Whirlpool Gold Refrigerator Door Seal


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Old 01-19-17, 07:48 AM
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Whirlpool Gold Refrigerator Door Seal

Evidently the door seal on my 7 year old Whirpool Gold refrigerator (bottom mount freezer) is leaking. I am getting frost on the top of the door ledge and all over the back panel and condensor coil. I have to do a forced defrost every couple days because my control board is apparently faulty and isn't initiating the defrost cycle. I purchased a new seal a few weeks ago and due to the way it was packaged (twisted into a figure 8), it was full of kinks. I soaked it in warm water for a few hours but that didn't help. I ended up re-using my old seal because it was in better shape. So, I still have the problem with leakage and am not sure what to do at this point. I'll be replacing the control board so the auto defrost will work again, but it's going to run every couple days, which could get expensive. I'm not sure what to do at this point. I raised the door height by about 1/16" to better align the seal with the freezer opening, but that didn't help. Maybe I could add some weather stripping around the opening of the freezer to make a better seal? Should I buy another seal and soak it for a few days until the kinks work themselves out?
 
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Old 01-19-17, 08:11 AM
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You're going to need to get the right gasket. Usually the gasket will untwist without damage unless it's old. Then is stays permanently kinked.
 
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Old 01-19-17, 09:18 AM
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Does the new door seal have bends or are they actually sharp kinks? They all ship in small boxes and get folded to fit and must be kinked hard to break or permanently stretch the magnetic strip inside. After installation the bends are usually greatly minimized then after it spends some time sealed against the door it straightens right out.
 
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Old 01-19-17, 11:17 AM
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Okay. Maybe I'll order another and give it a try again. I installed it and it gave me less suction than the old one so I returned it. What's a good place to get these types of parts online? I got the last one from Sears.com
 
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Old 01-19-17, 05:10 PM
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I get them wherever the price is best and they all come in similarly small boxes so the seal is twisted around to fit. Have you looked at your door to see if it's warped? Close it and see if the seal touches evenly. The only way I've come up with to straighten is brute force.
 
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Old 01-31-17, 08:25 PM
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I hadn't thought of this before, but could it be the refrigerator seal that is leaking and is letting humidity inside the fridge and settling in the bottom where the freezer is? I cleaned the refrigerator seal last week and the freezer hasn't frosted up since. I added some thin weatherstripping around the perimeter of the freezer opening as well at the same time, but there was frost the next morning so I don't think the weatherstripping helped any.
 
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Old 02-01-17, 08:15 AM
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In many fridges the fridge and freezer sections share are so a problem with the seal on either can cause a moisture problem. You can use a dollar bill under the seal to check them.
 
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Old 02-06-17, 09:08 AM
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I did the dollar bill trick and it slides right out. The seal on the fridge doesn't seem that great. I can pull on it with one finger and it opens. The seal looks kind of flat too. Guess there's only one way to find out. Although the frost buildup in the freezer starts along the top ledge of the drawer and all over the light, which is why I've always figured it was the freezer seal.
 
 

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