How to Defrost Samsung Ice Makers

It might seem a contradictory effort to dry and defrost a machine that you want ice from, but there’s good reason to go through the process of defrosting an ice maker, at least from time to time.

Your Samsung ice maker is a well-oiled machine, taking in water in liquid form and then crafting perfectly sculpted cubes that grace your drinks with their presence and chill them to refreshment perfection.

But everyone needs a check-up every now and then and your ice machine is no different. You might find that the ice cubes your machine is making aren’t up to their usual high standard, or you might not even be able to open the ice drawer at all because it’s stuck.

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Whatever the reason, knowing how to defrost Samsung ice makers is an easy thing to learn but a handy thing to know so that your drinks need never go ice-free.

Advances in Ice Technology

The good old days of filling a plastic ice cube tray and walking in slow motion over from the faucet to the refrigerator are now a long-distant memory.

In more recent times, we began to buy plastic ice bags from grocery stores. We’d hold them under the faucet and small, individual pockets would fill up with water, and we’d tie the ends off and put them in the freezer for a couple of hours.

Related: How to make ice without an ice tray

After that, we all got really lazy and decided to buy our ice ready-made from the freezer section of the grocery store. As long as we didn’t live too far from the supermarket, we could make it home in time to get the bag into the freezer before the whole lot melted into one huge lump.

Related: Is bag ice safe to eat?

But then came the wonderful world of ice makers, and life became even easier because we didn’t have to lift a finger. Refrigerators could be hooked up to the mains water line, and it meant that not only could we make ice directly from our refrigerator, but we had ice-cold water on tap whenever we wanted.

Dedicated ice makers that sit underneath kitchen counters have changed the game, too. These are also plumbed into the mains water line, and for those who love to entertain guests, the never-ending abundance of ice is nothing short of a modern miracle.

Related: How to clean your fridge’s water dispenser

But, with great ice comes occasional responsibility, so whether your Samsung ice maker sits inside your freezer, in the door of your refrigerator, or under your kitchen counter as a standalone item, it’s good to know how to defrost it.

Why Should You Defrost a Samsung Ice Maker?

The design of the Samsung ice maker is such that water is brought into the mechanism via the inlet valve, and then is cooled very quickly into cubes, before being released and pushed over the lip on the right-hand side of the ice maker, where it drops into the bin below.

While the rate at which the ice maker makes ice is highly efficient, the design of the Samsung ice maker is known to be problematic because ice forms over the right-hand lip and gets stuck.

Over time, it means the ice doesn’t drop into the bin and instead continues to build up, making it difficult to open the drawer.

Every couple of months, check the ice build-up around the lip to the right-hand side. Clear away any excess ice and if necessary, hold a hair dryer to the ice to melt it, then remove it completely and throw it into the sink. It’ll leave the ice maker free to deposit fresh ice into the bin, and it’s a job that takes about two minutes but can save you a headache further down the line.

How to Defrost a Samsung Ice Maker

In days gone by, as your parents will surely remember, defrosting the refrigerator or freezer used to mean opening the door, taking out all the items, and then chipping away at the ice that had built up around the whole appliance.

This would be followed by several minutes of kneeling on the floor and pointing a hair dryer at the ice to melt it further. All the while, water would form in a puddle around your knees, leaving them very cold and very wet.

The great thing about modern technology is that your refrigerator and freezer are now more than likely already equipped with a defrosting mechanism that runs in the background at all times to ensure there’s never any too much of an ice build-up. But as we’ve established, your ice maker plays by different rules.

We’re looking at defrosting the Samsung ice maker that sits inside most modern Samsung refrigerators. It’s a simple fix, but remember that defrosting means melting ice, so be prepared to mop up a puddle of water with a cloth or towel.

Here we go.

1. Pull out the drawer of your Samsung ice maker. This might not be possible, seeing as you might be defrosting the refrigerator because you can’t get the ice bin out. That’s fine, but if you’re able to pull it out, then that’s going to get a better result.
2. Clear items out of the way of the ice maker. You don’t need to remove everything from the refrigerator but be aware that drops of water may fall from the ice maker as it defrosts.
3. Close the door to the refrigerator and on the front panel, press the ‘FREEZER’ and ‘LIGHTING’ buttons together at the same time for around 10-12 seconds. On other models, you’ll press the ‘POWER FREEZE’ and ‘FRIDGE’ buttons at the same time but the result will be the same.
4. You’ll see that after 10-12 seconds the screen will display ‘FF’. Press ‘LIGHTING’ or ‘FRIDGE’ (depending on your model) until you see the screen displaying ‘FD’. This means ‘Forced Defrost.’
5. There’s no need to touch anything else; the refrigerator will automatically enter the Forced Defrost mode and the process takes around thirty minutes. You’ll hear a beeping sound throughout the process so if this drives you crazy, leave the refrigerator to do its thing and go listen to some music or watch television for a little while.
6. You can open the refrigerator door once you’ve set the Forced Defrost program running, and this can help to speed up the defrosting process. Remember the towel or cloth to catch drops of water that will fall down as the ice around the ice maker melts.
7. Once the refrigerator has finished the defrost, then the beeping will stop. At this point, it’s essential the refrigerator is closed for an hour or so in order to return to its cool temperature.
8. Switch off the refrigerator completely by removing the power source for a few seconds, then plug it in. Your refrigerator will start up again and begin cooling as normal.
9. While the refrigerator is cooling down to its normal working temperature, turn off the ice maker function. Switch it back on once the refrigerator has reached optimum temperature.
10. You may need to repeat the process if the ice inside the ice maker hasn’t fully been removed. And that’s it! You’re done.

Other Causes of Ice Maker Issues

It might not be simply an accumulation of ice around the ice bin that’s causing issues with your ice maker. An ice maker that sits inside a refrigerator is a complex mechanism that couples not only cooling parts but heating elements, too.

If the water inlet valve behind the ice maker is pushed in too far, it can cause the water to freeze along the inlet pipe, which will back up to along the system and there’ll be no water getting to the ice maker at all.

Ice can also form around the fan that sits at the back of the ice maker. Wherever there’s water in the system, ice can build up.

Don’t forget to check the other parts of the ice maker for ice build-up and check the back of the refrigerator to see if there’s anything blocking the fan, be it ice, dust, or objects that have fallen down between the refrigerator and the wall.

Prevention is Better than Cure

It’s never a bad thing to force your Samsung ice maker into defrost mode in order to keep it well maintained and to prevent the build-up of frost and ice. It’s not something that you’ll have to do very often, but once every three months or so should do the trick.

Now that you’re fully equipped with the knowledge of how to defrost Samsung ice makers, you’ll not only have the perfect ice waiting to be cool down your drinks, but you shouldn’t have ice accumulating in any other part of the refrigerator system.

If the Problem Persists, Contact the Manufacturer

While the forced defrost is a great way to remove accumulated ice, it might not solve the problem. Unless you’re a refrigerator engineer, you’re not expected to take a screwdriver to the mechanism and try and fix intricate pieces.

If your ice maker seems free of built-up ice but still isn’t working, contact Samsung directly or if the refrigerator is in warranty, contact the store where you made the purchase. Ice is too important a commodity to be without for too long!