Are you ready to order a replacement fridge or freezer door seal? You've probably heard the old saying: 'measure twice, cut once'. Well, you can avoid the frustration of returns and delays by applying the same philosophy when placing your order. This article walks you through the measuring process.

Measuring the profile of your fridge and freezer door seals

The first step in ordering your door seal is to make sure you know its profile. In most cases, the easiest way to do this is to cut out a small section of the seal. By either browsing our gasket profile pages or searching by brand, you will come across digital 'drawing cards' which display various dimensions when you select or hover over them.

The areas you need to measure will vary depending on the specific profile, but as a minimum, it will include the section's full height and width. You may also need to measure the height and/or width of the dart or flap and possibly other dimensions. Just study the diagram carefully and note down your numbers. If they match, you can be confident that you've found the right profile for your appliance.

Measuring and inputting the dimensions of your door seals

For standard rectangular gaskets, you will also need to tell us the height and width of the seal you need. There are two methods of measuring this: 'dart centres' and 'outside edge'.

Dart centres: This is the most accurate method since you will be measuring the track - or groove - into which the gasket's dart sits on the door. You can use this method if:

• Your door seal has a dart profile, and
• You can pull out the gasket and expose enough of the track to measure between the sides and top/bottom

Tip: Calculate the exact centre by measuring from the inside of one track to the outside of the other. However, there is at least 6mm tolerance designed in to the majority of door seals.

Outside edge: Simply measure between the outside edges of the gasket on either side of the door. This is the best method if:

• Your seal does not sit inside a track, or
• You are unable to pull out the gasket from its track

Tip: Check whether the gasket has swollen or shrunk over time and account for that in your measurements.
When ordering fridge or freezer door seals from our website, you will notice that we have added helpful diagrams to remind you of the measurements we need.

Special cases: ordering seals by the metre or roll

Some types of fridge and freezer gasket (e.g., cold room sweeper gaskets, EPDM sponge rubbers, etc.) are sold by the roll or by the metre. This will be clear when you come to place your order. Simply measure the length that you need and enter the correct value where indicated.

How to use our photo identification service

For peace of mind, you may prefer to use our convenient photo identification service. Simply cut out a section of gasket and take a photograph of its cross-section alongside a ruler or tape measure. If you are unable to cut and remove the gasket, take a photo of the top edge, side and where the seal attaches to the appliance.

You can either upload your photographs to our online form or send them directly via WhatsApp or email.

Whichever way you measure your gaskets, we recommend saving the dimensions to speed up future orders. You can also request us to set up a Gasket Asset Register for your premises. We will then add all measurements and profile details to a central database.