How do you clean the drain plug from behind the fridge?

Ann
by Ann
We had ice building up in our bottom freezer, because the drain plug was clogged. We did unclog it, and the condensation pan has water in it again, but since we can only get to one side and not the other, I fear it is not completely free of debris. It's an LG French Door model.

  5 answers
  • Pull it out, clean, including vacuuming coils and replace. Do every couple of months or so to have fridge last longer. Also refer to your owners manual or go on line to the manufacturers website for information specific to your model.

  • Ann Ann on Jun 28, 2017

    It does not "pull out" and from the inside there is no way to see the other end. The owner's manual hasn't any info for this so we printed out the fridge "parts", but the other end of the hose to see it, doesn't come a part. Sigh. So we do vacuum the coils, but the drain pipe is only about 6" long and goes to "no man's land."

  • Jb225264797 Jb225264797 on Jun 29, 2017

    If your freezer inside back wall has slots at the bottom, fill a coffee mug with hot tap water and add a tea spoon or less of bleach ( about a 5% solution). Use a turkey baster or large irrigation needle to inject the water through the slots after you have the drain hose draining. the bleach will kill the mold growing in the tube trap and the hot water will flush it out. DO NOT pull the drain out of the floor of the unit. It is foamed in and Not removable. I am warranty service for an appliance mfg. and disassemble from the inside and use steam to clear the clog and melt the ice that has built up in the collection pan under the evaporator (inside) coils.

    • See 1 previous
    • Ann Ann on Jun 29, 2017

      Since you are a tech, any recommendations on refrigerators, based on your experiences? I despise this French Door model.

  • Jb225264797 Jb225264797 on Jun 29, 2017

    LOL, Life is good till it breaks. Personally, I don't like any of the off shore brands. They are good units, but in my area, parts availability is not up to par so most of the service people won't work on them. No need having a customer mad because a part hasn't arrived. I have only two customers that like the bottom mount refrigerators and most repair people hate them. As it stands now for me, I lean toward the Whirlpool family of appliances. At the upper end you have KitchenAid and JennAire. Middle of the road you have Whirlpool, Maytag, and Amanna. All these are owned by Whirlpool Corp. and I have or are changing to the Whirlpool appliances in my home. Just so you know, I'm not Whirlpool warranty. I work for another high end mfg.

  • Ann Ann on Jun 29, 2017

    I'm not an upper end girl, but simple is better, type. Having to crawl under the pull out drawer and going through hoopla with that bottom freezer was insanity. Personally I like the top and bottom simplicity, but they're hard to find. And the less gadgets and drawers (eye roll on those), the better. Good to know. And FWIW I like every "mechanical". I despise these crazy water saving w&d's as well as they don't do nearly the job the center agitators did. We bought this fridge in 2009 and are on our 4th ice-maker.