Replacing a washing machine door seal

Purpose of the door seal

The door seal is simply a rubber gasket that connects the inner parts of the machine to the cabinet to allow the loading and unloading of clothes items. It needs to be flexible to allow for the difference in movement between the drum and the cabinet and soft enough to form a watertight seal against the door bowl or glass.

Faults and fault finding

The most common reason for changing a door seal is because the rubber wears through or is cut by a zip or other sharp item (a problem exacerbated by overloading the machine) leading to the machine leaking. Leaks from holes in door seals appear under the machine, and not down the front, as the water runs down the inside of the cabinet. Sometimes an old seal will leak down the front of the machine due to a poor seal between itself and the door bowl (this can also be caused by grit etc. on the glass so make sure it is clean).

Most holes or tears are easy to spot simply by looking for them but some can be tricky to find. Even the tiniest of holes can cause fairly large leaks over a wash cycle - a large leak doesn't necessarily mean a large hole in the seal. In order to look for these small holes, remove the plastic/metal band clip that secures the seal to the front of the machine, then invert the seal by turning it in towards the inner drum. These smaller holes that aren't easy to spot from the front, usually leave a white powder trail down the back of the door seal from where the leak originates.

Replacing

Most of the time these days the door seal is replaced through the door opening at the front of the machine. The basic procedure is:

1. Remove the lid from the machine;
2. Remove the door (if it removes easily such as by being held on with a couple of screws/bolts);
3. Tilt the machine back by placing a block of wood or similar underneath the front (optional but this often makes working on the machine a lot easier);
4. Undo the retaining clip that holds the seal to the front of the machine (usually a plastic band clip or a metal wire clip) and invert the seal by turning in towards the inner drum;
5. The door seal is attached to the tub by a band clip (usually a metal clip that is tightened with a nut and bolt). This needs to be undone and/or removed (TIP: if it's a nut and bolt, don't undo it completely if possible as it will be easier to refit);
6. The old door seal can now be removed.
7. Fitting the new one is simply the reverse of the above steps.

Tools that can help are either a ratchet with a long extension or an 18" screwdriver for undoing or tightening the band clip (step 5) as this can be done from the top (which is why the lid was removed).

Difficulty

Medium. The main problem with doing a door seal change is that it often means working with fingertips in very tight spaces. It can become a frustrating and time consuming job although most people will manage to complete it on most machines. Washer dryers are slightly more difficult (usually) because of having to fit the seal to the dryer heater box too.

Professionals can do most door seal changes in a matter of minutes. If it's your first one, it could take 30 minutes to an hour or more depending on make and model.

If you're lucky

You'll have a machine with a removable front panel. Many older Hotpoint, Whirlpool and Hoover (softwave, new wave) were built this way but more modern, cheaper production methods favour solid cabinets.

If you can see that your front panel is held on by screws at the bottom then it is most likely removable. If you can work out how to remove it, changing the seal will be much easier.