When I shut the refrigerator door, the freezer door pops open. I don't think it is the magnetic seal because I can feel the pull of the magnet when I open the freezer door when it is shut, but it pops open every time I close the frig door.
My door will not stay shut, even if you hold it closed. The minute you take pressure off, it pops open a half an inch.
Hotpoint Refrig HTM18ibpwrsa
This indicates that you do not have good airflow and return airflow between your freezer and refrigerator sections. That is why the pressure from closing one door is causing the other one to pop open.
Check the drain tube on the back of the machine to make sure it is not clogged or blocked with frozen water inside. Also check any return air flow vents inside the unit for clear ice.
I have an Amana that did the same thing for months. What I found was the small plate that bolts to the bottom of the top door, I assume to act as a travel stop, was bent from letting the door fly open. The fridge was leaning towards the front for years and if you let go of it, it would open all the way to the stop.The bent rightmost portion of the plate was hitting the lower door hinge at about an inch from closing. This was just enough to cause it to stay ajar when it popped open from closing the lower door. I removed it and bent it back to its original shape with a hammer. Now it stays closed, or rather, it closes itself when the pressure from closing the fridge door forces it open an inch or so. Of couse I did raise the front of the fridge so it leans back slightly, which was probably the real root cause of the problem.
Have the " McGiver fix folks ! Bought a Hillman Plastic Magnetic Key Case 2" x 4" at Walmart Tire section intending to hide a key. It lay around for a week til this idea came up. Stuck the case to side of frig (outside) and let it protrude slightly to the freezer door. Test--- Drum Roll-----Slammed frig door, freezer door moved about 1/4 " and went back to Full Closed Position ! Started Tap Dancing....Use a couple drops of glue on frig side to keep case from shifting,, after you get mag case adjusted just right.... If it works for you, post it to another wed site and tell your friends.. gbeav@yah?? 4/7/2012, if you need some help......
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My new freezer did the same thing. I contacted the company and they went into the whole leveling thing. What it has to do with is the magnetic seal. The magnets are not strong enough to keep the freezer door from popping open when closing the big fridge door. They share the same duct. I level my doors on the fridge and freezer so they swing shut by themselves after opening. Just the force of the big door when it swung closed cracked open the freezer door about a quarter of an inch and if left unnoticed created a puddle and made the fridge run overtime. I solved the problem by placing strong magnets inside the fold of the magnetic seal at the handle end of the door. This is the flap on the outside the door seal. I used six magnets on the top and six on the bottom. The magnets were from discarded Sonicare tooth brush heads. They are very flat and super strong. You can find something on ebay. My freezer door doesn't budge problem solved. I did call the company and told them I solved the problem and they still insisted it was the leveling. Good luck, Art Knapp
My
new freezer did the same thing. I contacted the company and they went
into the whole leveling thing. What it has to do with is the magnetic
seal. The magnets are not strong enough to keep the freezer door from
popping open when closing the big fridge
door. They share the same duct. I level my doors on the fridge and
freezer so they swing shut by themselves after opening. Just the force
of the big door when it swung closed cracked open the freezer door about
a quarter of an inch and if left unnoticed created a puddle and made
the fridge run overtime. I solved the problem by placing strong magnets
inside the fold of the magnetic seal at the handle end of the door. This
is the flap on the outside the door seal. I used six magnets on the top
and six on the bottom. The magnets were from discarded Sonicare tooth
brush heads. They are very flat and super strong. You can find something
on ebay. My freezer door doesn't budge problem solved. I did call the
company and told them I solved the problem and they still insisted it
was the leveling. Good luck, Art Knapp
My
new freezer did the same thing. I contacted the company and they went
into the whole leveling thing. What it has to do with is the magnetic
seal. The magnets are not strong enough to keep the freezer door from
popping open when closing the big fridge
door. They share the same duct. I level my doors on the fridge and
freezer so they swing shut by themselves after opening. Just the force
of the big door when it swung closed cracked open the freezer door about
a quarter of an inch and if left unnoticed created a puddle and made
the fridge run overtime. I solved the problem by placing strong magnets
inside the fold of the magnetic seal at the handle end of the door. This
is the flap on the outside the door seal. I used six magnets on the top
and six on the bottom. The magnets were from discarded Sonicare tooth
brush heads. They are very flat and super strong. You can find something
on ebay. My freezer door doesn't budge problem solved. I did call the
company and told them I solved the problem and they still insisted it
was the leveling. Good luck, Art Knapp
The fridge and freezer share their airspace, so when you close one there is a slight increase in pressure in the other unit. (Much like opening a window can cause a door open/close in your house due to pressure change/air movement) The magnet in your seal of the door is weak and unable to resist the pressure change. The seal should be changed.
