Thank you SO much!!! FIXED! Yay!!! My awesome 18 yr GE fridge had the water line freeze for the first time today. I used my hair dryer with the nozzle attachment for only about 20 sec on the inside door compartment then right under the spigot in front, kept freezer door open for about five minutes, still didn’t work (no biggie since only a little effort and no avail wire), then gently used tip of a metal skewer stick about 1/8” into spigot and voila!!!! Teeny chunks of ice and water came out and she flows perfectly now! Thank you to all the very helpful comments too!! You saved me a repair call and a lot of stress during the pandemic, thank you! I’m soooo happy this is fixed! 🙌💦🙌
I tried a hair dryer thru the ice hole first for 2 minutes, but no help. I then used a standard funnel with an opening that fit over the water dispense tube. About 2 minutes and I had water running. Great help, very good explanation. Thanks
I was blown away, no pun intended, that this worked! I had my Home Service Plus come out and tell me my fridge couldn't be repaired. This took 30-seconds and worked perfectly. Thanks for posting this!
My girlfriend thinks I'm a genius now and all I had to do was watch your video. It took five or ten minutes with the hair dryer and some rolled by aluminum foil to stick through the spout but it worked like a charm. Thanks!
It worked! Heated it with a hairdryer and when it wasn't defrosted yet we took the weed eater cord and it was done! My husband thought I was a genius...but of course I gave you credit. :-) Thank you.
A hair dryer, a funnel, and some trimmer line worked perfectly! You saved me $944 + tax for a brand new GE door! Just the door!! That was GE's solution when I called to ask about a replacement part. They said the only way to fix that problem is to replace the door. Yeah right! You can buy a whole new refrigerator for $900! Thanks RU-vid!
@johnhummels9442 I've had two GE Fridges and they always have an issue with the water line freezing up. Also, anyone I know who has a GE Fridge has this same issue. I don't see why they don't find a permanent fix for this issue like insulating the line!
Weed trimmer went no more than an inch, but the suggested zip tie did it perfectly. Boom. Done. Thank you, Ben, and others who chimed in with tweaked versions. Nice cost-savings advice.
Just wanted to say THANK YOU for this video. Heating the line was a trick I'd seen before, but sticking a line of lawn trimmer up the tube was sheer brilliance! Thank you so much!
The weedeater line trick worked like a charm for me. I was defrosting the whole freezer when I found your tip and it was exactly what I was looking for to snake the line out.
Logged in just to Say THANK YOU!!! Had to heat the inside of the door and the front. Used a longer zip tie and about 5 minutes of heat to both sides and BAM.
This worked for me: 1) Fill a tall glass with hot water. Nuke it for extra heat 2) Place it on the dispenser tray 3) Cover the dispenser bay with foil. Hold in place with fridge magnets. 4) Set time for about 10 minutes. I don't have a hair dryer so I needed something else. Good luck.
I tried the blow drier from a farther distance for about a minute and water spurted out when it melted (even though it was locked). So relieved it worked, thank you for the video!!
Took me closer to 2 minutes of using the hair dryer but worked like a charm. Opening the door and blowing the air down the hole where the ice falls through worked the best. Thanks!
For six years, we had a plastic string in our GE refrigerator water dispenser. However, when we had to replace the freezer thermostat two days ago because of a defrost problem, the water started dispensing like new again. It has been two days since the replacement, and the water is still flowing well. I wanted to share this experience so that others can also consider this option for their refrigerator.
Kudos to you Ben! I never even bothered to deal with this for years until tonight after watching your video. Hair dryer with the can, down the chute and a little on the inside door and after about 5 minutes of rotating this, the weed eater line broke through! It was glorious! Of course, like most have stated, we had ice packs in the door compartments above the spout. Their just such a convenient size for that! So after years of my kids asking me why they can't get water from the door anymore, I can finally tell them to knock themselves out and drink all of the filtered water they can stomach.
Best explanation to which part of the line gets froze. The last few times I tried heating up both sides of the door around the water dispenser. It usually took me a good 10-15mins to work and couldn't tell what worked. Tried your approach and 30 secs later I have water flowing. You are the man. Thank God your gift.
