Why do I have to lubricate rubber rings on an ice cream machine?

ice cream ring image

Lily56

We have a batch freezer at work for making ice cream and there's a rubber seal on the door and another one for the extraction door. Once everything is taken apart and washed, we lubricate the rubber rings before putting it all back together. If they're on non-moving parts of the machine, why do they have to be lubricated?

Answer
To prevent the rubber rings from sticking together. . yes they stick together when the door is closed but so you can open the door without the rings sticking together and possibly tearing the rubber and whenthe rubber tears there isn't a seal on either door and leakage can occur.