Probably, each of us has more than one item in our wardrobe with a zipper. Of course, it’s much more convenient and faster than buttons or snaps, and besides, zippers are often used as decorative elements, because they look very stylish. In expensive things, zippers are usually metallic colors of gold or silver, but most often we find clothes, shoes and accessories inlaid with plastic zippers of a wide variety color solutions and shapes: red and green, short, long, with massive teeth and small ones, all the variations cannot be listed in one article.

Very often, and especially when we are in a hurry, the zipper slips, diverges or begins to jam. Yes, this is not a button that you can easily sew back and leave the house, forgetting about the minor trouble. But even in this case, you shouldn’t be upset: if you don’t have the time or opportunity to turn to the services of an atelier, we’ll tell you how to fix a zipper at home yourself.

We use pliers

Following this advice, place the damaged zipper on a flat surface and straighten its sides. Place one end of the fastener into the slider as firmly as possible and tighten them using pliers. This must be done in such a way that the inside of the tool touches outside runner. After that, check it out: try moving the slider up and down, this will help you determine whether the sides of the zipper are connected. If everything zips up, congratulations: the zipper is repaired, and you can show off your favorite item.

If the lock does come apart, do not despair, feel free to pick up the pliers, place the slider in them so that its outer and inner halves are inside the tool and pull the pliers and the slider a few centimeters. After this, the side of the zipper that slipped will snap back into place.

Scissors to the rescue

If the previous tip didn't help you, you have a few more zipper repair options in your arsenal. So in this case we use scissors. Let's say your zipper has come apart and the slider is hanging on one of its halves. Then we take the second half of the lock in our hands, find the lowest position of the slider, and use sharp scissors to make a small horizontal cut between the teeth. Then we put the slider on the half of the zipper that has the notch in the place of the notch itself, and stretch it to the end.
If the part of the zipper under the slider diverges while it is in the top position, pull the slider down (to the place of the cut), and coat the area with the cut with glue.

Please note that once sealed, you will not be able to unzip below this point.

Using a screwdriver

This advice is effective if we are dealing with a metal runner. If your zipper has come apart and the slider is hanging on one of its halves, take a flat-tip screwdriver and insert it into the upper groove of the slider - the one that grooves the lock. You perform this action in order to slightly expand the slider flaps. After the required bosom has opened a little, insert the free half of the zipper into it, and secure the result with pliers.

Do not press the slider too hard with pliers, even if it is made of metal, it may still break.

After all the manipulations, check the slider in action, it should work like new.

Inserting a slider

Following this advice, you can easily insert a broken zipper slider into the zipper.

To do this, take the zipper in your hands and separate the upper thickenings from it, which do not allow the slider to slide off. After this, bring the ends of the zipper together and slowly insert them into the slider. Holding the separated thickenings, try opening/closing the zipper.

To prevent the slider from falling off again, secure the free ends of the zipper with a pin or sew tightly with thread.

Rearranging the slider

A next tip will be very effective if we are dealing with a thing in which it makes no difference which way the lock opens. This could be a bag, cosmetic bag, pocket, etc.

If the zipper on such a thing is damaged, simply move the slider to reverse side. To do this, remove the thickening at the end of the zipper, release the slider and insert it back, only with the other side. Close the zipper and sew up the loose ends to prevent the slider from slipping off.

So the zipper is stuck and won't go down, and you're trapped by your item because you have to unzip it to get it off.

Take a regular pencil with graphite rod and rub the teeth of the zipper with it. This should help. If not, you need to increase the glide, for example, rub the teeth with soap, lip balm or detergent which reduces friction.

Using a Q-tip, apply lubricant to the zipper and teeth. Then pull the fastener down and repeat the lubrication procedure again. Continue until the clasp is completely undone.

Teeth do not close or are moving apart

This is one of the most common and annoying problems. First, try repeating the trick with a pencil and soap, maybe this will improve the glide and allow the teeth to close properly.

If this does not help, then something is preventing the slider from working properly. Look to see if there is any thread or fabric stuck in the lock, carefully inspect all the teeth, maybe one of them is bent. In this case, you need to straighten it with pliers, and the zipper will close normally.

If nothing has gotten into the fastener and all the teeth are straight, the problem may be with the slider itself. Over time, the sliders become loose and no longer hold the teeth together. Take the pliers and squeeze the slider until it catches the teeth again.

If you have damaged a few teeth on your zipper to begin with, you can simply stitch it over the damage if you can get the zipper down enough.

The clasp does not lock

When the zipper slider doesn't lock onto your jeans, you can end up in a very awkward situation. If you need to go out urgently and have nothing else to wear, you can do this: thread a key ring into the slider, put it on a button, and then fasten the loop. You can use an elastic band for the same thing.

If the zipper periodically comes apart and pressing the slider does not help, you need to replace it. First, use wire cutters to remove the old runner and metal stops with a zipper. Then put a new slider on the zipper and use pliers to secure the stoppers.

