When water starts to appear around the refrigerator's door that's normally a sign of a defective door gasket. When this gasket is torn, or ripped then the refrigerator may not be able to stay at the right temperature to keep food cold. Replacing this gasket is easy.

Step 1: Required Tools

¼ inch nut driver
Optional: Cordless Drill with a ¼ inch socket

Step 2:

Now the first step in this repair will be to turn the refrigerator off. Locate the control near the freezer section and turn it to the off position. The next step will be to unload all the bins on the door so there is no weight on it. Then with a ¼ inch nut driver, remove all the screws all the way around the gasket except for one in each corner.

Tip: If you are fortunate enough to have a cordless drill driver, the job will go a lot faster.

Step 3:

Now with all the screws removed, except for one in each corner, pull the gasket out from the middle of each side as far up as it will go, then insert one screw on each side. That will hold the liner in place while you remove the final screws. Now you can pull the gasket out from behind the liner and set that aside.

Tip:The best way to prepare the gasket for replacement is to either put it in a clothes dryer and run it for about ten or fifteen minutes until it’s soft and supple and then lay it on a flat metal surface to hold it straight, or you can put it in a tub of hot water; anything to get it flexible.

Step 4:

Next you are going to lay the gasket in place, hook in each corner, and pull the liner away from the refrigerator door enough to hook it in behind it. Start with one edge, make sure it’s firmly in place, then put a couple of screws in to hold that there, being careful not to over tighten the screws. Next you'll work your way down the sides. At this point you can remove the screw that you put in earlier to hold it in place. Continue on across the bottom. If you used screws in there, hold it in place, and continue on to the other side. Before you tighten down any screws you want to make sure that each corner is firmly in place on the back side of the gasket tying flat against the panel, and that the lip on the gasket is hooked completely under the door liner, then you can install your remaining screws.

Step 5:

Now that you have all the screws installed, do a last minute check and make sure all the edges are smooth and straight and tying flat on the front panel. Now a new gasket will not fit tightly to your refrigerator at first, so you may want to take a couple of pieces of duct tape, when you close the door, just pull it tight and leave it over night that way.Reload the door and don’t forget turn on the refrigerator, and your repair is complete! Find our how to replace the fridge gasket and diagnose other refrigerator problems here: http://www.partselect.com/Repair/Refrigerator/Door-Sweating/