Answers · Water where it should not be
Why Is There Water in the Ice Bin?
The short answer
On a built-in, water in the bin means water is getting past the mold, and the likely culprits are a wedged cube, a bin sitting off its rails or a valve that keeps passing water.
Check in this order
- Seat the bin level, rails pushed fully in where it has them; after a realignment, new ice can take up to 24 hours.
- Switch the ice maker off at the panel, then free any cube jammed in the mechanism with your fingers only.
- Lift the bin out, set a shallow dish where it stood and watch for ten minutes whether water still drips from above.
- Close the shut-off valve on the water line if drips keep coming with the ice maker off, and leave it closed.
Past this line it is a technician's job Sub-Zero Repair Tacoma, (206) 472-1140
Behind the answer
Sub-Zero traces water in the ice maker area to four things: a jammed cube, a water valve not working properly, a fill setting that needs adjusting, and low water pressure, which can also freeze the fill tube or overflow the mold.
Undercounter ice machines such as the UC-15I are the exception. Meltwater there is expected and should leave through a drain, so water standing in the bin points at the drain line rather than the fill.
Drips that carry on with the ice maker off mean the valve is not closing; testing it is work for a technician.
Related questions
Why does an undercounter ice machine melt its own ice?
On Sub-Zero's UC-15I and 315I the bin stores ice without chilling it, so some melting never stops, and a hot room or strong sun on the unit speeds it up. If water collects even in a cool, shaded spot, call Sub-Zero Repair Tacoma, (206) 472-1140, about the drain.
- Signed
- Marta Fennimore
- Role
- Refrigeration technician — ice systems and water supply
- In the trade
- 12 years
- Holds
- EPA 608 certified
- Checked
- Sep 18, 2026