Thanks for all of yor replies. I have been reading around and it seems
people are putting rugs/mats everywhere if they have wood floors - in
front of the range, sink, dishwasher and fridge. I probably would have
gone with tile if I had the choice but bought the place new and they
had wood floors on the main floor (kitchen and living room).

Just worried that something will leak somewhere and cause me lots of
pain.

Malcolm Hoar wrote:
In article . com, wrote:
Hello,
Just purchased my first house and it has beautiful wood floors in the
kitchen. This concerns me a little when it comes to refrigerator
leaks. I know there are drip pans in the refrigerator but have read
that leaking is still a common problem due to various issues. Just
wondering if there was a solution in laying something down underneath
the refrigerator just in case there was external leaking? Maybe some
sort of thin plastic mat or similar? A new refrigerator is being
delivered at the end of this month and wanted to have something in
place just in case.

A mat will likely make matters worse if you do have a slight
leak. Any water will just run off the edge onto the floor.
Even worse, it will get drawn under the mat by the capillary
effect. With no way to evaporate, that water will inflict
maximum damage on your floor.

You'd need a full drip-pan that will hold and retain any
water that might leak. That's likely to look pretty ugly.

You might make a detailed examination of your new
refrigerator when it's delivered and see if you can
identify any likely points of failure based on the
actual design/layout of that model.

Above all, do actually take the time to read the
instructions that ship with your new fridge (yeah,
I know that's a novel concept). It may well include
recommendations for maintenance that will greatly
lessen the risk of leaks (e.g. regular cleaning of
various drain holes/lines that collect condensation,
water dispenser overflow etc.

With wood or laminate floors, always wipe up any splills
that do arise as quickly as possible. A single ice cube
that misses the mark and ends up on the floor will melt
and quite possibly create a small mark. Do that once or
twice a month for a few years and the floor will not be
looking in very good shape.

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| Malcolm Hoar "The more I practice, the luckier I get". |
| Gary Player. |
| http://www.malch.com/ Shpx gur PQN. |
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