4 Steps To Replace A Refrigerator Door Seal & Gasket

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Most refrigerators come with a gasket or rubber seal on the door, to keep the cold in the unit and the heat out, but unfortunately, this gasket will decay and become loose with sustained usage over time, and this can make your refrigerator not running as efficiently as it could be, and your food not being kept at the best temperature.

We are going to look deeper into this point and learn how to replace the fridge door seal and gasket easily.

How do you know if the fridge seal gasket needs replacing?

There are plenty of tests to check if you need to repair your fridge gasket seal, but here are two simple checks;

Take a look at it and check if there are black mold spots or any condensation on it if you found any then the chance is that cold air is escaping from somewhere.
Another simple test is to take a sheet of paper and close the refrigerator door on it, now try to pull the paper out slowly, if you can pull straight out without any resistance then it means that your refrigerator is no longer airtight, hence your seal and gasket will need replacing.

Related Article: Everything You Need To Know About Refrigerators

How to Replace a Fridge Gasket Seal

Whilst removing the old gasket, leave the replacement one in a bowl of warm water. This will make the rubber more pliable and make the whole replacement install process a lot easier.

Here’s how you remove the existing one:

1. Grab the inside of the gasket and pull it up to reveal the retainer. There will be some screws underneath holding it in place. You won’t need to remove them completely as loosening them will release the rubber seal so you can pull it straight off – which will require a bit of strength.

2. To install and replace the new fridge gasket you start with one end and work the lip up behind the metal retainer. You can now slightly tighten the screws back into place – but not fully as at this point we’re just trying to see if it fits correctly.

3. Now close the refrigerator door to check that the gasket is in place and doesn’t warp out of shape. If it does then you will need to go back in and straighten it – repeat this process until completely satisfied at which point you can tighten the screws up as hard as possible.

4. Finally, add some lubricant to the hinge side of the refrigerator door gasket. This will help to prevent any dragging and can be best achieved using a small amount of Vaseline or petroleum jelly. Click here for a cheap petroleum lubricant solution on Amazon.

Buy Cheap Replacement Refrigerator Gaskets

Typically you will need to spend some money on a refrigerator gasket replacement. We’ve found that the best and cheapest deals for all brands can be found on the Amazon website so click here for cheap replacement refrigerator gaskets.