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Sub-Zero Appliance Repair · Denver

Water · Denver

Why is water dripping from the top inside?

The short answer

Water on the roof of the compartment is condensation: room air gets in, the top of the liner is cold, and the moisture lands there. Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Denver looks at the seal and the drain before anything else — (303) 729-0972.

$89 service call, credited against the repair.

The inside of an emptied compartment with the rear cover panel unscrewed and leaning to one side, the circulation fan exposed in its square frame with its wiring plug hanging below and the shelf rails visible along the left wall. Labelled on the photograph: circulation fan, cover panel, off, shelf rails.

Before you call

  1. Watch how long the door stands open while the kitchen is busy; Sub-Zero says fogging after a long opening clears itself.
  2. Look at what went in warm or wet: unlidded stock, damp greens, a tray straight off the counter.
  3. Run a finger round the gasket for splits, flattened corners and grime, and wipe it clean before you judge it.
  4. Check the rear wall and the floor of the compartment for frost, ice or standing water — that is the drain end of the same problem.

Stop here and call Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Denver on (303) 729-0972 if it drips with the door shut, the seal sound and nothing new inside.

What it usually turns out to be

  • A door left standing open

    Sub-Zero treats fogging after a long opening as ordinary; it clears once the door is shut and does not need a visit.

    Quoted after the diagnosis

  • A gasket letting room air past

    The drip is in one place, above the stretch of seal that has gone hard or split, and it returns each day in the same spot.

    Door gasket or seal replacement$260–$700

  • A cabinet packed too full

    The manufacturer lists food blocking the air path among the causes of excess moisture; circulation stops and the damp settles out on the liner.

    Quoted after the diagnosis

  • A drain that is not draining

    Frost or standing water at the rear wall and under the drawers puts the same fault at both ends of the compartment.

    Quoted after the diagnosis

When it is worth a visit

If the drip keeps coming with the door shut, a clean gasket and nothing warm or wet newly inside, the cabinet is making more moisture than it can shed. That is a seal, an air path or a drain, and all three are measured on the visit rather than guessed at.

Where the damp comes from

Air brings it in. Every time the door opens, a volume of kitchen air swaps into the compartment carrying whatever moisture the room has, and the cabinet then chills that air below the point where it can hold the water. The water has to go somewhere, and it goes onto the coldest surfaces it can reach.

Most of the time that is the rear wall, where it freezes, thaws on the next cycle and runs to the drain. When the roof of the compartment is the surface that wins, you see it as drips instead — onto the top shelf, onto whatever is under it, sometimes down the back of a door bin. The cause is the same one; only the geometry of the cabinet has decided where it lands.

Follow-up questions

Is it normal for the inside to fog up in summer?

Some of it is. Sub-Zero lists high room temperature and humidity among the causes, and a fog that follows a long door opening clears on its own. What is not ordinary is water that gathers and runs, day after day, with the door kept shut.

Could the drip be coming from somewhere above the cabinet?

It can, and it is a different fault. Sub-Zero has a separate answer for water at the top of a cabinet, where the plumbing behind the upper grille is at fault rather than the cold compartment. Sub-Zero Appliance Repair Denver separates the two on the first visit — (303) 729-0972.

Will turning the temperature down stop the dripping?

No. The published settings are 38°F in the fresh-food side and 0°F in the freezer, and the manufacturer asks for a full day before judging any change. Colder air holds less moisture, but it does not stop room air arriving, and that is what condenses.

Talk to someone

Still doing it after the checks?

Say what changed and in what order, and the technician packs for that fault rather than for a guess. Technicians work 8:00 am to 8:00 pm, any day of the week, and the line takes a call 24/7.

Call (303) 729-0972 Book a slot online

$89 service call, credited against the repair.