Thanks for the tips. Mine froze up years ago and my appliance repairman put a "water line heater" on it and it worked perfectly for years. Still got plenty cold water, but it kept it from freezing. Then all of a sudden, last week, it froze up again. He came out and replaced it with another one and said to wait for 24 hrs, and I should have water. Well, that was 4 days ago. I knew I needed to defrost the line some how, but thought that little heater gadget would do it. I used the hairdryer and a funnel and also heat up the entire inside of the door and through the opening where the ice fails through. I had to do it several times, but I now have water! Thanks to all for the helpful suggestions.
Thank you - modified your idea & used plastic zip tie since it has a point & slightly firmer. Could only get zip tie in 2.5" & took 20 mins to fix. After reviewing a few videos, I used a few suggestions one after the other, over & over: 1)pushed zip tie in & out, 2)used hairdryer with zip tie in place, 3)removed zip tie & added 1/8" plastic tubing as far as it would go, then used a syringe of hot water .............. over & over again for 20 mins until water came out..... AMEN!
Great idea! Thank you! This fixed it in less than 5 minutes, rotating between hot air on the inside of the door as well as up the tube. Can’t believe I went a whole year thinking my dispenser was broken.
We have searched and searched to find the problem and after seeing your videos that was the issue with ours! Thank you thank you...I think GE should warranty that part and come insulate their defective item...
I used a small kitchen funnel to direct the hot air from the blow drier up the tube without over heating the surrounding plastic. I also did it in steps, then tested and poke with trimmer string, then blew in hot air. Took three tries. Great tip using the hair drier.
Hi...great idea, as I have also used this method several times until recently when I thought it was frozen again. Well, when removing dispenser front I learned that previous excessive heat with dryer warped the all plastic mechanisms causing water/ice activation lever to not be depressed so be careful with heat. Had to change entire housing and chute...thank goodness parts only about $40....good luck!
This has been a problem for years! I saw the idea for the Weed Trimmer cord but, I have a piece about 8" long. I simply insert it as far as I can and leave a piece about 2" hang out. When it freeze's I pull out the cord and it works. Replace the cord after you get the water and leave it in. Water will run around it when you use it and it will help prevent it from freezing. If it does, pull it out!
Thank you! The hair dryer worked with the weed eater line threaded through the dispenser on the outside of the dorm. I would say it took about 3 min with medium heat. We were careful not to melt the plastic opening. Awesome , savings
This worked for me too. I only did a little bit of trying to defrost the line with the hairdryer so that didn't help. However, after moving all the frozen food out into the refrigerator and turning down the freezer as low (warm) as possible, I opened the freezer door and in 15 minutes the water was working again.. I did have some weedeater cable on hand so I poked it with that which might have done the final loosening. I tried the weedeater cable after only a few minutes and no dice. This puppy was frozen tight! Saved me aggravation, several hundred dollars and a hard sell attempt from the repair guy for expensive warranty.
Had no working water on my exact same fridge and this had it shooting water out after a few tries. Thanks to you and your help, the internet has won again!
Worked for me too! With a few tweaks, I ended up leaving the freezer door open for 10 min and lowered freezer temp set from 6 to 3. Weed trimmer wire didn't work for me, I think mine had several inches of frozen line. Great money saver! Thanks a lot!!!
Thanks for posting this. I was going to call a service repair guy but I decided to check youtube and Bada bing there was your simple fix. I don't know how I made it this far in life without youtube.
G-d bless you, Ben!!! I almost spent $100 for a repair guy to come fix my frozen water line but found you instead! I wasn't sure how I was going to cut off the end of the can so I used a funnel I had instead. The small end of the funnel fit perfectly into the white tube that comes out of the water dispenser and the dryer was held at the other end and within seconds it was unfrozen and working again. This was the first time it has happened in the 13 years I have owned this frig but I will keep your wire idea in mind, as well. For me, it happened because the freezer door was accidentally left open causing frost in the freezer and evidently in the dispenser. Thanks so much again. You are a lifesaver!
Your advice saved me probably over $200.00!! Thank you. The hair dryer idea worked and my ice maker is now making ice like it used to. And, correctly said, you have to do it for over 2 minutes, actually I did it twice for about 3 minutes, stopped, came back did it again. The good news, is it worked. Thank you!!!
