Unblock Fridge Drain !!link!! »

Eleanor knew the job wasn’t done until she checked the other end. She pulled the fridge away from the wall (on its cardboard moving sheet to protect the floor) and located the compressor—a black, lumpy cylinder near the back bottom. Beside it sat a shallow plastic pan, about the size of a shoebox lid. This is the evaporation pan.

Eleanor rolled up her sleeves. Here is how she fixed it, and how you can, too. unblock fridge drain

She unplugged the fridge from the wall. Water and electricity are a dangerous mix. She removed everything from the bottom two shelves and the crisper drawers, placing the perishables in a cooler bag with an ice pack. Eleanor knew the job wasn’t done until she

It started with a small puddle. Not the kind from a spilled juice box, but a persistent, creeping pool of water that appeared every morning under the vegetable crisper. For two weeks, Eleanor had been sopping it up with old tea towels, blaming the kids for leaving the door open. But last night, the puddle had turned into a flood, seeping out from under the fridge and onto the kitchen floor. This is the evaporation pan

The fridge, like a living thing, sweats. Every time the door opens, warm, humid air rushes in. The cooling system condenses that moisture into water, which is supposed to trickle down a small hole in the back wall, travel through a hidden hose, and drip into a shallow pan on top of the compressor, where the warmth of the motor gently evaporates it. But if that hole gets clogged—with a glob of jam, a stray blueberry, or a slimy plug of mildew—the water has nowhere to go. It pools, it freezes, and it floods.