Hello, in a 2.5 yr old, two-door Whirlpool refrigerator, the freezer compartment, rarely opened, started sucking the air in with a whistling noise after the door is closed. It looks like that at one spot, on hinge side, the rubber insulation/gusket is not tight, and the air is sucked in through that spot. The stuff inside freezer next to that spot is covered with hoarfrost. Warranty has expired. Is this something that can be fixed without calling repair service? And why would it start doing this? Would greatly appreciate any suggestion. H.

You might have to totally replace the entire door gasket to properly fix the problem. I'd call up the manufacturer anyway even though the warranty has expired as gaskets usually don't fail for at least 5 years - not 2.5 years. Something is wrong in that the gasket wasn't properly seated or somehow got dried out. Try examining the gasket area and see if it has some kind of bubble or wrinkle in it causing the leakage.

Thanks for suggestion. The gasket seems to be the first thing to check because of the sucking sound and because most of the frost is around the freezer compartment door. Have found no defects on the gasket though. After closer inspection, have found a patch of solid ice, about 10 in. x 5 in. at the freezer's inside back wall where it is slanted a bit. It looks as if something was dripping down the wall and freezing at this slant. There is also some solid ice in the freezer where the bottom meets the back wall. Another thing is that the refrigerator compartment wall next to the freezer compartment is covered all over with condensation - all other wall are dry; but this I can understand: overworking freezer cools down the common wall too much. I was wondering if these symptoms indicate on a known problem. It looks to me that there are several problems here, connected or not: gasket and defrosting problem. Could you please comment or share your experience on this? Appreciate any help.

The gaskets can be checked using a dollar bill between the door gaskets. Try pulling the dollar out at different spots and see where it comes out or doesn't come out. This can give you an area where to concentrate on. Maybe the door is off kilter - which does happen with a side by side sometimes.

As far as the ice block in the freezing compartment - have you had anything in a container that could have leaked out once it was frozen? I put water bottles in the freezer and then they break leaving me with a nice frozen mess to clean up.

Would suggest that you defrost the unit completely and start all over at zero (if you can that is) and see if there is anything leaking in the freezing compartment area. The part about the walls heating up is normal even in a top/bottom model.

If this problem with the frost continues and your gaskets are not the problem, then maybe you'll have to call the manufacturer and ask them for some help on this.

Another thought - do you have a "moisture" or a "saver" switch that you can turn on or off in the refrigerator section? I had such a switch in my side by side and I found that if I kept the switch "ON" versus off my unit ran better in hot, muggy weather (I lived in Florida at the time).

The door gasket is taking some time to arrive. I am waiting for it to defrost the freezer. Meanwhile, a couple of lbs chunk of ice has formed inside refrigerator at the bottom of the wall next to freezer. The freezer is so cold now that ice cream turns into a stone, even at the warmest setting. Once in while refrigerator starts making cracking sounds lasting an hour or so.

I have received the ordered gasket only to discover that it was faulty and could not be used -- torn edges and broken seams. Unbelievable. The good thing is that the seller has agreed to full refund, needing no return. I had shut the refrigerator and gave it two days to thaw looking for the signs of failure. The only thing I have found was the freezer drain pipe (the one connecting the inside with the outside) completely frozen and the collecting tray covered with an inch of ice. I do not know if the blocked drain is to blame for: (a) over-freezing freezer; (b) loud sucking noise after freezer door is closed. It is clear that the freezer was freezing too hard for some reason leading to all other symptoms. Anyway, thawed and turned back on refrigerator has been clear of all the symptoms for two days. What I know for sure is that the gasket is good.