I just now combined all of your suggestions...and voila...almost 3 months and 3 Sears repair people later, we have water flowing! Thank you, Ben and everyone! I blew the hot air in intervals, following everyone's suggestions, through the nozzle (front of door), Top of the dispenser opening in the door, and along the back of the door. Wherever it was cold/cool, I aimed the blow dryer. I kept rotating until the back of the door was not cool at all to the touch, including the right side where it looks like the water tube may run. After about 15 minutes, I turned off the lock and at first water didn't flow. I fed ice through. Then I tried the water again. YAY!!! The last Sears guy said that lowering the thermostat on the freezer is not a good idea. He also said Sears would not consider replacing the door until we essentially time-lapse defrosting the freezer for 73 hours minimum, and that GE had the final say whether the door could be replaced at no charge. Note, we have a Sears maintenance contract. Oh, my! We will buy the insulation tape and be mindful of packing the door with frozen items. Thanks again.
Thanks for the weed eater line idea. I had accessed the line at the bottom of the door but wasn't sure where the freeze was. I was able to put the weed eater line up from the bottom until it was about six inches from the top. I was able to force it a little more through the ice. Then I was able to push the weed eater line from the top and finally through the ice. I had taken the control panel off to get access to outlet area. There was a lot of mold back in that area so I was glad I opened it up. Cleaned the area with Clorox and water then with Lysol spray.
Thanks for sharing this tip. I happened to have an extra long pipe cleaner that my wife uses for crafting. Ran it up the line and was able to push through the ice block in the line.
just came back to this video after about a year to let you know you're a fucking genius and i love you for the weed whacker line trick. that has saved us so many headaches. thank you again.
Hi Ben, It worked! I went a step further and used the attachment that came with my hair dryer that helps focus heat and directed the hot air to behind the white nozzle. I could see the bend in the nozzle if I sat down so that my eyes were below the dispenser level. Thanks for the great tip. It saved me at least a hundred dollars in service calls.
The weed whacker line is such an inexpensive simple hack but it works! My GE side by side water line continues to freeze up about once a week or so now but with the weed whacker line in there I just use needle nose pliers to pull the line out and it clears the ice. I dispense some water to make sure it’s flowing and then reinsert the line. It has worked every time. I bought the thinnest line and my water flow is fine around it. When this fridge goes I definitely won’t be buying another GE because they know there’s a defect with the door not having enough insulation but they didn’t stand behind their product.
Thanks Ben. Used your suggestions to blow warm air with hairdryer through funnel attached to pastic pipe that fit over refrigerator's water spout. Blew about 30 seconds and then water started flowing again. Also, your idea to leave a piece of weed eater line in the water line to quickly unstick a future frozen line is ingenious!
Brilliant. By the way, we fixed the freezing issue by knocking out a chunk of ice that was preventing the flapper from closing. You can tell if your flapper seal is bad if you can feel cold air under the dispenser when not using the ice dispenser.
Wow, this worked like a charm. Like one of the guys stated I didn't blow up the water output nozzle but used the hair dryer on the inside of the door for about 4 mins and viola...it works. Thank you so much for this info. Greatly appreciated and you have the exact same refrigerator that I do. I now have a piece of weed eater string in there and am going to put some plastic trash bags in that area to prevent this from happening again.
I also have a GE. I ended up taping (painter's tape) a heating pad to the inside of the freezer door, turning the temp to the warmest, closed the door, waited about 20 minutes, and ...it worked like a charm! I was actually sort of surprised.
@@zsuzsatoth23 The inside door right below the hole where the ice drops out. Actually, I have a pretty big heating pad, so I folded it in half and taped it that way. You may want to move any foodstuffs away from it. Good luck!
Thanks for all the tips. Water line stopped working midday yesterday and using your advice of the hair dryer we got it all sorted out. I was unable to root out the water line from the front of the door though so maybe it makes a tight blind turn about 2” in? Either way we had to pull the inner racks and then alternate applying heat to the inside and outside of the door for about 30 minutes before water started to flow. Also decided to go through everything in the freezer compartment while we were working on it so it was a win/win for us. Thanks again...now we know what to do if/when it happens again!!!
Thanks. I ended up using a funnel to blow up the water hose but that didn’t work. There was an opening where the light bulb would come on when dispensing water or ice. I ended up blowing a hair dryer up there for 20 seconds and tried the water and out shot a chunk of ice and water! Thank you
Thank you very much for this video. It helped me to defrost the water line on 15 years old GE refrigerator. This was the only problem we had so far with it. Thanks again!
