How to Replace a Refrigerator Door Gasket

Is your refrigerator struggling to keep your food cold? A worn-out door gasket might be the culprit, letting precious cold air escape and driving up your electric bills. Fear not, because with our easy guide and how-to video just below, you can replace your fridge’s gasket yourself and restore your appliance to peak efficiency in no time!

Once you have identified the part needed for your fridge, search below using your specific refrigerator model number to identify the exact part needed:

Signs That You Should Replace Your Refrigerator Door Gasket

Sometimes, a visual inspection of the gasket is enough to verify that it needs to be replaced, but there are a few other symptoms of a deteriorating door gasket:

1. Tears or cracks may not be visible, so run your hands over the gasket to see if you can feel any damage.
2. The door won’t stay closed, or there is no resistance when opening it.
3. The refrigerator’s interior is warmer than it should be, or the air just around the door seam feels unusually cool.
4. Condensation or “sweating” is forming on food at the front of the fridge or on the door itself. This condensation can show up on the interior or exterior.
5. The fridge seems to be running constantly. If the gasket isn’t creating a proper seal, the refrigerator will run more to compensate for the loss of cold air.

Finding The Right Replacement Part

So, you know you need a new door gasket, but how do you know which one to buy? Start by tracking down your fridge’s model number. That’s the key to getting a compatible part. If you don’t still have the manual, you can typically find the model number on a sticker somewhere on the appliance itself.

Refrigerator model numbers can be found in several locations. Check the following places:

• On the exterior door or sides of the appliance
• Inside the door or on the door frame
• On the interior ceiling of the freezer or refrigerator compartment
• On the inside wall of either compartment
• On the fridge floor, beneath the crisper drawers
• Behind the kickplate at the bottom of the appliance

Once you’ve got that model number, you can search or in the search box above in this article or at AppliancePartsPros.com to find a compatible refrigerator door seal. Your genuine OEM part will arrive in just a few days, getting you on your way quickly!

How To Replace a Refrigerator Door Gasket

The steps laid out in this article and the companion video were completed on a Whirlpool refrigerator and can be watched in the video above. Even if you have another brand or model of refrigerator, though, this guide should still be some help! Most refrigerator doors can be removed in the same way, and while gaskets are not one universal size, the steps to install them are roughly identical. This is an easy repair, and we’ll have you back in working order in just a few minutes!

Before You Begin…

Make sure your refrigerator is unplugged before beginning any work. Never complete repairs or maintenance on a major appliance that is still receiving power!

Assuming everything goes to plan, this should be a quick repair job. You don’t need to clear out your whole refrigerator, but you will be taking the refrigerator door completely off, so it’s important that you:

• Remove and relocate anything that needs to stay at a certain temperature, like medications.
• Remove anything in the door’s shelves or bins. You don’t want excess weight on it.

Tools Needed to Replace Your Refrigerator Gasket

To replace your refrigerator’s door gasket, you’ll need a few tools:

1. A compatible replacement refrigerator door gasket
2. Work gloves
3. Socket wrench or nut driver
4. Wire cutter or other small, sharp snips
5. Putty knife

Steps to Replace A Refrigerator Door Gasket

1. Prep the new gasket. Soak the gasket in warm water or leave it out in the warm sun for a bit to relax it. You don’t want any wrinkles or creases in the gasket when you install it. Soaking it will also help to remove any dust, grime, or debris that the gasket may have collected while being packaged. You can wait to do this until you’ve taken the door off the fridge, but don’t install the new gasket without prepping it first!
2. Are you working on a door with an ice and water dispenser? If so, you will need to make sure that it is fully disconnected first.
   a. Disconnect the wire harness providing power to the dispenser. You can do this from inside the refrigerator door.
   b. Disconnect the dispenser’s water line. You should be able to access this hose from behind the front kick plate at the bottom of your refrigerator. Disconnect the compression fitting.
3. Remove the plastic cover over the refrigerator door hinge. It just snaps into place, so pull up on it to take it off.
4. Using a socket wrench or nut driver, remove the  three bolts holding the hinge on. On our Whirlpool refrigerator, they were 5/16 bolts.
5. Lift the hinge off and set it aside, be sure to keep track of the spacer, as well. It’s a thin sheet between the hinge and the refrigerator body.
6. Lift the door off of the refrigerator. You will need to pull it away slightly before lifting it off of the bottom hinge. Once you have the door off, set it on a flat, easy to access surface like a table or counter.
7. Verify that your new gasket is the right size and free of defects by laying it out over the old gasket and checking that it lines up. Don’t take the old gasket off without first making 100% sure you’ve got the right part!
8. Remove the old gasket.a. Starting in the middle of one of the long sides of the refrigerator door, peel the damaged door gasket back. Once you have it pulled away, use a wire cutter to snip the gasket to the door liner.a. Pull on the gasket carefully to remove it from beneath the door’s liner. Once it’s free, cut the gasket the rest of the way.b. Take one of the new gasket tails and carefully pull the gasket out of the refrigerator liner, working all the way around the door. Be sure to pull out and not up. If you pull up, you could dislodge or damage the refrigerator door liner.
9. Clear out the space between the liner and the door. Using a putty knife with tape wrapped around the top ¾ inch of the blade, carefully work your way around the door, pushing away any foam that might be between the door liner and the door interior. Make sure you don’t go any more than ¾ inch in to avoid damaging any other components.
10. Install the new gasket, working from opposite corners and then around the body.a. Starting in one corner, stick part of the new gasket under the liner, then use a rounded tool like a nut driver – nothing with a sharp edge because you don’t want to risk damaging the new gasket – to push it fully into place.b. Work in the corner and a few inches on either side, then move to the opposite corner and repeat the process. If you started with the bottom right, do the top left, next.c. Do the same with the remaining corners.

    d. Go around the rest of the door pressing the rest of the gasket into place.

11. Reinstall the refrigerator door.a. Set the door down on the lower hinge, then close it.b. Set the hinge spacer and the hinge back in place, and then reinstall the mounting bolts, first by hand threading and then with a nut driver or socket wrench.c. Put the hinge cover back in place.

    d. If you’re working on a door with a water/ice dispenser, don’t forget to reconnect any wire harnesses and the water line!

You’ve successfully replaced a refrigerator door gasket! Plug the appliance back in and put anything you removed back in place. For the next few hours, keep an eye on the temperature and double check for the symptoms of a faulty or damaged door gasket – leaking cold air, condensation, or the refrigerator running non-stop.

Where To Find Us 

If you need any replacement parts for your appliances, you can enter your model number at AppliancePartsPros.com to locate and order them quickly. Most orders arrive in just two business days, and we have tons of great information in our repair help section and YouTube videos to help you troubleshoot.

Stay connected with the latest DIY tips, tutorial videos, and repair guides by following us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. We love hearing about your repair stories and successes. If you need more help or want personalized guidance, feel free to contact or call us at 877-477-7278. We’re ready to help you take on your next project with confidence!

Since 1999, AppliancePartsPros.com has helped millions of people repair their broken appliances by providing high-quality original parts at well below retail prices, free support and troubleshooting, and award-winning customer service from an expert, friendly, US-based customer support team!