The prior job of any refrigerator gasket is to preserve the cool air inside the fridge. When it fails to do that and cooling escapes or your refrigerator is not cooling food as efficiently then more often than not, the refrigerator gasket is to blame.
Refrigerator gaskets can go bad due to the presence of molds, crumbs or any other kind of food residuals stuck on the rubber frame. Such elements loosen the rubber gasket’s grip and ruin the airtight seal of the refrigerator.
There is a basic procedure to check if your refrigerator gasket is working fine:
- Just place a dollar bill or a piece of paper in between the gasket and fridge door
- Then close the refrigerator
- Pull the bill or paper piece from outside
If you feel any tension or resistance while pulling, it means your gasket door seal is ok. If the paper piece comes out easily that’s the indication of the necessity to change the refrigerator’s gasket immediately.
In this article, we have put the main reasons on why your Refrigerator gaskets get damaged and how you can fix it easily. We have also shared our best tips to keep your refrigerator gaskets last as long as possible. So, make sure to read this article till the end. Let’s start!
How Refrigerator Gaskets Get Damaged?
As a food storage kitchen appliance, our fridges need to be open and closed several times in a day. Gaskets’ airtight sealing functions keep the fridge’s cold air sealed inside.
There are several reasons for damaging the refrigerator gaskets. One of the most common reasons is unwanted growth of molds. Molds or fungus make the seal grip loosen.
Wear & Tear, damage over time and another possible reason can be some kind of twisting or forced handling of the fridge door.
How Long Do Refrigerator Gaskets Usually Last?
Refrigerator gaskets are the most important, yet overlooked part of the fridge. No fridge owner usually checks the gasket’s condition. But it needs to be taken care of frequently.
According to the electronic experts, refrigerator gaskets should be replaced every twelve months. Or it needs to be maintained to make it work properly.
- A good condition refrigerator gasket helps the fridge to consume less electricity
- It also keeps your food items cold constantly
- Regular wiping with a damp towel can make your refrigerator gasket long-lasting
What Happens If My Refrigerator Gaskets Are Damaged?
Refrigerator gaskets are the inexpensive parts of any refrigerator. But, they play the most important role in the fridge’s cooling system.
A damaged gasket can cause excessive load on refrigerator motors.
It will increase the refrigerator’s power consumption, decrease cooling as it starts cooling your house rather than the refrigerator. Plus, it has several negative impacts on the refrigerator’s functionality.
Air leakage
Refrigerator gaskets lock the cold air inside the fridge and let the hot air outside. When the gaskets go bad, they aren’t able to maintain the even temperature level.
Consequently:
- The cold air seeped out from the refrigerator due to cracked or dried out gaskets
- This increases the run time of the compressor and wastage of electricity
- Leaked air moisten the exterior of the refrigerator
- It can also cause the freezer section to frost
Frozen coils
Poor air flow can cause the coil to freeze.
As air is not moved across the coils that won’t let the moisture to evaporate. It will create frost.
Insufficient air flow will make the filter dirty, block the vents and grills; which may ruin the evaporator fan. So, you need to repair the evaporator fan immediately along with the gasket to save your fridge from permanent damage.
Motor damage
Usually a good quality refrigerator contains two motors; a condenser fan motor and an evaporator fan motor. Cracked refrigerator gaskets cause extra load on the refrigerator motors and makes them run more. Such overpressure can damage the motors too.
Faulty compressor
Damaged gaskets can affect the start relay of the refrigerator. This can resist the capacitor not compressor to cool the fridge interior properly.
The capacitor or compressor might run in a unit, but can’t maintain the required temperature level.
Coolant leaking
Dried up or cracked gasket might cause coolant chemical leakage from the refrigerator.
Tips for refrigerator gasket maintenance
- Wipe out the sticky grimes and dust from the gasket regularly
- Use soapy solution and sponge to clean the gasket
- Clean each fold of the gasket and set them free from mold growths
- Remove all the dried up food stains from the inside wall of the gaskets
- Apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly to the gasket seal. Doing this will improve the seal grip between the fridge door and gaskets
Where to Buy Refrigerator Gaskets?
