How to Change the Direction Your Refrigerator Door Swings

By Geoffrey Sperring

May 22, 2025

You've remodeled your kitchen and realize that the way your refrigerator opens is wrong for your layout. Don't worry — it's easy to reverse a fridge door. Learn how to reverse the door swing for most makes of refrigerator with a single door or a top or bottom freezer.

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Step 1: Assess the Work

Before starting, assess the work needed for a fridge door swing change. Inspect the unit to see how the top, bottom and middle hinges fit and whether there are corresponding screw caps on the opposite side of the refrigerator. Check how the plastic caps are fitted and whether they're clipped in position or secured with screws.

Step 2: Collect the Required Tools and Parts

You'll need to switch the fridge door hinges. Inspect the hinges to see how they're secured. Depending on the fasteners, you may need a small socket spanner, Allen key, Phillips screwdriver or a Torx headed driver. Other tools are an open-ended spanner to reverse the hinge pin and a flat-headed screwdriver to remove trim.

Step 3: Empty and Disconnect the Refrigerator

Before going ahead with refrigerator door reversal, disconnect the fridge from the mains. Empty the contents of the fridge and freezer and store them in a cold box. Remove the plastic door shelves and refrigerator shelves so they aren't dislodged or damaged while you're working on the unit.

Step 4: Remove All Plastic Covers and Fascias

Before changing the direction of the doors, remove the plastic hinge covers and any trim needed to access the hinges or feet. If the door has an electrical connection, remove the trim covering the wiring connectors. Remove the caps covering the left-hand hinge screw holes.

Step 5: Remove the Doors

Remove the top door first. Note that the doors are difficult to handle, so it's best to have someone to help you.

Top Door Removal

Remove the top door as follows:

Disconnect the door wiring. Remove the wiring cover on the refrigerator to access the electrical connectors. Separate them, taking care not to put any strain on the wires.
Support the door. Have an assistant take the weight of the door.
Remove the upper hinge. Unscrew and remove the top hinge.
Remove the upper door. Lift the door off the middle hinge and place the door on a blanket or a protected surface.

Bottom Door Removal

Remove the bottom door as follows:

Support the lower door. Take the weight of the bottom door.
Remove the middle hinge. Remove the screws holding the middle hinge.
Remove the bottom door. Lift the door off the bottom hinge and place it on a protected surface.
Remove the bottom hinge: Tilt the refrigerator or lay it on its back to remove the bottom hinge. Depending on the hinge design, you may also need to remove the front feet.

Step 6: Prepare the Doors

Place the doors so the inner is down and take care not to damage or scratch the door's surface.

Reverse the Fittings on the Top Door

Relocate the door wiring. Remove the door cap covering the wiring. Move the wiring connector to the left-hand side of the door, and replace the door cap.
Switch the door hinge receptacles. Remove the hinge pin receptacles and reinstall them on the left-hand side. On some doors, the slot for the hinge pin is already molded into the door.
Swap the door closure mechanism. If the door has a closure mechanism, move it to the correct position on the other side of the door. You may need to reverse the mechanism to suit a right-hand opening door.
Move the handle. Unscrew the handle and move it to the right-hand side of the door.
Adjust the door gasket. Some manufacturers use asymmetrical door gaskets where the thickness of the gasket on the door hinge side is different to that on the handle side. If this is the case, carefully remove the gasket from the slot, turn it 180 degrees and reinstall.

Bottom Door

Repeat the above instructions for the bottom door, remembering to swap the gasket if needed.

Step 7: Reverse the Refrigerator Door Swing: Installation of the Bottom Door

Installing the bottom door can be done one of two ways. You can place the refrigerator on its back on the floor, or tilt it at 45 degrees and have an assistant hold it in position. If you place the fridge on its back, you need to leave it upright for 4 hours to let the refrigerant settle before switching it on. Take care to support the back of the refrigerator using some blocks of wood if it has an external condenser. The installation sequence differs depending on how you position the refrigerator.

Bottom Door Installation If the Refrigerator Is on Its Back

Install the middle hinge. Reverse the middle hinge and install it in the correct position on the left side of the refrigerator.
Place the bottom door in position. Slide the bottom door onto the middle hinge pin, with the door in the closed position.
Install the bottom hinge and feet. Depending on the hinge design, you may need to move or reverse the hinge pin.
Replace the feet. If you removed the feet, replace them.

Bottom Door Installation When the Refrigerator Is Tilted at 45 Degrees

Install the bottom hinge and feet. Fit the bottom hinge. Depending on the hinge design, you may need to reverse the hinge pin.
Install the bottom door on the hinge. Slide the bottom door onto the hinge pin.
Install the middle hinge. Reverse and install the middle hinge pin.
Replace the feet. Reinstall the feet if they were removed.

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Step 8: Reposition the Wiring for the Fridge Door

Remove the top fascia plate on the refrigerator that covers the wiring for the door. Reverse the wiring connector so that it comes out of the left-hand side of the fridge. Replace the fascia and caps.

Step 9: Install the Top Door

Reverse the hinge pin in the top hinge bracket. Reverse the top hinge pin using an open-ended spanner.
Place the door on the middle hinge. Slide the door onto the middle hinge pin, and have someone hold it in position.
Install the top hinge. Fit the top hinge.
Reconnect the wiring connectors. Reconnect the repositioned wiring connectors.
Replace the hinge and wiring caps. Reinstall the plastic hinge and wiring caps.

Step 10: Final Refrigerator Door Swing Tasks

You've nearly completed reversing the refrigerator door swing; a few simple tasks remain:

Adjust the feet. Fine-tune the refrigerator feet so the unit is level left to right and front to back.
Check the door alignment. Make certain the doors are correctly aligned and there are no gaps that can let air into the unit. If needed, loosen and adjust the hinges.
Replace plastic trim. Replace all the plastic covers and trim. Install the caps over the screw heads.
Reinstall the shelves. Replace the refrigerator shelves, making certain they fit correctly.

Step 11: Switch on the Fridge and Check

If you placed the refrigerator on its back, wait for 4 hours to let the refrigerant drain back into the compressor. Switch on the unit and wait until the fridge is cold. You have completed changing the refrigerator door opening direction.

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