Finding a puddle of water on your kitchen floor can be alarming, but a leaking refrigerator is a very common issue that is usually easy to diagnose. Most water leaks do not mean you need a brand-new appliance; they just mean something is blocked inside the system.

The most frequent culprit is a clogged defrost drain line. When food particles or ice block this tiny drain, water overflows and leaks straight down to the kitchen floor. Another common cause is a cracked water inlet valve or a misaligned ice maker line. Checking these lines and flushing the defrost drain with warm water will usually solve the problem instantly.