Samsung french door refrigerator water under deli drawer

If you look under your empty crisper drawers in your refrigerator and see standing water, that is not normal. In fact, other than perfectly explainable condensation after a refrigerator has been open too long, there should be no moisture inside this appliance at all. So if there is enough moisture for water to be standing underneath the bottom drawers, you need to do a little investigation as to why so you can fix it before it becomes a bigger problem.

The most common reason for standing water in your refrigerator is because there is something wrong with the defrost drain tube. When the defrost runs, it melts excess frost off the evaporator so it doesn’t build up. That water then drips down and out a small drain hole, through a drain tube, and into a drip pan where it will evaporate off. However, because the drain hole and tube are small, if that water collects random bits of food on the way, something that can happen if you don’t clean your refrigerator often, then the drain hole or even the tube can become clogged.

The best way to fix this is actually really simple. You will want to pull your bottom drawers out and located the drain hole. You will want to clear it of debris and run warm water down it. If the water builds up when flushing it out, you may want to run a flexible pipe cleaner through the hole to get out tough blockages.

Don’t forget that after you have flushed out the drain tube you will need to empty the drip pan. The defrost never produces enough moisture to leave a lot of standing water. However, running water to flush the drain tube out will have a lot of trouble evaporating away before mold or mildew start to grow.

About one appliance warranty and a few months ago we bought a new Samsung refrigerator. We had a bit of an odd-sized space, and the particular Samsung model we purchased was one of the few French door styled fridges that would fit in our kitchen without major modifications. The Samsung fridge went in easily, fit nicely, and other than a few peculiar mechanical noises it likes to make periodically, has been serving us well. Until, that is, we started noticing water building up in our crisper drawers (also known as your fruit and vegetable drawers). At first, we thought things just got a little too humid in there. Maybe some of the fruit got frisky with the veggies? It soon became apparent there was a more serious problem going on. While this little appliance repair adventure isn’t for everyone, if you have a Samsung refrigerator that’s been more humid than a muggy summer night in Miami, this how to repair water in your crisper drawers article and accompanying video is definitely worth checking out and MIGHT save you a costly appliance repair call.

Water was not only filling the bottom of our Samsung refrigerator’s crisper drawers, but there was even water pooling up in the bottom of the refrigerator, under the drawers. It didn’t take long for it to get out of hand. We had little islands of produce increasingly surrounded by rising waters. Even after pouring out the water and drying everything out, somehow the water kept coming. So naturally, rather than calling an appliance repair company like most sane people might do, I instead turned to Google, determined to see if I could DIY repair my way out of this veggie and fruit drowning catastrophe. We had lost too many strawberries on my watch, it was time to take action!

What I found in my research was that I was not the only one to have this problem. After watching multiple videos and reading tutorials, I found most of them glossed over some parts of the repair and others spent too much time detailing more obvious parts of the process. My hope is that you’ll find both the video and written step-by-step on how to repair water in your crisper drawers to be clear, concise and helpful. A few things before we start. . .

This article and accompanying video assume you are reasonably handy. It also may not work for all “water in your crisper drawers” scenarios, or even for different brands of refrigerators. I went into this repair assuming there was a decent chance I’d break something and then have to shamefully call an appliance repair person anyway. Luckily that didn’t happen, but it might on your repair adventure. If you have all the basic essentials below, you might luck out like I did and complete the repair for a whopping $6 part.

I would recommend you watch the video below first. However, because I might have missed a thing or two in the video, I would encourage you to also read the step-by-step how to repair water in your crisper drawers in the article below. Before we dive into the video, here is a quick list of tools and supplies you’ll need:

• Phillips Screwdriver
• Portable Light (Optional but helpful). We used the Milwaukee Rover.
• Turkey Baster
• Hair Dryer
• Hot Water
• Wire Snips to Cut the Old Evaporator Clip Off
• New Evaporator Clip (link later)
• A Cooler and Ice
• An Andean Flute (OK, you don’t actually need this, although the music might help you stay calm)

Now that you’re geared up and ready to go, let’s dive into the video segment of this repair.

How To Repair a Samsung Refrigerator With Water In the Crisper Drawers – Step by Step Video

OK Samsung refrigerator repair expert, let’s walk through the details below. It’s as easy as one, two . . . five.

Step 1 – Unplug and Then Empty Your Refrigerator

First and foremost, unplug your refrigerator. You do not want to be tinkering with it while there is still power running to it. Unfortunately, this next part can be expensive, emptying your fridge. Ideally, I’d recommend buying a little ice and loading up all your perishables in a cooler or two. I made the risky choice of leaving the freezer closed and full. I reasoned it was well-insulated and already had a bunch of ice in it, and I hoped my repair would be swift. In my case it worked out, but if you’re worried about losing perishable food, I would recommend stowing it temporarily in a cooler, or in a tolerant neighbor’s fridge / freezer (good luck with that)! Once the refrigerator was empty, I removed all of the shelves and drawers and put them somewhere out of the way.

