Two-Leak Repair in Everett, WA: Ice Maker Line and 2" ABS Drain

The Call: Water Behind the Fridge and Under the House

The homeowner called about a leak in the kitchen and a leak under the home. Two problems, or one leak running somewhere it shouldn't? That's the first thing we had to sort out, because the answer decides where you start cutting.

We checked both spots. It was two separate leaks.

What We Found: A Leaking Ice Maker Line and a Failing Drain

Behind the refrigerator

The first leak was the ice maker line, the small water line that runs from the house supply to the back of the fridge. It had been leaking behind the refrigerator, which is exactly where nobody looks until the floor gets soft or the baseboard starts to stain.

Down in the crawl space

The second leak was under the house, on a 2-inch ABS drain line that runs through the crawl space. You could see it on the pipe itself: a crust of residue built up along the outside, hanging off the pipe where water had been getting out.

A drain leak in a crawl space is easy to miss. Drain lines aren't under pressure, so they don't spray. They drip every time a sink or dishwasher drains, and the water soaks into whatever is below. Out of sight, it can go on for a long time.

The Fix: Two Repairs, One Visit

1. Fixed the leaking ice maker line behind the refrigerator.
2. Went under the house and traced the 2-inch ABS drain to the leaking section.
3. Cut out the failing stretch of drain pipe.
4. Joined in new 2-inch ABS using two stainless couplings, one at each end, clamped tight around the pipe.
5. Ran water through the drain and checked both ends of the repair, then checked the ice maker line again with the water on.

Stainless couplings are the standard way to splice a section of drain pipe in tight quarters like a crawl space. They clamp a rubber sleeve around both pipe ends, so there's no glue joint to cure and no need to rebuild the whole run. For more on how we track down water before it does damage, see our leak detection service.

The Result: Dry Behind the Fridge, Dry Under the House

• Ice maker line fixed. No more water collecting behind the refrigerator.
• Drain leak stopped. The failing section of 2-inch ABS is gone, replaced with new pipe.
• One trip. Both leaks found and fixed on the same visit.

Leaks like these rarely announce themselves. Homeowners around Everett call us for exactly this kind of thing, and you can read what they say on our reviews page.

Signs You've Got a Hidden Leak

• A damp or soft spot on the floor in front of the refrigerator
• Staining on the baseboard or cabinet near the fridge
• A musty smell coming up from the crawl space
• Wet insulation, puddles or crusty buildup on pipes under the house
• A water bill that creeps up with no obvious reason

If you spot any of these, call before the water finds more to soak into. And if a drain line under your house turns out to be in rough shape, our pipe repair team can fix the bad section without tearing out the whole run.