Often, a broken zipper can cause an otherwise perfectly good set of clothes to be thrown away. When a jacket’s zipper gets separated and has trouble staying closed, or if the lining gets stuck in the zipper’s teeth, most people think it’s a lost cause. But clothing with zipper problems need not go to waste as long as one knows how to fix a zipper.
To fix a separated zipper, one should first use a small pair of needle-nose pliers in prying off the zipper’s metal bumper, which is the small band at the zipper’s bottom which serves to stop the slider when the zipper is opened. If needle-nose pliers aren’t on hand, one can also use a screwdriver to pry the bumper off. After the bumper is removed, the slider should be moved right down to the zipper’s very bottom, precisely under the very last zipper teeth. The teeth must be realigned in order for them to smoothly interlock, after which the slider is moved up to the zipper’s top to completely zip it up.
Then, with a needle and strong thread, start from below the zipper track to sew 10 or more stitches around the zipper’s bottom track in the previous position of the old bumper, fashioning a new bumper from the thread. A knot should be tied at the end of the thread, and any excess thread should be snipped off with a pair of scissors. Pull the zipper up and down to test it out. If the zipper still hasn’t been fixed, tear out the stitches with a seam ripper and do the repair procedure all over again until the zipper is finally mended.
In fixing a stuck zipper, there are actually a number of possible solutions. One way is by applying candle wax, soap or paraffin to the piece of fabric that has gotten caught in the zipper’s teeth. Simply rub in the wax or soap gently; preferably using a cotton swab to ensure that it is easily able to make contact with the fabric. At the same time, pull the zipper up and down until the stuck lining is loosened from the teeth.
The next process of repairing a stuck zipper is by rubbing the point of a sharpened pencil on the part of the zipper teeth where the lining has been stuck. The reason for this is because the graphite present in the pencil point will serve as a lubricant that will enable the teeth to loosen up easily. Another way of fixing a stuck zipper is by soaking the particular item of clothing in a saltwater solution for a few hours and then try to unjam the zipper afterwards. If that doesn’t work, immersing the garment in rust remover, vinegar or cola might, but the latter is not really recommended as it may ruin more expensive clothes.
