How To Replace or Repair A Refrigerator Door Bin

Tired of dealing with broken refrigerator door shelves that seem to crack at the worst times? You’re not alone, and thankfully, replacing these essential components is easier than you think. Dive into our step-by-step guide and discover our video tutorial just below, making sure your fridge is back in working order faster than ever!

Sometimes it seems like the shelves and retaining bars on the inside of refrigerator doors are a bit too easy to break. Luckily, if something does go wrong, they’re even easier to fix. Check out our guide below to learn how to replace a damaged refrigerator door bin, then keep reading to get some extra tips and tricks for maintaining those shelves and repairing the ones that are too old to replace.

When To Replace A Refrigerator Door Shelf Bin Or Bar

This is pretty obvious, right? If it’s cracked, broken, or missing, and no longer holding jars and condiments in place properly, it’s probably time to replace that shelf bin. There are some other instances where it might  be prudent to pop an old retaining bar or bin out and replace it with a new one:

• Is it getting brittle? If it feels like it might crack or crumble at any moment, you’ll probably save yourself from a future mess by replacing the part before it breaks completely. If a shelf breaks and its contents fall, it can easily break all the shelves below it.
• Is it badly discolored? White plastic can yellow with age – an issue that can be difficult to fix without degrading the material. Certain stains, too, can be impossible to lift away. Replacing old, stained, or faded refrigerator components can refresh the look of your appliance at a fraction of the cost of replacing the fridge entirely.

Finding The Right Replacement Door Bin

Getting a perfect fit on a refrigerator door shelf bin, retaining bar, or dairy bin cover is important because it ensures that whatever you store is going to be secure. You’ll avoid accidentally messes like broken bottles or dropped eggs with a part that fits the space allotted exactly. To guarantee you get that perfect fit, you’ll want to buy an OEM part, or “original equipment manufacturer”, which means the part was produced by the company that made your appliance.

Finding an OEM part is easy if you have your refrigerator’s model number. To get that, check on the appliance itself – it’ll be printed on a sticker somewhere on the appliance’s body. For refrigerators, here are the best places to start looking:

• 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 tracked that number down, it’s time to take your search online. Get on over to AppliancePartsPros.com and search by your model number or head straight to the refrigerator drawer, shelf, and pan parts page. You’ll be presented with a list of compatible parts, including shelf bins, retaining bars, and dairy bin covers, and if you order through us, the part can be shipped to you in as little as two days!

How To Replace A Refrigerator Door Bin

Door bins, retaining bars, and dairy shelf covers are generally all installed the same way regardless of the refrigerator’s make and model. It’s a simple job and there aren’t too many surprises waiting. So, while our video tutorial walks through replacing the top shelf bin on a Frigidaire side-by-side refrigerator, you can use our instructions to replace just about any bin, bar, or cover on almost any make or model of fridge.

Tools & Prep Work

Most shelf bins, doors, and bars can be installed without the use of tools, but it can’t hurt to have a flathead screwdriver or putty knife handy to potentially release any locking tabs or clear out any gunk that might be leaving an old shelf stuck in place.

Before you get started, you’ll want to clear off the shelf you’re replacing. Remove everything, wipe every item down with a damp cloth, paying special attention to the bottoms of jars and bottles, and then dry each one and set them aside. This ensures that you aren’t immediately dirtying your new component with old gunk still left on any jam jars or mustard bottles. You can skip the cleaning step for cardboard or paper containers – it’s better to avoid contact with water for those.

Now may also be a good time to clean off your new part, as well. They can often come from the factory or warehouse coated in dust, so it’s a good idea to dust the new part off at least. You can also wash the component with warm water and standard dish soap. Just make sure it’s dried completely before you begin.

Prep done? Okay! Let’s get it installed.

Replacing A Refrigerator Door Bin

1. With the old bin, shelf, or bar cleared off, press up on it from the bottom or lift it up from the rim. You should feel it clear the brackets it was resting on.
   • If there’s some resistance, it might be stuck by old gunk. You can try sliding a paint scraper along the part that’s stuck, or applying a warm dish rag to loosen up whatever’s holding it in place.
2. Once the old tray is freed from its brackets or tabs, it can simply be removed from the refrigerator.
3. To install the new tray, bin, or bar, align the shelf with the tabs on the refrigerator door and press the tray down into place until it won’t go any further. On some refrigerators, it will snap into place once secure.
4. You’re done! You can now put the items you removed from the old shelf earlier into the new shelf.

