What should I do if the refrigerator door does not close tightly?

The correct and long-term operation of the refrigerator depends on several reasons. One of them is the tightness of household appliances. As a result of depressurization, warm air enters the internal compartment, which leads to the formation of ice. The load on the cooling system is increasing, which is forced to constantly drive freon to maintain the desired temperature in the space of the refrigerator. And this leads to premature wear of the unit and the subsequent purchase of a new refrigerator.

Reasons for loose closing of the refrigerator doors

There are several ways to check the proper operation of a refrigerator:

1. A sheet of paper is placed on the seal and the doors are closed. If the sheet remains hanging, and the doors are closed, and when you try to pull it out, the sheet resists, the tightness is not broken. Otherwise, they are looking for the cause of the depressurization and ways to eliminate it.
2. The included flashlight is placed on the upper shelf of the unit, the equipment is closed. If the light breaks through the sealing gum - the refrigerator is leaky.

The causes of leakage may be:

1. Warping shelves as a result of clogging the refrigerator with pots and pans. The handles of the dishes interfere with the integrity of the unit. To make the equipment easy to close, the shelves are freed from excess.
2. Worn door hinges or poor lubrication. If the shelves of the refrigeration unit are not overloaded, and the door is slightly skewed and creaks when closing, then the hinges need lubrication. It is bought at hardware stores or usually engine oil is pumped into a syringe, the fasteners are loosened slightly and lubricated and the loops are adjusted.
3. The rubber seal is out of order, worn out, becomes tough and poorly seals.
4. The rubber seal is dirty. He is dirty with fat, clogged with small garbage, crumbs from food.
5. The level is not adjusted. With a slight deviation of the refrigerator forward, the door spontaneously opens. Horizontal adjustment of the refrigerator using a building level easily solves the problem.
6. Problems with the spacer made of plastic, due to which the closing element falls down. To shut the refrigerator, the door is lifted and closed by household appliances. But this is only a temporary solution to the problem. The spacer must be replaced, otherwise the part will fall off soon.
7. If in the new generation refrigerator the sensor gives signals and the refrigerator is tightly closed, it means that it is out of order and needs to be replaced.
8. Deformation of the door due to overload. Bottles and heavy products are removed from its side shelves.
9. Deformation of the door due to the fall of the refrigerator. You can harm the integrity of the refrigerator when moving to a new place of residence or when delivering a new unit upon purchase. In this case, replacement of the closing part is indispensable.

Leak tightness troubleshooting

If problems with tightness are found, they are solved immediately, otherwise the refrigeration unit will soon fail:

1. Adjustment of the closing element. The cord of the refrigerator is removed from the power supply. Allow to stand for 30 minutes. Then, using a wrench, slightly unscrew the upper and lower bolts.When tilting up, remove 1 upper gasket and tighten the fasteners, when tilting down - remove 1 gasket at the bottom and tighten the fasteners. Check the tightness of the refrigerator.
2. Level adjustment. The refrigerator is installed according to the building level by twisting the legs or inserting pieces of linoleum, cardboard. Deviations from the level back by several degrees are allowed.
3. The creaking of parts is eliminated by lubrication with solid oil, lithol, machine oil, injected into a syringe or with the purchased WD Aerosol.
4. Replace spacer. Spacers are divided into plastic and metal. Metal is stronger, but wear out faster and make a creak. If you can’t get the necessary part, change the door.

Seal repair

You can restore the tightness of household appliances by washing the seal from dirt with water and soda. With a slight deformation, its service life is also extended. The form of the sealing gum is returned using boiling water. To do this, remove the sealant, pour hot water along the entire length, softening the rubber, and straighten it, returning it to its original shape. Sometimes, to return to the sealant of the old form, it is not removed. They use a hairdryer to warm up, supplying hot air to the rubber coating, softening it, straighten the seal and close the doors. The rubber cools down when the unit is closed and takes its original shape.

Seal replacement

If there is yellowing of the rubber, the material has become stiff, cracked, the seal needs replacement. When buying a seal, indicate the model and dimensions of the refrigerator. To carry out the cuff replacement procedure:

• the closing part is carefully removed from the hinges, without leaving scratches and dents on its surface;
• using a screwdriver, remove the old worn rubber, starting from any angle;
• the surface under the rubber coating is thoroughly washed and dried;
• put on a new door, straightening it;
• fasten in the channel around the perimeter with glue or screws;
• warm the structure with hot air from the hair dryer, removing waves and gaps;
• fasten the door in place, check the tightness of the new seal, if necessary, straighten it.

Skew elimination

You can eliminate the skew by hanging the closing element on the other side:

5. Disconnect the device from the power supply, take out shelves and drawers. Let the refrigerator stand for a while.
6. They deflect it from themselves by 45 degrees and fix the position.
7. Remove the protective covers.
8. Unscrew the fasteners from below the doors, then from above. Carefully removed.
9. With the help of an assistant, set the part on the opposite side, first tightening the upper bolts, then the lower ones.
10. Plugs cover the holes for fasteners, return the protective covers to their place. Tighten the mounts.
11. Rearrange the pens.

Tips & Tricks

Refrigerators are classified as expensive household appliances and are purchased for decades. In order for the unit to work longer, observe the operating rules:

1. The refrigerator does not open immediately after it is closed. Inside the chamber at this moment a discharge occurs, and the cuff sticks to the body more strongly. At the time of opening the door at this time microcracks appear on the seal. You should wait 1-2 minutes, and then go to the refrigerator.
2. The sealant is washed, cleaned of dirt and crumbs during each defrosting of the refrigeration unit.
3. Do not slam the doors when closing the equipment. This destroys the integrity of the sealing gum. Any technique loves respect.
4. Do not store heavy bottles and cans of pickles on doors and shelves. Such an action will save doors and shelves from skewing.
5. In the absence of lubricants, eliminate the creaking of parts of refrigeration units using chips from a regular simple pencil.

The main reasons for the depressurization of refrigeration units are very simple and do not require the intervention of professional craftsmen. They are handled by ordinary users at home, not forgetting the tips and tricks. In case of serious violations, they turn to repair workshops to replace doors and other parts or acquire new equipment.