Caring for your walk-in tub door seal comes down to three habits: keep it clean, keep the door open when the tub is not in use, and reseat or replace the gasket the correct way if it ever comes loose. Your door seal is a silicone gasket seated in a channel around the door, and it is covered by our Lifetime Limited Warranty along with the door itself. It has no scheduled replacement interval and normally stays watertight for years. Everything below comes straight from our technical support videos.

Routine Seal Care

1. Clean the seal itself on a regular basis with a common household cleaner, keeping it free of any debris.
2. Clean the door frame regularly too. Residue that is allowed to build up on either surface can lead to door leaks, and debris left in the seal or in the frame can also cause leaks.
3. On inward-swing doors, wipe down both the gasket and the inner frame the same way.
4. Leave your walk-in tub door open, at least slightly, whenever the tub is not in use. This prevents unnecessary compression of the gasket and extends its flexibility and life.

The maintenance video covers both inward and outward doors: cleaning the seal and the frame, why residue causes leaks, how a loose gasket is secured with silicone, the inward-door variation, and the rule to leave the door slightly open. The everyday cleaning routine for the rest of the tub is in our month-by-month cleaning guide.

When Your Tub First Arrives

During shipping and storage, the silicone seal can stick to the frame or look slightly deformed. That is normal and easy to restore: squeeze the seal with your fingertips and gently pull it away from the door frame so it relaxes back into shape with the door open, then clean it with rubbing alcohol. The installer's warranty checklist includes cleaning the seal with rubbing alcohol and confirming the door is watertight after a 20-minute fill. Our first-bath checklist puts that step alongside the initial vinegar flush.

Re-Securing a Loose Seal

In the rare instance that a seal becomes loose, it can be secured before it needs replacing:

1. Remove the gasket from its channel.
2. Place a thin bead of silicone into the gasket channel.
3. Allow the silicone to set up for 20 minutes before reinserting the gasket.
4. Wait 24 hours for the silicone to dry before using the tub.

On inward-swing doors you can reinforce the seal without removing it: roll the seal gasket away from the frame and run a bead of silicone down the corner where the gasket meets the frame, add a bead to the other side of the gasket if necessary, and wait 24 hours to dry. The silicone the team names for this is GE Advanced Silicone 2 Kitchen and Bath, clear. A thin bead only, and never over the sealing face of the gasket.

Replacing the Gasket, Step by Step

Replacing the door gasket is easier than it looks. With the right tools, adhesive remover spray, a spatula, and diagonal cutters, and a few well-placed cuts, you will have a watertight fit:

1. Spray adhesive remover onto the new gasket to help it slide more easily into the door channel.
2. Using the spatula, gently press the gasket into the groove until it is fully seated.
3. At the curved sections of the door, use the diagonal cutters to make four V-shaped relief cuts on the gasket where it bends around the outer edge. Make the cuts above the gasket reach line, as shown in the video.
4. For the inner curves, where the door bends inward, make straight vertical cuts instead.
5. Continue applying adhesive remover and guiding the gasket into place with the spatula until you reach the end.
6. At the end point, make a small angled cut so the tip of the gasket slightly overlaps but is fully inserted into the groove.

Then lock the door, fill to a normal bathing level, and watch the seal line for 20 minutes before the first bath. The LayDown glass door uses its own seal and its own clip, covered in our seal installation video guide, including the LayDown door.

Requesting a Replacement Seal

Replacement seals are matched to your exact tub, so have your serial number ready when you contact us. You will find it on the label located behind the magnetic access panel next to the door; our article on finding your model and serial numbers shows every location. Open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support with your serial number, photos of the seal showing where it is coming out of the groove or where the water appears, and where the tub was purchased, and the team will verify the part and get it on its way; the door seal is a Lifetime Limited Warranty part. One care condition to know: the door and door seal warranty is valid only while the door alignment is correct and has not been changed by applying the bather's weight on the door, so please never lean on the door.

Common Questions

For anything specific to your model or serial number, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850, and please attach photos so the team can help you quickly.