Thanks, Ben! I was pretty sure it was the reservoir that was frozen since it was suggested in the manual trouble-shooting section (mine is model GE ESL22XGRBS). Decided to try your trick first, and it worked! I didn't do the aluminum can, just heated it w/ hairdryer carefully in front and also inside the door -- the area you insulated. After 2 months without water, it's nice to have it functioning again.
I have a Hotpoint which I believe is made by GE. Either way your method worked. It took a couple of minutes of 30 second heat from my hairdryer, and then I used a piece of picture wire to reach the frozen spot and dislodge it. Perfect! I have had this happen several times in the past two years. A repairman told me to empty it and turn it off over night. That was a pain. I found if I just turned it refrigerator off for a couple of hours that would work. It didn't the last time so I used your idea. Thanks.
Bless you for posting this video. Your idea about attaching a soda can to a dryer to “pinpoint” the hot-air stream is so simple but also brilliant. It took a couple of 25-second heatings of the water spout to unblock the frozen line, but your method worked perfectly. I forgot to “Lock” the dispenser, so the ice plug and water spurted out with some vigor, but fortunately I took away the dryer prior to pressing the water lever. I had to clean up a little water on the kitchen floor; however, that was a minor, “pleasant” task to have running water again. Thanks!! (Oh, I did install some styrofoam panels inside our 9-year-old GE Profile Frig and behind the water-dispenser area to reduce the likelihood of more freezes.)
Another free fix....leave your freezer door open I found this out because my kid never closes the door but then the water line defrosted on its own. I am not sure how long it needs to be left open. But it works. Mine is a GE water/ice dispenser. My friend was selling her fridge. she said the door dispenser stopped working . she was selling it and as she left the doors open to clean it out. the water dispenser started to work.
Thanks so much. I was getting ready to schedule a visit from the GE repairman. Such a simple fix and sure enough I had a few of those blue freezer packs in the door.
@@Donaldbuckjr Freezer packs freeze it up. Take those frozen things off the door shelves. But I have to say that after this happening so many times even when not putting frozen items on the door, I got a new refrigerator last year. Not a GE, but a Whirlpool and I picked out one specifically that did not have this freezing line problem.
I had the same problem with my GE side by side ---- BUT BEFORE you try and force air up the little tube ---- OPEN the freezer -- turn your hair dryer to medium heat and stick it in the large opening where the ice falls thru (inside the freezer door -- it fits perfectly) -- not only does it do the job of unfreezing the line in about 30 seconds --- but you can test it without worrying that you may get water in your hair dryer!! Also --- a side note -- it happens more often when you use the ice cube crusher function! Since I have been just dispensing the whole cubes --- I have not had a problem since --- Hope this helps! --
Ok, 2 months ago I unblocked the water dispenser. Hallelujah! Still works fine. I did insulate the inside of freezer door with some shipping pkg also. NO More Problems!!!😊
I had the the same problem, bought an item called thewaterwarmer uses the same technique with the hair dryer but apply and forget it. It will permanently FIX the problem.
Thank you for this. Tired of fixing it my leaving the door open for a couple hours and covering the freezer with garbage bags and masking tape 2-3x a year.
I did this after I thawed it out and it worked then I added the insulation. The method of thawing it out to get the water flowing and then get some styrofoam and HVAC silver tape works great. Cut out two pieces of styrofoam, one for the angled part and one for the vertical part on the back of the dispenser(inside freezer) tape it up and you are good to go. I did this method and it's 3 weeks and still working. Send me a message and I'll walk you thru it, have a photo as well
I have an older, 15 yrs, GEProfileArtica side by side that has had water dispenser freezing issues from almost day one. A design issue that apparently not been fixed. I have successfully thawed out the dispenser many times by using the hairdryer technique. The freezing was happening about a foot into the water hole but when thawed produced a weak stream. Today I looked at the video for the first time and am trying the weed whacker line inserted into the tube approach. Water is coming out very well and if it freezes up again, the line should free it up. Hopefully.Thanks for the video.
My water line started freezing every other day. I read a hack to line the inside of the freezer door with insulation. I bought one of those mylar type hot/cold bags from the dollar store, cut it open, and taped it to the inside of the freezer door. Its been over 3 months and water has not froze once.
Thank you! As simple as a hair dryer and weed eater line, who would of thunk it? One note, my tube must have been really frozen because it took about 5 minutes alternating between the line and the dryer to break through. In addition I wouldn't put the dryer on the highest or hottest setting to avoid melting anything other than the ice. Thanks again!
