Suppose you frequently forego hot beverages for cold brews, lemonades, smoothies, or whiskey on rocks. In that case, you must already be familiar with ice makers. Talking about ice makers, Whirlpool ice makers are simply one of the best ones you can find. They are made to fit under your counter and produce ice that is crisp and cold, i.e., the perfect ice!
However, there have been complaints about water leakage in Whirlpool ice makers. So what do you do if that happens? Read below to find out.
How to Fix Whirlpool Ice Maker Leaking Water Into Ice Bin?
- Jammed Ice
For various reasons, clusters of ice may form in the dispenser or the bin of the ice maker. And when the temperature changes, these clumps melt and make water leak into the ice bin. You can repair this by breaking up these clumps of ice.
For this purpose, use a long item, perhaps the back of a spoon, a stick, or a spatula, and use it to dislodge the ice. Remember to do it gently. If the ice does not budge, don’t push at it harshly because this can end up causing severe damage to the unit.
If the ice is not removable with this method, then you can use the method of defrosting the ice bin. You can take out the ice bin and defrost it. If the ice is in the dispenser, you can let the ice melt naturally, but you will have to place a dish below the chute to let the water collect.
- The fill Valve and Cup are not Aligned
The ice maker has a tray or cup where a faucet fills the water. If this faucet or fill valve is not aligned, the water will get displaced and leak everywhere.
This happens mainly because of rough handling. Check to see if the fill valve is aligned with the cup. If it’s not, bring them back in line. That should fix this leaking water problem.
- Ice Maker not Leveled
Fluctuations of temperatures within refrigerators and ice makers are normal. These fluctuations can make ice melt slightly. If your ice maker is not leveled, this melted ice will not flow into the drain and might instead make its way into the ice bin.
You will have to level the ice maker on the floor using a leveler. If you still see that it is not aligned, you may have to reinstall the ice maker so that it becomes level again.
- Freezing up of Condensation Drains
The drains are built to drive out the excess water from the ice maker to ensure that the interior of the ice maker remains nice and clean. The ice makers periodically start to defrost cycles to melt ice buildups.
If your drains are blocked, the melted buildup will have nowhere to go, and expectedly then, it will flow into the ice bin. If water is leaking into the ice bin of your Whirlpool ice maker, you will have to check if the drains are blocked. An easy hack to unblock your drains is using a hair dryer!
- A Damaged Inlet Valve
The inlet valve, as the name suggests, is the passage from where water enters the ice maker. It controls the flow of water into the ice maker and stops when the unit reaches its capacity. If your water inlet valve is damaged, it will fail to perform its function correctly.
That means it will allow more water to flow into the Whirlpool ice maker than it has the capacity, and that will, of course, cause the water to leak.
It is best to call a professional for help and let them fix this for you. If your inlet valve is damaged, not only will it leak water, but it can also become the root of other issues.
- Reverse Osmosis
If you have been using a reverse osmosis system, it might be causing the ice maker to leak water into the ice bin. This is because specific Whirlpool models get mistaken when you connect them with reverse osmosis. And as a result, they allow excess water to flow into the cup.
To make sure that it is the reverse osmosis behind this, notice the ice maker after it has dumped ice and is being filled with water again. If the cup is filled and it overflows, it indicates that reverse osmosis is causing the leak.
The solution to this is quite apparent: removing the reverse osmosis. And since many refrigerators come with pre-installed reverse osmosis, this system is not necessary after all.
- Worn-out Whirlpool Ice Maker
Over time and with use, the Whirlpool ice maker can get damaged. To confirm if it has indeed become flawed, lift the control arm. If your ice maker was leaking before but stopped leaking when the control arm was raised, this is a sign that the ice maker has lost its original state.
As you use an ice maker, the circuit board contacts weaken and eventually stop working. The only solution to this is to replace this faulty ice maker with a new one.
The Bottom Line
Whirlpool ice makers are reasonably easy-to-operate pieces of equipment. If you are facing the problem of water leaking into the ice bin, you should try out the aforementioned methods to resolve the issue.
If nothing works, we suggest you contact Whirlpool’s support team and let them guide you.