Could also be that the door is not shutting properly in the first place due to sagging or skewed hinges that need adjustment/replacement and while shutting just may not be getting a complete seal that it should be.
If you want a part number for the replacement door gasket please provide a complete model number here so I can give that to you or you can look it up yourself at www.searsdirect.com You must have your model number. (sample 110.XXXXX etc)
The magnet is inside the door seal itself. If the seal is damaged replacement is your only option.
Adjust the front legs of your refrigerator slightly to raise the refrigerator. and and store items on the freezer door shelves to add weight. This is a problem of pneumatics and a testament to how tight newer refrigerators are. When you close the large refrigerator door it compresses the air in the refrigerator compartment. Both compartments are connected by air passages and thus the pressure change is transferred to the freezer causing the freezer door to pop open.
Raising the front of the refrigerator a tiny bit will help both doors close from the 90 degree point, which is desirable. Adding weight to the shelf will just help the process.
An additional aid in self-closure will be to use vegetable oil on a paper towel to wipe down the hinge side face of both door seals. All these maneuvers should aid in causing the door to stay closed and re-close if it should open slightly. Good Luck
If Your Refrigerator's Freezer Door Pops Open When You Close the Fresh Food Door...If a 'top-freezer' refrigerator's freezer door pops open when the larger fresh food door's closed, it's actually a good thing. That tells us the seals are in great shape, sealing well. Some freezer door 'pop' is unavoidable bc the bottom door's so much larger than the top one and the hydraulic effect of compressing all that air kicks in. The two compartments share the same air via a duct between them, and that compressed air rushes up into the freezer compartment and can 'pop' the door. To improve the situation, apply a few drops of oil (sewing machine oil or 'three in one' - NOT WD-40) to each freezer door hinge pin. (Even better: if you can, pull the doors and coat the hinge pins with petroleum jelly). This will help the freezer door swing back closed by itself. The freezer door usually stays ajar because it's binding a bit, and that's usually caused by it's swinging 'dry', with no lubrication. It’s also a good idea to ‘kick’ the habit of letting the refrig door close hard.
I have the exact same problem - very annoying. The only thing I found to work was to purchase one of those child safety locks. I bought the Kidco Appliance Fridge Lock S330 because it was the only one I could find that automatically relocks after you shut the door. Buy two (or more) at a time because the arm will eventually wear out and break (after several months depending on how often you use it). You can check out the product's details on eBay - that's where I purchased mine. Hope that helps.
Hi,
Mine has been doing this for over a month. Then on Friday it started making a clicking sound a CONSTANT clicking sound. I get home from a marriage retreat for families getting ready to be deployed and gee ALL my food in the fridge is BAD!!!!
My model number is ssh25kfrfww Please give yours. Also my door NEVER locked from day one. As my children are older I didnt think it was a big issue till today.
Could be the air pressure created from shutting the refer door is popping open the other one. There are are channels between the two so cool air from the freezer gets to the refer compartment. Try this as a test... s l o w l y close the refer door and see if that keeps the other door from popping open. If that works then it's likely an air channel is frozen up somewhere and you may need to turn the unit off for a day or so to let it thaw out. Moisture from leaking door seals, or doors that were left slightly open overnight can be sucked in and freeze up the air channels. I don't know if you are sort of slamming the door shut or not but the doors need to be shut slowly due to how air tight the new refers are.
I have the exact same problem... even closing my back door causes the freezer door to open. Stomping on the kitchen floor does it, too.
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