"gary" wrote in message
...
If I turn the refrigerator off for a day or two, all of the food will
defrost and spoil.

Why can't I just run hot water down the drain tube?

Getting access is the issue.

How do I gain access to the drain?

Depends on the model. Find the manual. On my old Westinghouse there was a
fitting on the bottom of the freezer compartment accessible via the
refrigerator compartment. I just removed one screw and the unit popped out
for cleaning. It usually had fine dog hair, dust and muck in it that I
rinsed out with detergent and a tooth brush.

When the freezer coils were frozen over from the freezer door not closing in
very humid weather, I had to fill empty squeeze mustard bottles with hot
water and give the freezer an enema until the ice melted. What a holy mess.
That's why the best advice is to unplug it and let it recover by itself.
Sometimes it does and the contents of the unit don't rise so much the food
is spoiled. A big picnic cooler with dry ice is often quite useful.

Then I would take a compressor's air hose and blow out the connection in the
back which lead to the drain tube that goes to the pan on the floor. Stuff
the front of the refrigerator with rags if you don't want to spray black
spooge on your pants.

What parts (if any) do I need to remove from inside the freezer
compartment?
How do I remove them?

Maytag model number MTB2656GEQ

That should all be in the manual. The new GE is remarkably hard to clean
and I dread having to do it, at least compared to the old box. FWIW, if the
coils are frozen, don't do anything more than pour hot water on them. I
punctured the old unit's coil trying to worry the ice off mechanically.
Turned out the 30 year old box I had nursed so long was really a horrible
energy hog. New one costs 1/3 to operate.

--
Bobby G.