Pro Handyman Blog

When you notice water leaking from behind your refrigerator plumbing, most people immediately think that the fridge is bad…until they pull the unit away from the wall. In many cases, it is not the refrigerator that is leaking, but the icemaker line from the wall to the fridge.

Slowly pull the refrigerator away from the wall and look for the leak. It is easier to find the leak if you turn off the water, clean up the water on the floor, and then turn the water back on. It may be the valve at the wall, the icemaker line that carries water from the valve to the refrigerator, or the refrigerator itself. If you can trace the leak into the refrigerator, I would call in a service technician if you aren’t familiar with it.

If you can trace the leak to the valve or the line itself, it is probably going to be an easy repair. If the line is leaking, you can replace it with either copper, plastic, or a braided stainless steel line. My first choice would be the stainless steel line as they usually carry a 10 year warranty against bursting, and they simply screw onto the fittings at both the valve and the refrigerator. If you choose plastic or copper, you will need a compression nut and ferrule and tighten to secure.

If the valve is leaking, try tightening it slightly to see if you can get it to stop leaking. You can also try to replace the packing under the nut. At worst case, replace the valve after you have shut off the main water supply.