Stiff door lock on panasonic 1-year old microwave oven

내 문제

Although only just over a year old, the Panasonic microwave NNST48KSBPQ had a stiff door lock, such that on closing the door, the microwave over would slip on the kitchen work surface. This reduced the the distance gap between the back wall and the microwave oven. A minimum gap is required to keep the walls of the oven cool. Initially, I used a block of wood at the back to maintain the gap. Not very satisfactory and possibly a fire risk.

나의 수리

The repair was simple. I put a tiny amount of lubricant paste (see below) on the latches (red arrows in image) with my finger. I also noticed some wear on the lower latch which will hopefully stop, now it has some lubricant. With lubricant the door lock,the door closed as it was when it was new.

내 조언

I used silicone grease lubricant paste as this was least likely to react with the plastic. Hydrocarbon lubricants (oil, Vaseline, original WD40 etc) can react with plastics in the long term, according the many internet articles, so a silicone lubricant was recommended. Silicone grease is also less likely to build up dirt.