Broken tongue on slider

Solving this problem is quite easy: a paper clip or a key ring will help you. True, it does not look very aesthetically pleasing. There is another way out: a wire and connector for the phone.

So the zipper is stuck and won't go down, and you're trapped by your item because you have to unzip it to get it off.

Take a regular pencil with a graphite tip and rub it over the teeth of the zipper. This should help. If not, you need to increase the glide, such as rubbing the teeth with soap, lip balm or detergent that reduces friction.

Using a Q-tip, apply lubricant to the zipper and teeth. Then pull the fastener down and repeat the lubrication procedure again. Continue until the clasp is completely undone.

Teeth do not close or are moving apart

This is one of the most common and annoying problems. First, try repeating the trick with a pencil and soap, maybe this will improve the glide and allow the teeth to close properly.

If this does not help, then something is preventing the slider from working properly. Look to see if there is any thread or fabric stuck in the lock, carefully inspect all the teeth, maybe one of them is bent. In this case, you need to straighten it with pliers, and the zipper will close normally.

If nothing has gotten into the fastener and all the teeth are straight, the problem may be with the slider itself. Over time, the sliders become loose and no longer hold the teeth together. Take the pliers and squeeze the slider until it catches the teeth again.

If you have damaged a few teeth on your zipper to begin with, you can simply stitch it over the damage if you can get the zipper down enough.

The clasp does not lock

When the zipper slider doesn't lock onto your jeans, you can end up in a very awkward situation. If you need to go out urgently and have nothing else to wear, you can do this: thread a key ring into the slider, put it on a button, and then fasten the loop. You can use an elastic band for the same thing.

If the zipper periodically comes apart and pressing the slider does not help, you need to replace it. First, use wire cutters to remove the old zipper and metal zipper stops. Then put a new slider on the zipper and use pliers to secure the stoppers.

Broken tongue on slider

Solving this problem is quite easy: a paper clip or a key ring will help you. True, it does not look very aesthetically pleasing. There is another way out: a wire and connector for the phone.

The zipper is a popular fastener, especially the detachable one: it’s convenient, but alas, sometimes it breaks.
If a button comes off, you can simply sew it back in place and continue wearing the item. How to fix a zipper? Of course, you can take the spoiled item to the studio. If you want to save money, you can try to fix the zipper at home with your own hands.

And today we will talk about repairs detachable zipper. And about a fairly common case , when the plug-in tip of the left part of the fastener has become worn out.

Unfortunately, it is difficult to repair a zipper with your own hands, and replacing the slider or, as they also say, “dogs” will not help, and it is usually recommended to change the zipper completely.

What to do if you don’t want to change the lock, yes, sometimes it’s not so easy (it can be sewn very awkwardly), but you want to wear a jacket with a zipper. I found a very interesting method on the Internet.

So, you don’t want to sew up the lock at the base and you don’t want (or are able) to replace it. Well, then let’s fix it:

First, we need a piece of iron from which we will make the part we need.

We also need superglue and a paper clip. (superglue is one that hardens very quickly and becomes “like glass”, very hard, based on cyacrolate, sold in small tubes of 1-2 grams).

So, we remove all excess, after soaking the fabric with superglue. It will set quickly and add rigidity.
Carefully cut with pliers. (photo 1).

Now comes the main part.
We cut it to size from a piece of stainless steel or tinned tin (you can take it from tin can from condensed milk)
and fold as shown in photo 2.

It should fit well into the part of the lock that moves and be well fixed in the part that is located below (photo 3).

Surely, everyone did this when they were trying to understand how this thing works or when lightning moved in the middle.

After this we apply with inside lock our piece of iron and place it on superglue (photos 5 and 6).
We try to unfasten it. If you did everything well, then the lock should unfasten, although at first, until the piece of hardware gets used to it, this can be done with some effort. Take your time, because... the glue may not have time to set completely.
So, you unfastened the lock. Everything works, but it's not enough.

Now we need to strengthen our structure.
We drill 2 small holes and insert a bracket made from a regular paper clip (photo 7, 8,).

That's it now! (photo 9, 10).

We finally check the operation of our lightning. For best view You can touch up the sizing areas with a permanent marker. For good performance, I recommend rubbing the lock with paraffin or stearin (a regular candle) or just soap.

Some useful tips related to zippers

* If the zipper lock is a little tight, rub it with a stearin candle. This advice is especially effective for metal zippers
A soft pencil lead will also help. It is enough to pass it along the zipper several times.

* If the zipper often spontaneously diverges in the middle, lightly tap the lock (its edges, and not the bracket to which the tongue is attached) with a small hammer.
Tapping the zipper itself, if it is metal, will also help. The lock will become tighter, but the zipper will stop coming apart.

* If the zipper tab comes off, it can be replaced with a regular paper clip.

* Zippers on shoes suffer greatly from dampness, wet and salty snow, and slush. Which dramatically reduces their service life.
Rub a piece of unsalted lard over them or use a special hydrophobic lubricant more often. And the lightning will be protected from dampness. Such lubrication will also improve its performance.