This technic started to melt the rubber and plastic nozzle. Found that using the hair dryer to the inside of the door for 10 minutes to be much less aggressive on parts.
I have the exact same refrigerator and this got the water dispenser working again. I think the wife's disappointed because she wanted a new refrigerator! 😂
The water line can be defrosted by leaving the night light on the door overnight every night to prevent future water lines freeze up. Just remember to turn off the light in the morning to save energy.
After replacing the water inlet valve ($38) and the water filter (~$12) and still no water, I removed the plastic cover piece at the very bottom of the front of the fridge to expose the water coupler that's right before the point where the water tubing goes into the freezer door. I then removed the tubes on both sides of the coupler and pressed the water dispenser door actuator piece and water flowed readily from the tube coming from the water inlet valve - so that was good at least...part of the system works. Then I tried blowing in the tube at the bottom of the fridge that goes to the freezer door and nothing - it must be frozen. I used some weed eater line to test this theory at the tube where the water dispenses - and yes it was frozen. The weed eater line went in 2-3 inches and then hit ice (or at least something hard). So, after looking at several of the comments, I started with the hair dryer at the water dispenser area - no luck. Then I used really hot water (about coffee hot) and shot it up in the tube slowly (the end of the tube where you get the water from) and after a couple of injections the frozen ice melted and the dispenser worked.
Glad you figured out a new fix that worked for you! If you keep having issues with it freezing, I recommend the added insulation I mention in other comments.
Thanks, worked! And both tips with the trimmer line and the one from cavdoggie worked well. Getting the heat to the backside made this go quickly. I used a heat gun and appreciate the warning not to melt the works though I realized the tube had to be fragile.
All of the above- hairdryer with can, other tips from comments (leaving door open for 45 min and insulated wire up the nozzle) -worked! And the stream comes out stronger 💪 thanks for the video and helpful commenters
The kit isn't fool proof. I had one installed and it still freezes! Great idea with the soda can! I have replaced every component in that door because I melted them all.
Thank you to everyone in this thread. I used a hair dryer inside the door where the ice comes through as well as a heated wire up the spout and it finally worked. The interesting thing is we never had this problem but I'm noticing I store my ice packs in the door and that might add to the freezing situation. I will be moving them.
Catherine Totten Goodness. I store my ice packs just below the water filter bump in the door too. thanks for the great idea. I will be moving them too.
We have a 12 year old GE Side by Side and only the water dispenser quit working. The repair guy told us to empty out our freezer and unplug the frig for 24 hours; that would solve the problem. I have a freezer full of food; no way could I do that! Anyway, I tried the trimmer cord route, nothing. I tried the hairdryer down the opening inside the door for the ice maker. No success. Oh heck, what can I do! I finally took a funnel (like someone else did) and it fit over the little water spout. I used the hair dryer with the funnel. Nothing. I was about ready to give up and decided to keep trying with the funnel. After about 5 or 6 times with the hair dryer for about 30 seconds each time, a drop of water came out. I pushed the dispenser and FINALLY, I got water! NOTE: If you have those dried ice packets on the shelves in your freezer door, place them elsewhere in your freezer. I had mine in the same door as the dispenser but I never had a problem before. Now they are stored in another area of the freezer!
Mine was frozen also, took about 10 minutes to thaw out. I did hit the inside door area and would alter front to back on the door then finally it started working again. I would suggest using the trimmer line 1st to see if a blocked tube is the problem before changing out the filter like I did.
Too funny! As I stated in other comments, though, don't use a can... just blow down from the inside of the door. If that doesn't work, you can blow up the tube, but use a funnel, lock the water, and be careful not to melt the plastic hinge.
Sometimes what may b a frozen water line can b coming from a clogged saddle valve that sits on the water heater. I have had a slow drip of water just recently from the dispenser but a few months back had no water and yes the dryer idea works wonderful cause the no water problem was the frozen line. I thought the slow drip would b the same (a frozen line) but turns out the saddle valve needed to b turned out and dialed back in. Interesting part about the slow drip water dispenser is the ice machine worked perfectly fine and water was still traveling up into the door leading to the dispenser itself. B sure to check ur intake manifold (where the filter goes) to make sure the o-ring setting is not bad. Hope this helps someone who have diagnosed that there problem has nothing to do with a crimped/bent line.