Replacing A Refrigerator Door Shelf Bar Or Dairy Cover

If the steps described above don’t work for you, try out this method instead:

1. With the old shelf or bin completely cleared off, grip it and slide it to the left (you can also try sliding it to the right instead). You may need to gently flex the plastic.
2. This should clear the bin, bar, or cover from one mounting point, allowing you to lift it up and out of the refrigerator.
3. When installing the new component, seat it on the left (or right, whichever side you had to slide the old one to dislodge it) before seating the right side. Press down lightly to ensure the part is locked into place.
4. All done! Put all the items you removed back into the tray before shutting the door.

4 Tips To Keep Your Refrigerator Shelving Parts In Good Shape

Make sure you’re taking these steps to prolong the longevity of your refrigerator’s door shelf accessories:

1. Make sure there’s room to close the refrigerator doors

If your refrigerator or freezer compartments are packed so full that items are hanging off the edge of the compartment shelves, you could risk cracking and breaking the plastic shelving parts on the door when closing it. This might also damage your gasket or refrigerator door mullion, so it’s a good idea to break this bad habit.

Always make sure that there is room to shut the appliance’s doors before closing them and never force or slam the door shut, especially if you’re meeting resistance when trying to close it. That’s a quick way to wind up with a cracked shelf barrier and probably a bigger mess.

2. Don’t overstuff the door shelves, and keep them organized

You don’t need to be a home cook to know those door shelves fill up quickly with all sorts of sauces, condiments, jams, and pickles. Those shelves are made of study plastic, but they still have a weight limit. To avoid prematurely cracking and breaking a door bin or retaining bar, be ready to reorganize when things start looking full. If you have to force a jar into a bin or shelf, there’s not room for it.

3. Wipe off jars and bottles before putting them away

One way you can stave off stains and yellowing is by wiping off anything normally stored on the shelves after you use it. Condiments, jams, and sauces not only leave stains that can be hard to clean out of plastic once set, but a container that goes into the fridge sticky can also get stuck in place, risking damage to the shelf when you go to remove it again later.

4. Let the shelving come to room temperature before cleaning it

Sudden temperature changes can cause things like plastic and glass to break. You’ll protect your shelving accessories from potential damage by taking them out of the fridge ahead of time and letting them warm up a little before they’re washed in warm, soapy water.

What To Do If A Compatible Part Is No Longer Available

If a compatible OEM part is available to you, you should always purchase that as a replacement. Most fixes are temporary at best, and some can potentially leave shelving brittle. Sometimes, though, you don’t have much of a choice. If your appliance is older and the part you need is discontinued and out of stock, what do you do? Well, you can try to fix the shelf yourself.

For a proper fix, you’ll need a sealant that is suitable for colder temperatures. Most tapes aren’t going to cut it. The cold inside your fridge or freezer can leave the adhesive ineffective, and the tape will start peeling away. Instead, a food-safe silicone sealant is your best option, and certain superglues (like Gorilla Glue, specifically) can be highly cold resistant – making them ideal for your purposes.

Be sure to wear proper safety gear when applying glue, and work in a well-ventilated area. Allow the glue and plastic to dry completely before reinstalling the part in the fridge, and if you’re concerned about lumpy glue marks or fingerprints, you can typically sand those out once the glue has dried with 100-grit sandpaper.

If your shelf is cracked or broken and you’re facing the last resort of gluing it because the part is discontinued, you may also want to add bracing to the crack to prolong the fix. Salvage a flat piece of plastic from your recycling bin and, using that same cold-resistant adhesive, glue the plastic bracing over the crack. It may be unsightly, but it provides necessary storage at the cost of appearance.

Looking for some more advice on what to do if the manufacturer is no longer producing the part you need? Learn how to deal with appliance components that are no longer available here!

Wrapping Up

By now you should know just about everything there is to know about maintaining, repairing, and replacing those door shelves. If you found this guide helpful, why not check out the other ways we can help?

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!