How to install a refrigerator gasket

Who is putting magnet droppings inside the refrigerator? I looked at the boys just in case they had taken scissors from the craft closet. I checked if the magnet monster in the house to see if they had to use the bathroom. Both situations were negative. After looking at the refrigerator door I saw that the gasket had a crack along the top and that it was also fraying parts of it, leaving it inside and creating a loose seal once it was closed.

Don’t panic when you hear the word ‘gasket’. Before I knew what a gasket was I imagined all manner of complex parts that help make the car engine go. Your manifold gasket is blown, don’t’ blow a gasket or others come to mind as things that bring about the worst case scenario.

A gasket is just a piece of rubber or plastic that goes between two surfaces to create a tight seal.

Thus, your refrigerator gasket is simply the plastic thing that cushions the door when it closes. For the purposes of repair, ‘the plastic thing that cushions the door when it closes’ doesn’t make the consumer sound as informed as, ‘I need a new refrigerator gasket’.

In hindsight I should’ve known that the refrigerator gasket was not functioning because food and drink wasn’t being kept cold. There was also the manner of the black oval slips that kept appearing in the refrigerator. The later one should have been a dead giveaway.

We called our local repair service they said that the gasket would be $95 and installation would be $150. Yikes. Instead of doing that we found the model number of the refrigerator and ordered it ourselves.

How to install a refrigerator gasket

1. Remove the old, possibly broken gasket
2. Clean the crevice with a towel
3. Slide the new gasket in, starting at the top of the door.
4. Close the refrigerator door.

It’s possible that it might not fit snuggly at first, in those cases use a hair drier on low to heat the gasket and gently ensure that it’s in the groove.

No tools are required. No glue is needed. Leave the caulk in the garage and simply let tongue and groove technology do its magic. You do not need to pay a handyman or appliance company $150 to install a refrigerator gasket. The job took us five minutes and it’ll take anyone else the same amount of time.