Replacing Refrigerator Door Seals

While I was cleaning up my refrigerator last week, I was surprised to discover that the refrigerator seal; the rubber gasket which wraps around the refrigerator door, was damaged.

Image here

The rubber gasket must have been ripped due to the constant pull and push of the door when it is repeatedly opened and closed. Nonetheless on hindsight, the telltale signs have been there. Since a refrigerator takes up approximately 10% of the monthly electricity bill, there was a gradual increase in electricity bill over the months. In addition, its compressor has been going on and off more frequently than usual. Moreover, I also noticed that the refrigerator is not as cold as it has been.

However, I have attributed these signs to the appliance growing old. After all, it has been serving me dutifully for over 7 years.

I did a simple cost analysis and realised that replacing the refrigerator seal is much more economical than purchasing a new refrigerator. In addition, as the replacement is pretty simple and straightforward, I decided to do it on my own too. Hence, let me share with you today on how I go about replacing the refrigerator seal. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The first step is really easy; since different refrigerator models have different rubber gasket design, I made sure that the rubber gaskets which I have ordered from the refrigerator manufacturer are compatible with my refrigerator model.

However, I realised that the most challenging part was transporting the rubber gaskets back to my place! The manufacturer did not warn me that they are packed in boxes with the dimensions of the actual refrigerator door.

Image here

Thank goodness they are able to fit into the car! " Tip #1: Check with the manufacturer on the size of the rubber gaskets boxes. You can choose to get them delivered to your place and even get them installed for an additional fee. "

Image here

Image here

The next step is to remove the damaged refrigerator seal. This usually takes around a minute or two but I took a longer time since I have to clean off the melted rubber seal which have stuck to the edges of the door.

The last step is to slip on the new rubber gasket. Since it has to go around the refrigerator door, I have to stand on top of a chair to perform this step. Once the entire seal is finally in place, I did a simple check to ensure that the door is shutting properly by running my palm around the entire parameter of the refrigerator door for any signs of leaked cool air.

" Tip #2: To prevent the new rubber gasket from sticking to the refrigerator too firmly and make it very hard to open, rub a little baking powder on the gasket. "

" Tip #3: Check the replaced rubber gasket in about a week's time to make sure it has not shrink or stretched in any areas. If it did, readjust the seal once again. "

Finally, the new refrigerator seal is in place and all it took was less than half an hour to get the damaged gasket replaced! With the new refrigerator seal, the refrigerator should last for another few years. :) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I hope that this post comes in handy when you need to replace your refrigerator seal in future.

Lastly, Hari Raya Haji to all the Muslim readers and do have a great week ahead!