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Appliance Leak: What to Do First
An appliance leak is one of the most common water losses in a house, and one of the easiest to miss. A washing machine hose can fail while a load is running, a dishwasher can leak from a door seal, and a refrigerator water line can drip slowly behind the fridge for weeks. In each case the water spreads quietly, under flooring and behind cabinets, before anyone notices.
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This guide covers what to do first when an appliance leaks, in general terms, for the three appliances that cause most of these losses: the washing machine, the dishwasher, and the refrigerator. The steps are the same ones that apply to any water loss, and the order matters more than the appliance.
Washing machine leaks
A washing machine uses a large volume of water in a short time, and a leak during a cycle can put a lot of water on the floor fast. The usual causes are a supply hose that has split or come loose, a drain hose that has slipped out of its standpipe, or a pump or seal inside the machine that has failed. If the machine is running and water is spreading, stop the cycle and shut off the water to the machine if you safely can, using the valves behind it or the main house shut-off.
Do not pull the machine out while it is sitting in water, and do not touch its plug or any outlet near the water. Move rugs and belongings away from the water where it is safe to reach them, and take a photo of the wet area. Water from a washing machine can soak under flooring quickly, because it spreads across a flat floor with nothing to stop it, and the floor underneath is often the part that needs drying most.
Dishwasher leaks
A dishwasher leak often starts small, at the door seal or at a connection underneath, and it spreads into the cabinet and the floor around it before it is noticed. Because the dishwasher sits inside a cabinet, the first sign is often a damp or swollen cabinet base, a musty smell in the kitchen, or flooring that has started to cup near the dishwasher. By the time water is visible on the kitchen floor, it may have been leaking for some time.
If the dishwasher is running, stop the cycle and shut off its water supply if you safely can. Do not open the dishwasher door while it is full of water, and do not pull the appliance out of its cabinet. The water underneath a dishwasher is hard to reach without moving it, and that is part of why a professional visit matters: the floor under the appliance needs to be checked and dried, not just the floor you can see. The water damage restoration page covers what a visit like that includes.
Refrigerator leaks
A refrigerator leak is usually a slow one. The water line that feeds an ice maker or a water dispenser can drip for weeks behind the fridge, and the water runs under the flooring and into the wall behind it. The first sign is often a warped floorboard, a damp patch on the wall behind the fridge, or a musty smell in the kitchen that has no obvious source. Because the leak is slow, the damage it does can be deep by the time it is found.
If you find water behind the fridge, shut off the water to the fridge if you safely can, using the valve on the supply line, and move the fridge only if it is safe to do so and you can do it without stepping into water. Do not unplug the fridge while standing in water. Take a photo of the wet area and note when you first noticed it. Homeowners in Atlantic City and across the state who find a slow leak like this should ask for moisture checks in the floor and wall around it, because a slow leak leaves hidden water behind.
What to do first, whatever the appliance
Whatever the appliance, the first steps are the same. Shut the water off if it is safe to do so from a dry place, either at the appliance valve or at the main house shut-off. Move belongings away from the water where it is safe to reach them. Take photos of the wet area and note when you first noticed the water. And do not touch any electrical item that is in or near the standing water, including the appliance itself.
Do not try to repair the appliance while the water is still spreading. The appliance is a separate job from the water damage, and the water damage is what harms the house. A plumber or appliance technician can look at the machine once the water is dealt with. The emergency water removal page covers the first stage of dealing with the water itself, which is taking the standing water out before drying begins.
Checking appliances before they leak
A quick check of your appliances every few months can catch a leak before it becomes a loss. Look at the hoses behind the washing machine for bulges, cracks, or damp at the connections. Look under the kitchen sink and around the dishwasher for damp in the cabinet base. Pull the refrigerator out once in a while, if you safely can, and look at the floor and the water line behind it. These checks take minutes and they catch the slow leaks that do the most hidden damage.
Hoses and supply lines wear out with age, and replacing a worn hose is far simpler than drying a floor. If a hose looks cracked, bulging, or stiff, it is worth replacing before it fails. And if an appliance has leaked once, keep an eye on the same spot afterwards, because a repair that holds for a week can still fail later. A small habit of looking is the cheapest protection a house has against appliance leaks.
When more than one appliance is involved
Sometimes more than one appliance is involved in a water loss, and the damage is wider than a single leak would suggest. A washing machine leak and a dishwasher leak in the same kitchen, for example, can wet the same floor from two directions, and the water underneath can be deeper than either leak would have caused on its own. A refrigerator leak that has run for weeks can combine with a dishwasher leak that started days ago, and the floor between them can be wet through without any sign on the surface. When more than one appliance is involved, the inspection needs to look at the whole area, not just the appliance that was noticed first.
The approach is the same, whatever the number of appliances. Stop the water at its source if you safely can, move belongings away from the water where it is safe to reach them, take photos of the wet area, and call a professional. Describe each appliance that is leaking, and say when each one was first noticed, because that information helps the inspection work out how far the water has spread and how long it has been there. A water loss with more than one source is a water loss that needs a proper map, and the map is what the inspection provides.
Key Takeaways
- A washing machine uses a large volume of water in a short time, and a leak during a cycle can put a lot of water on the floor fast.
- A dishwasher leak often starts small, at the door seal or at a connection underneath, and it spreads into the cabinet and the floor around it before it is noticed.
- A refrigerator leak is usually a slow one.
- Whatever the appliance, the first steps are the same.
- A quick check of your appliances every few months can catch a leak before it becomes a loss.
- Sometimes more than one appliance is involved in a water loss, and the damage is wider than a single leak would suggest.
Your Next Step
If this guide matches what you found at home, the next step is a visit — not a guess. Call and describe what you found, and the visit is arranged from what you describe. The Water Damage Restoration page explains what that service covers, and the structural drying page explains how drying works after the water is removed.
Do not enter a flooded room, do not touch electrics in or near standing water, and do not try to clean up sewage yourself — sewage is Category 3 black water and a health hazard.
Keep the guides on this site bookmarked: the first guide, the signs guide, and the preparation guide cover the checks worth repeating — after a leak, a flood, or a burst pipe.
Water Damage Restoration help is available across New Jersey. See water-damage-restoration in McAfee, NJ for one local example, or find your town on the service areas page.
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