Has your refrigerator seal started to have issues, if so, you may be worried that your refrigerator seal has become demagnetized and you may be wanting a powerful magnet to re-magnetize it, but if you’re still in doubt, don’t do it?
If something is wrong with your refrigerator keep reading and maybe, you can fix it without needing to replace the entire seal. But firstly, we will run you through what not to do and explain where the magnet actually is.
Does My Refrigerator Seal Have a Magnet?
Running around the entire edge of every refrigerator door is a squishable gasket, that creates a seal between the door and the main body of the refrigerator. Embedded within this gasket is a flexible magnet, this magnet attracts to the steel body of the refrigerator ensuring a solid seal.
These flexible magnets are not as strong as neodymium magnets, but the long magnet does cover a large area. Even though the force is weak, the length makes up for this and it usually takes between 2.2kg and 4.5kg of force to open a refrigerator door.
These flexible magnets don’t only have a weaker pull force, but the magnets also have a much lower coercivity, the measurement of a magnet’s resistance to being demagnetized, making it easier to demagnetize these flexible magnets compared to a neodymium magnet.
How To Test If Your Refrigerators Magnet Is Still Magnetized
If you’re unsure whether or not the magnet in your refrigerator is still magnetized you can test it using our Magnetic Field Viewing Paper, as this paper allows you to see any magnetic field produced by a magnet.
Clearly see the position of the magnet’s poles and the pitching between them. Each sheet is super-thin and flexible and better yet can be used over and over again.
Shop Magnetic Field Viewing Paper:
Small Magnetic Field Viewing Paper – 50mm x 50mm
Medium Magnetic Field Viewing Paper – 100mm x 100mm
Large Magnetic Field Viewing Paper – 305mm x 305mm
Things To Avoid Doing To Your Refrigerator Seal
Do not take a large neodymium magnet and rub one pole of it up and down the magnetic seal as this will completely demagnetize your refrigerator door and potentially nullify its worth.
With this in mind, grabbing a strong magnet when having issues with your refrigerator door should not be the first solution, instead, we have two non-magnetic suggestions that may fix your refrigerator door.
As most of the time, a faulty seal will not be caused by the magnet.
Two Non-Magnetic Fixes
Firstly, soap and water could potentially solve your problems. Simply proceed to clean the seal with a cloth soaked in warm and soapy water and rub the whole gasket to remove any built-up dirt and contamination. Also, be sure to clean the surface of the refrigerator’s main body.
A gasket’s flexible PVC metal ages it gets less flexible and more brittle over time, warming the gasket can help it match up to the shape of the refrigerator. Various sources online recommend using a hairdryer but avoiding getting too close to the gasket.