Has your fridge seal started to have issues, if so, you may be worried that your fridge seal has become demagnetised and you may be wanting a powerful magnet to re-magnetise it, but if you’re still in doubt, don’t do it.
If something is wrong with your fridge keep reading and maybe, you can fix it without needing to replace the entire seal.
We will run you through where the magnet actually is, how to test if it is demagnetised, things to avoid when trying to fix your fridge seal and non-magnetic ways to fix your fridge seal.
Does my refrigerator seal have a magnet?
Running around the entire edge of every fridge door is a squishable gasket, that creates a seal between the door and the main body of the fridge. Embedded within this gasket is a flexible magnet, this magnet attracts to the steel body of the fridge 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 fridge door.
These flexible magnets don’t only have a weaker pull force, the magnets also have a much lower coercivity, the measurement of a magnet’s resistance to being demagnetised, making it easier to demagnetise these flexible magnets compared to a neodymium magnet.
Testing your fridges magnet is still magnetised
If you’re unsure whether or not the magnet in your fridge is still magnetised 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.
Things to avoid doing to your fridge seal
Do not take a large neodymium magnet and rub one pole of it up and down the magnetic seal as this will completely demagnetise your fridge door and potentially nullify its worth.
With this in mind, grabbing a strong magnet when having issues with your fridge door should not be the first solution, instead, we have two non-magnetic suggestions that may fix your fridge 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 fridge’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 fridge. Various sources online recommend using a hairdryer but avoid getting too close to the gasket.
