Fridge Door Doesn't Shut Properly

I have an Amana side by side fridge - freezer unit. It is about 9 years old.

The fridge door doesn't shut very well, and needs to be pushed shut to get a tight seal. (It used to self shut quite nicely.)

What (other than age) causes this and can it easily be remedied, or is this a sign that's it's time?

Ian

Reply to
jjmjij
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First thing I would check is that it is still level and the bushings on the door are ok (open door and lift up handle side). If that is ok it may need a new magnetic seal.

Reply to
RayV

snipped-for-privacy@yahoo.com wrote in news:1157585425.765785.12380 @e3g2000cwe.googlegroups.com:

I assume the gasket is in good shape. Not crushed, torn or dried out in areas. The magnets in the gasket should pull the gasket and make it expand as it approached the frig frame. If has dry areas, it won't expand/seal.

Another possibility is the door is twisted.

Assuming freezer on left and hinges on the left side of that door, is it not sealing at the upper or lower corner on the handle side? I've seen repair people just grab the two corners on the and give it a good twist as the some doors are made to flex (or just plain cheap). I tried it once. It worked.

Disclaimer: Yours may not be designed for this. You could #%*@ it up worse or crack something.

Reply to
Al Bundy

Things to look for:

Check the door frame bottom for any signs of rubbing from the bottom of the shelf on the door. This can happen sometimes at the lower shelf, by loading it to kingdom come with lots heavy items.

Check for alignment, and how the door itself closes, and meets the body of the fridge. The soor could've sagged a bit over time, and one, or both hinges may need to be loosened, the door lifted, and the hinges then re-tightened. Again, look for evidence of rubbing.

How does the door open, and close? Does it feel smooth, effortless when swinging back, and forth? Try a drop, or two of some good lube oil at the hinge pins, and see if this helps? Mark

Reply to
Mark D

According to :

An appliance serviceman was interviewed on the radio some time back, and said that by far the most common reason for this is that the fridge case has twisted. Usually due to improper levelling or the floor has sagged a bit. Cases on appliances aren't very rigid, and can distort quite a bit.

Was visiting a friend last summer, and they were having the same problem with a fridge after moving into their new home.

Remembering the radio program, I tried fiddling with the levelling feet. A couple of minutes later, it was working perfectly.

The serviceman did say that sometimes the case will acquire a "set", and you may have to overcompensate and wait a few days for it to "unset".

You can try twisting it, but it's better to let it do it's own thing once you've corrected the levelling problem.

Another possibility may be that the hinges have slipped (if there's slack built into the hinges).

Reply to
Chris Lewis

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