Reasons Water Dispenser And Ice Maker In Refrigerator Are Not Working
If your refrigerator's water dispenser and ice maker are not working, you may need to hire a plumber to help you fix it. The problem is probably caused by an issue with the hose connecting your water supply to the refrigerator. If this hose is not properly connected and functioning correctly, your water dispenser and ice maker will not be able to get the water needed to operate. Here are two problems that might be causing this issue in your home.
Water Line Is Not Attached
The first thing a plumber will probably check is whether the hose is connected to the refrigerator. If your ice maker has never worked, there is a chance that it was never connected. This hose is normally made of copper tubing. The plumber can easily tell if this is the case by pulling your refrigerator away from the wall. If there is no water line connected to the fridge, the plumber will need to connect one.
This is an easy job to do if there is a water line present. If the house is relatively new, there is probably a water line there that simply needs to be connected. If the house is older, there may not be a water line; however, a plumber could install one. This would require tapping into a nearby fresh water pipe and then running the hose up to your refrigerator.
If there is a water line that is already attached to the refrigerator, you should have water. In this situation, the plumber would make sure the shut-off valve is turned on so water can flow through. If the shut-off valve is turned off, you will have no water; however, it may have been shut off for a reason.
The most common reason for this is from a leak. If the water line was leaking, someone may have turned the shut-off valve off to stop the leak. A plumber could fix this problem too, and it would most likely involve replacing the water line with a brand new one.
Clogged Water Line
The second reason the ice maker and water dispenser are not working could be from a clogged water line. Hard water can contain sediment and minerals, and these items can get trapped in the copper tubing that supplies the water to the refrigerator. If this happens, water will not be able to travel through the hose to your refrigerator. To fix the problem, a plumber would probably recommend replacing the copper tubing. This would solve the problem; however, you could continue to have this problem if your water is hard.
If the plumber replaces the line and this happens again, you may want to ask the plumber what you can do to prevent this in the future. The plumber is likely to recommend installing a water filtration system of some kind. When a home has hard water, the hard water will not only affect the water dispenser in the refrigerator. It will also affect the other plumbing fixtures and pipes, and this can result in:
- Having stains in your plumbing fixtures
- Developing clogs in your pipes
- Dealing with corrosion in your pipes
Your plumber could install a whole-house water filtration system to solve this problem. This type of system will filter all incoming water before it is sent through your plumbing pipes. This will not only give you better water in your home, but it could also prevent plumbing problems in the future.
If you are having any type of plumbing problem, contact a plumber today from a company like Blount's Speedy Rooter. Plumbers can locate, diagnose, and fix all types of plumbing issues in homes.