5 Types of Refrigerator Door Gaskets

Refrigerator door gaskets seal the interior of the fridge air tight to allow the temperature inside to be maintained. Once the door gaskets are damaged, warm air can enter and lessen the efficiency of the appliance. In addition, refrigerator door gaskets also provide effective protection from insects and pests that may damage the food inside the fridge. When the gasket on a refrigerator door is damaged or worn out, it is very simple to replace. In order to get the best gasket, consider the following types of gaskets.

Magnetic Door Gasket

Magnetic door gaskets use the force of magnetism to shut the door to the door jamb tight. The contact point of this type of gasket to the inside frame of the appliance is square and hard.  Most refrigerator units usually use this type of gasket as it is the most popular. However, it needs to be pre-installed if it is to be used on a unit that used a non-magnetic gasket before. When this gasket is close to the door jamb (at about an inch or less), the magnet gets attracted to the metal on the frame and thus closes the door shut.

There are only 2 main types of refrigerator door gaskets—magnetic and non-magnetic. However, these types can also be subdivided according to how they are mounted on the door. Read on for more info below.

Compression Door Gasket

This type of gasket is a non-magnetic door gasket. However, it uses a door latch in order to seal it tight against the door jamb. A compression gasket is soft and can easily compress to the contact point. This compression provides the sealing effect. As long as the gasket comes with the proper latch, it will continue to provide an airtight seal on the fridge for a long time.

Snap-in Door Gasket

This door gasket is also called a dart gasket because it has a sort of a dart in the middle. This dart snaps into the slot provided in the door. The installation of this gasket requires soaking it first in warm water for at least 10 minutes to get it soft and pliable. When the gasket is set, it needs to seat on the door frame properly before being used.

Push-in Door Gasket

This type of gasket needs to be glued to the door in order to be installed. Usually, vinyl cement is used an adhesive for this type of gasket. The installation of the gasket only requires that it is pushed into position after the adhesive has been applied, thus its name.

Screw-in Door Gasket

This type of door gasket has been misnamed for some reason because it can also be glued or stapled to the door pan even without providing screws. Afterward, mounting strips or screws are used to further add to the mounting strength.  When installing this type of gasket, it is imperative not to over-tighten the screws or the mounting clips because it may break the gasket.