauge Copper wire🧷🛒📎🖇 or (A Wire clothes hanger) into the drain hole 9 or 12 inches. Then bend the wire into a Hook, and clip it directly Onto the "HEATING ELEMENT/The Dark tube running under the cooling finns" (3:35). :Explanation "When your refrigerator Cycles through the (AUTO DEFROST MODE) The Heating element will get hot, ♨️ And the residual heat will travel down the "Copper Drain Wire" and this keeps the drain hole just warm enough for all the water to completely exit the freezing section of the refrigerator into the warmer fridge section, thus preventing any buildup of ice to form."💎 Good Luck! "After I did this to mine, I haven't had to deal with a leaking refrigerator problem since."ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-3GUeFB8dh78.html