There are several types of gaskets available in the market that include the following:
- Sponge gaskets
- Metal gaskets
- Rubber gaskets
- Soft cut gaskets
- High temperature gaskets
Factors to consider while buying a refrigerator gasket
You need to consider a few factors while buying the suitable gasket for replacement:
- Compatibility – Make sure that the gasket material is compatible with your refrigerator. Additionally, take care about the gases and liquids used in the making of the gaskets. It might cause the early degradation of the gaskets.
- Tolerance – Check the tolerance and resistance levels of the gasket materials while choosing. Make sure that those are extremely tolerant to the temperature fluctuations.
- Pressure – Select gasket materials that are highly compatible with the gasket joint pressure.
- Dimensions – Match the exact dimensions of your previous fridge gaskets to the new one. It will be helpful to make it fitted properly.
- Wear and Tear – Though this is almost impossible to avoid wear and tear factors permanently, selecting an eligible material combination can resist the chances of the same.
- Longevity – Select a gasket material that supports the large extent of the refrigerator materials and won’t react differently to different environments. Such tolerance levels would make the gasket long lasting.
- Applications – Gaskets should be chosen according to the application process. If your application process is altered, you need to choose suitable material for it.
Best Refrigerator Gaskets Available Online
There are many random brands of Refrigerator gaskets available online which look perfect on a quick glance but are of very low-quality. So, we’ve carefully selected only those genuine Refrigerator Gaskets which are verified by customers to have the best quality. Check them out!
Electrolux 241778307 Frigidaire Replacement Door Seal
Electrolux is known to provide the best quality Refrigerator gaskets for Bosch, Frigidaire, GE, Samsung, Whirlpool, LG and almost all popular refrigerator brands. They have both refrigerator and freezer gaskets available for every fridge model.
So, just search for your refrigerator model and grab genuine Electrolux Refrigerator door gaskets.
Buy Electrolux 241778307 Frigidaire Replacement Door Seal from its official store on Amazon. It’s available at an amazing 10% discount from its regular price right now.
Whirlpool W10830162 Refrigerator Door Gasket
If you have whirlpool store and you want to grab official Whirlpool refrigerator door gaskets then you can get it from Amazon. Personally, being on a slightly expensive side. I don’t find there quality much different.
But, if you don’t want to take any risk, get your refrigerator gasket directly from Whirlpool.
Check latest price & availability and buy Whirlpool W10830162 Refrigerator Door Gasket (Gray) from official Whirlpool store on Amazon.
TRIM-LOK Universal D Refrigerator Gasket Door Seal
Another popular brand to buy refrigerator gaskets is TRIM-LOK. It’s D-style Refrigerator gaskets are especially popular among customer of old refrigerators. The refrigerator gaskets they provide are universal and of high-quality.
If you have a vintage refrigerator which have D Refrigerator door seal, then you can buy one in variety of length in 14 ft, 17 ft, 25 ft, 40 ft. packages. D style door seals work with dishwashers as well. So, don’t worry about the wastage.
Grab TRIM LOK Universal D Refrigerator Gasket Door Seal from Amazon here. Price just reduced!
How To Replace Refrigerator Gaskets?
In case it is not eligible for further repair, your fridge gaskets should be replaced. Very fortunately, it is cheaper and easier to replace them.
The gaskets are attached to the fridge door with some mounted screws underneath. You just need to loosen them & peel the gaskets from the door using a putty knife or any other thin tool. The damaged gasket will get removed.
Put the new gasket by applying the reverse procedure, then tighten the screws. It will fit the gasket to the fridge door.
Rub a thin amount of petroleum jelly to the new gaskets to improve the seal. It will also protect the gaskets from drying up.
Check out this helpful video of Steve from PartSelect who will run through the process of removing an old damaged gasket and install a new gasket in your refrigerator –
Conclusion
This is all you need to know to replace faulty refrigerator gasket from your refrigerator with a new one without needing to call any technician.
Hope this helps! If you have any other issue regarding your refrigerator or if you’re looking for tips on how to buy refrigerator, this website probably have the best advice for you. Explore around a little!
