Q&A for How to Stop a Fridge from Ice Build Up

I would recommend unplugging your fridge for a while and allowing the ice to melt naturally. You can also use hot water to help melt the ice.

As a general rule, cool air isn't able to hold onto as much moisture as warm air can. Because of this, water accumulates and freezes at the very coldest part of your refrigerator—the back, which is right where your evaporator fan is.

Definitely! When you open your refrigerator door, humid air makes its way in. Humid air has moisture in it—it's this moisture that eventually freezes up and turns into pesky ice buildup.

You could need a new defrost timer. But first, you should start with a thorough cleaning of the fridge's bottom and remove all the dust and debris from the grill and coils down there. This may fix the problem entirely, and should be performed at least once every 5 years anyway.

It may be that the temperature in your freezer is too high; lower it and see what happens. If that doesn't work, maybe too much warm air is getting in.

Call in an appliance repairer to see if you need a new defrost timer. Unplug the fridge the night before the appointment so all ice melts and is out of the repairer's way.

You most likely opened the fridge more frequently than you really needed to. Refer to Step 4. If you haven't opened the door a lot and this is still happening, you might need to check the rubber seal on the door. When the rubber gets old, the door might not close as tightly anymore.

There are a couple of things you can do to prevent ice from building up in your fridge. Keep your refrigerator set to a temperature of 37 to 40 °F (3 to 4 °C) and set your freezer to 0 °F (−18 °C). Make sure your fridge door is sealed closed and only open it whenever you plan to get something out of it so you don't increase the humidity levels in the fridge. You can also make sure that bulky food items are away from the cold air source so they don't block it and form ice.

Ice and frost can form in your fridge if the humidity levels get too high or if the air isn't able to circulate around the whole fridge. Make sure the fridge doors are sealed and closed as much as possible to keep out excess humidity and don't store any large or bulky items near the cold air source so the air can move around.

Refrigerators can get wet and build up condensation when the warm outside air mixes with the cold air in your refrigerator. If there's a leak in the door seal or if the door is opened constantly, the humidity of the outside air can cause the inside of the fridge to be wet. The wet air can also cause ice to form in the fridge.

The main reason is likely to be a faulty thermostat, which is not switching on or off. It is constantly in the "on" position.

Water freezes at 32 degrees F. Other things may have a lower freezing point - for a very simple example, if you have a dish which is mainly water but has salt added, that will need a lower temperature to freeze properly. Lots of processed foods have additives like sugar, which will lower the freezing point of the food. To make sure everything in your freezer is covered, you need a much lower temperature, see item 1 above, where they suggest freezer temp of 0 degrees F (-18 ºC).

The drain hole at the back of the fridge is probably blocked. Gently poke something semi rigid down it to free the blockage.