By
eHow Home & Garden Editor
Difficulty: Moderately challenging
Things You’ll Need:
Step1
Buy a gasket that fits your door exactly.
Step2
Soak the new gasket in hot water in the sink to make it pliable.
Step3
Make sure the refrigerator is level.
Step4
Find a nut driver that will fit the screws holding the old gasket in place and lay out your tools where you'll be able to reach them.
Step5
Start at the top outside corner of the door and fold the old gasket back as you partly loosen the screws along half of the top and side. Don't loosen them all the way.
Step6
Pull the old gasket out.
Step7
Attach the new gasket by pushing it beneath the metal retainer and tightening the screws as you go.
Step8
Replace each section the same way.
Step9
Shut the door and check for gaps. The seal should lie straight and smooth all the way around the door.
Step10
Notice if there are gaps between the gasket and the frame - this may indicate that the door has warped. (Fix it by loosening the screws and twisting the door a little. You may have to do this a few times before you get the door straight.)
Step11
Put a flashlight in the freezer pointed toward the opening and shut the door. Turn off the lights. You shouldn't see any light leaking through.
Comments
DiscountTickets said
on 6/11/2008 What is a gasket? How does it look like?
tarsi210 said
on 10/4/2007 I found that it is, by far, MUCH easier to simply remove the door and lay it flat on the ground on its face (I removed the handle as well so it would lay flat) before loosening the screws. Doing it while the door was on the fridge pulled the door out of square and made it a complete pain to work on. Flat on the ground kept it straight and let me work on it much easier.
Anonymous said
on 1/19/2006 The best idea seems to be to put the whole gasket into your clothes dryer on low heat for 5 - 10 minutes before starting the job. That way the entire gasket, rather than just a localized spot, is warm and pliable by the time you are ready to put it in place. Any kinks from packing are smoothed out, and the whole job goes swimmingly!
Anonymous said
on 11/22/2005 When you soak the gasket in hot water you will add more work than you bargain for. It makes a mess. To make the new gasket more pliable use a hair dryer. You heat only the section of the gasket that you're working on. Once one section is completed, move to the next. Do this until all the gasket is in place. Then look for leaks in the newly installed gasket.