Sealing gum on the refrigerator

Today, such a household appliance as a refrigerator can be found in almost every modern apartment. Every day we open his door several times to get the necessary food for cooking. Due to intensive use, the sealing gum on the refrigerator quickly enough fails and requires repair or replacement. In this article we will tell you how to replace this part and what may be the consequences of its malfunction.

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Sealing gum for the refrigerator

If you look closely at the refrigerator, you can find an unremarkable rubber strip that is located around the perimeter of the door structure. The gum on the refrigerator is installed to ensure sealing of the inner chamber and to achieve maximum closure density of the door.

Popular varieties

In the modern market of household accessories, a wide range of rubber bands for the refrigerator is presented, which are not only made of various materials, but also differ in design. Depending on the design features, the following types of components are distinguished:

• one-balloon;
• two-balloon.

Type of mount

Depending on the model of your refrigerator, the seal can be connected to the door in one of the following ways:

1. Gluing. This method of attaching the sealing gum is the most economical, but short-lived. For this purpose, polymer-based adhesives are used, but they are vulnerable to prolonged exposure to low temperatures.
2. Groove fastening. In some models of refrigerators around the perimeter of the door there is a specialized channel designed for mounting sealing material. This type of fastening can be encountered when replacing rubber in refrigerators of the Ariston trademark.
3. Screw fastening. Despite the mechanical strength of the installation, this type of system has a significant drawback - in case of component deformation, it will have to be completely replaced.

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What can a seal malfunction lead to?

To determine the need for replacing rubber in the refrigerator is quite simple, because a violation of its integrity and deformation is visible to the naked eye. The most popular consequences of using a household appliance with damaged sealing rubber are the following problems:

1. Increased energy consumption. Due to the depressurization of the main chamber of the refrigerator, the refrigerator cannot provide stable maintenance of the required temperatures, and therefore it constantly works with increased intensity.
2. Ice will begin to form on the inside walls of the refrigerator and a large amount of snow will accumulate.
3. Moisture on internal and external surfaces of refrigeration equipment.

Important! There are two ways to eliminate the depressurization problem - by repairing and replacing the sealing gum of the refrigerator.

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Restore the seal on the refrigerator

You can restore the tightness of closing the door of your refrigeration equipment with the help of a simple repair of a stretched or shifted sealing gum.

Important! It makes sense to carry out repair work only if minor gaps are found around the perimeter of the door.

The most common problems are:

1. If the sealant has lost proper elasticity, then it can be restored by lowering it in hot but not boiling water for 5-10 minutes.
2. If there are holes on the surface of the new gum that are designed to be attached to other models of refrigeration equipment, it will be enough to drown them.

Important! If there are minor violations of the integrity of the seal, they can be eliminated with glue for rubber products. Before gluing, wipe the surface of the product with alcohol.

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Replacing the seal in the refrigerator

If you decide to replace the seal on the refrigerator yourself, first of all, you should purchase a new component that is suitable for your device model.

In the absence of an original component for your unit, you can purchase a similar option, which will have a slightly larger thickness. Such purchases are recommended to be made in service centers or specialized stores.

Important! Before installation, it is necessary to let the sealing rubber lie for at least a day in your kitchen. Thus, the material will not only level out, but will also acquire an appropriate level of humidity and temperature.

Dismantling the old seal

This stage of work on replacing the gum on the refrigerator door is considered to be the most scrupulous and time-consuming. It is imperative that the sealing material is removed as accurately as possible. The surface of the refrigerator door should remain as flat and clean as possible, which will ensure a snug fit of the new rubber.

The method of removing the used gasket is selected based on the type of attachment:

1. If there are grooves or adhesive bonding, the product should be carefully removed from the surface with a spatula or flat head screwdriver.
2. If the rubber was fastened with screws, then it will be enough only to unscrew them.

Important! After removing the old seal, carefully wipe the surface of the refrigerator door from dirt and debris, and also remove any residual adhesive.

Surface preparation

Before changing the sealing gum on the refrigerator, treat the door surface with a medium-acting solvent. An alcohol-containing acrylic paint or white spirit is best suited for this purpose.

Important! Acetone may be useful for removing the adhesive layer, however, it has an excessively strong effect for final cleaning.

Installing a new rubber band

To replace the seal on the refrigerator, it is necessary to use the same type of fastening that was used for the previous gum:

1. Screw mount. Try on new sealing rubber on the door of your refrigerator. If it fits snugly enough and does not cause any concern, just tighten the fasteners.
2. Glue fixation. After fitting the seal, open the door perimeter with a small layer of glue, attach the prepared component to it.

Important! When choosing silicone-based glue and give preference to high-quality products from well-known manufacturers, otherwise, soon enough, you may need to repeat the procedure for replacing the sealant.

After the glue has completely dried, you can connect the refrigerator to the network and continue to use the usual household appliance.

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Stock footage

In this article, we talked about how to replace the gum on the refrigerator door and why it is necessary to carry out such a procedure. We hope that household equipment will serve you for a long time, and the new sealing rubber will provide the necessary tightness of the refrigerator.