A worn fridge door seal is easy to miss and costly to ignore. Warm, damp air leaks in, frost builds up, the compressor runs longer and the power bill climbs. The test is simple: close the door on a sheet of paper and pull. If it slides out easily anywhere around the door, the seal is not doing its job. Send your model number and the door size, and suppliers and technicians near you quote for a seal on its own or fitted. There is no charge for the request and no obligation to accept.
Signs a door seal needs replacing
- Paper slides out easily when the door is closed on it.
- The rubber is torn, flattened, hard or has come away at a corner.
- Frost or ice builds up near the door, or water collects at the bottom of the fridge.
- Black mould sits in the folds and will not clean off.
- The compressor runs much longer than it used to.
A long-running compressor wears faster, so a cheap seal can save a costly repair later. See fridge compressors.
Try these fixes first
A seal that is not sticking is not always finished. Wash it with warm soapy water and dry it; sticky spills stop the magnet seating. A kinked seal often recovers if you warm it gently with a hairdryer and press it flat. Check the fridge is level and tilted slightly back so the door swings shut. A sagging door with loose hinges will never seal, whatever the gasket. Lift the door gently at the handle end: if it moves up and down, tighten or replace the hinge before you spend money on rubber.
Model-specific or cut to size
Many household seals are moulded for one model, with corners and a profile that push into a groove or screw under a strip. Others are made up from a universal profile cut to size with welded corners. Measure the inside of the door from corner to corner, note the profile and give the model number. Commercial upright fridges, display fridges and cold rooms use heavier profiles; a cold room door may also need its heater strip checked.
What it costs and who fits it
As a guide, a household door seal is about R380 to R500 for the part, depending on the model and size, or about R800 to R2,000 fitted, including the visit. Push-in seals are a fair DIY job. Screw-on seals take longer, as you work around the liner without cracking it. Order the freezer and fridge seals together if both are worn, which saves on courier and call-out. Leave a new seal for a day for the folds to settle before you judge the fit. See fridge parts for other spares.
What to include in your request
- Model number from the rating sticker
- Inside door size, corner to corner
- A photo of the seal profile and how it fits
- Which doors: fridge, freezer or both
- Seal only, or fitted on site
Fridge Door Seals for different clients
- Households: a new seal for a fridge that frosts up and runs all day
- Landlords, guest houses and B&Bs: seals for tenants' fridges at the end of a lease inspection
- Shops, cafes and supermarkets: glass door seals for bottle coolers opened hundreds of times a day
- Restaurants, butcheries and caterers: replacement gaskets on kitchen fridges and freezers that inspectors check
- Farms, packhouses and dairies: a seal for the chest freezer in the farm store or packhouse
- Factories and cold stores: door gaskets for walk-in coolers and canteen fridges
- Schools, clinics and public buildings: seals for clinic fridges and school kitchen freezers
- Technicians and repairers: universal seal profile and corner kits for jobs across town
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if my fridge door seal is bad?
Why is my fridge door seal not sticking?
How much does it cost to replace a fridge door seal?
How does the quote request work?
Fridge Door Seals by province and city
- Johannesburg
- Pretoria
- Centurion
- Midrand
- Sandton
- Randburg
- Roodepoort
- Krugersdorp
- Randfontein
- Germiston
- Boksburg
- Benoni
- Kempton Park
- Alberton
- Vanderbijlpark
- Vereeniging
- Durban
- Pinetown
- Pietermaritzburg
- Richards Bay
- Newcastle
- Ladysmith
- Gqeberha (Port Elizabeth)
- East London
- Kariega (Uitenhage)
- Mthatha
- Cape Town
- Bellville
- Paarl
- Stellenbosch
- George
- Worcester
- eMalahleni (Witbank)
- Middelburg
- Secunda
- Mbombela (Nelspruit)
- Rustenburg
- Brits
- Klerksdorp
- Potchefstroom
- Mahikeng
- Polokwane
- Tzaneen
- Kimberley
- Upington
- Bloemfontein
- Welkom
- Sasolburg