Step 2 – Remove the Panel

This part is one of the most challenging. If you have the same problem I did, chances are good the back panel is frozen solid to the cooling fins behind it. Some people advised that you just let the refrigerator sit overnight and let all that ice melt naturally. These people probably do not care about cold food as much as we do. Since I had places to go and people to see, I opted for the expedited technique which involves a hair dryer. Yes, this might be the first time we treated a hairdryer as a “tool” on Home Fixated. Don’t judge! Without overheating the plastic, I used the dryer’s low setting to blow warm air on and around the panel. Eventually I could get a little play around the edge and pull some of the edge out to allow more warm air to be directed behind the panel. Finally, after almost all the ice melted, the panel just popped loose. Don’t rush this process as the panel is fragile and has styrofoam on the back. You’ll then want to remove the couple wire bundles attached at the top left.

Step 3 – It’s All About the Bas(ter)

Next up, heat up some water and use your turkey baster to squirt a little in the icy drip area. After a short time, suck up the now cold water, discard it, and then apply more hot water. Keep doing this until eventually you’ll be able to hear that the water can flow all the way through. I was a little concerned I wouldn’t know when I had actually melted through the ice, but as long as you’re paying attention it’s pretty obvious. The main clue is you’ll go from the water level staying at however much you put in, to the water actually flowing.

Step 4 – Clippity Snip Snip

Now that you’ve ended the involuntary ice-age in your drain line, it’s time to replace that tiny drain evaporator clip that came stock on your Samsung refrigerator with the more beefy version from Samsung. I found the Samsung Clip Drain Evaporator REF OEM Original Part: DA61-06796A replacement part on Amazon for around $6. To remove the old clip, I surgically cut the clip with some small wire snips and then pulled it off the larger heating element it’s attached to.

Putting on the new evaporator clip is ridiculously easy (well, at this point it is). Just loop the clip over the top of the heating element, making sure the long part extends into the center of the drain hole. Then, just wrap the two aluminum extension on each side around the heating element to secure it. The effects are like cranking up global CO2 levels on a fjord – no more ice!

Step 5 – Picking Up the Pieces

Phew! Now that you (hopefully) successfully tackled that repair, it’s time to put all the pieces back together. First, carefully connect up the two wiring harnesses/plugs that ran to the interior panel. Carefully clip the back panel back into the back of your fridge interior, making sure you line-up the screw holes. Once everything is clipped back in, re-insert the screws to secure the panel and cover the center hole with the decorative cap if applicable. Re-install your shelves. Plug your refrigerator back in for power and pray you didn’t damage anything new in your repair process. Once you know things are hopefully fully functional again, then it’s time to grab your food from the cooler and get it back into the fridge pronto!

Fixing Your Fridge When You Find Water in The Crisper Drawers – DI WHY?!

You’ve answered how to repair water in your crisper drawer of your Samsung refrigerator and now you may be wondering why this repair was ever needed in the first place. I found myself wondering that too. With so many people running into the same problem with various models of Samsung refrigerators (if you have any doubts just visit YouTube or read the 200+ reviews on the evaporator clip on Amazon), it’s pretty clear to me this was a design flaw. While I understand that sometimes a design flaw makes it through to production, it’s my humble opinion that when it does, it’s up to the manufacturer to step up and readily assist consumers with resolving the problem. End of rant.

If you’ve had the same misfortune we have with your refrigerator, we hope this how-to gives you the info you need to get it resolved, whether you tackle the repair or you leave that to a pro. It has been over six months since I did this Samsung refrigerator repair and our fruits and veggies in the crisper drawer have remained high and dry! My triumphant repair provided me with at least several seconds of admiration from my wife. I also scored several “awesome husband points” which are redeemable for. . . absolutely nothing. Even so, every time I pull out one of the crisper drawers, I smile with the knowledge I prevented countless vegetables and fruits from meeting an early watery grave.

Editors Update – 2021

After feedback from 10’s of thousands of youtube views and many comments, I would like to add:
1) Our initial fix as shown in the video and detailed in the article above lasted for YEARS.
2) When we ran into the issue again years later (one crisper drawer started to get water in it again), the first thing I checked are the drain tubes at the back of the fridge. Several commenters have reported those tubes at the bottom back of the fridge (you’ll have to roll your fridge out), can get clogged and cause the same crisper drawer water issue. I checked ours and they were clear.
3) I then adjusted the fridge temp 2 degrees warmer and after about a week, we were back to normal and no longer having issues with water in the crisper drawers again.

Samsung Drain Evaporator Clip for around $6:

Buy Now - via Amazon

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