Surely on some occasion throughout your life you have put on a pants, skirt or dress and you have verified with horror that the zipper is broken. But that’s not the worst, because you can break away from home and have to be aware of it all day.
If you don’t want to get rid of a garment just for that, in this article we show you how to fix a zipper that opens when closed. With a few simple tips and tricks to fix zippers you will solve any problem in no time. Take note!
How to fix a broken zipper
In any garment or accessory, if we have used them a lot or have quality problems, zippers are pieces that tend to break quite easily. The most delicate are the plastic ones, and they are used mainly in purses and bags, while the metal ones, used in jackets or trousers, have greater resistance.
One of the most common mistakes that influences the breakage of zippers is using an inappropriate size in a garment that we use a lot. And is that zippers are not measured only by length, but also by the size of your teeth and your car. Therefore, zippers that do not have a good ratio between these components will surely fail.
In addition, there are many problems that can indicate that a zipper is broken, such as: slipping of the teeth, the carriage goes out of the zipper line, the stopper breaks, it opens by itself … Here are some tricks to fix broken zippers and avoid having to dispose of the garment.
- What do I do if the zipper does not close
If when trying to close a zipper it reopens with the passage of the carriage, it is because there is a bad grip of the teeth. In this case, to fix a zipper that opens when closed, we must snap the carriage back into place . To do this, take some tweezers or small pliers and squeeze the base of the cart. Press on both sides without exerting much pressure or we will end up breaking it. The ideal is to press gently and continue testing until the zipper stops opening.
- The carriage came off the zipper
This can happen for two reasons: either the rack has lost its stop and is therefore out of the rail, or it has lost its teeth and that is why the carriage has completely slipped.
In either case, the first thing you should do to fix a zipper in this situation is to put the cart back in place . To do this, a small hole can be made between the upper teeth, which will allow you to open the line of the teeth a little. This opening is where we will re-hook the car.
If the rack is hooked, that is, the carriage is hooked to a single line, it is not necessary to make a hole in the opposite line. On the other hand, if the zipper is not a hook, the same cut that was made at the height of the upper teeth should be made on the other side. Finally, the cuts are sewn so that the car does not come out again.
- If the zipper stopper breaks
The carriage can also come off the rack because the stopper has been lost. In this case, one of the most effective zip fixing tricks is to make a new one. There are stops or metal pieces on the market that can be added to the foot of the zipper and are tightened with pliers. It is the best option and it is also inexpensive and very easy to install.
Another option is to create the cap yourself. To do this, you can use a piece of thick fabric and sew it to the end of the zipper where the stop should be. If it is a small closure, such as nylon, a few stitches of thick thread will suffice to make the stop.
- The zipper is stuck
We have already seen how to fix a zipper that opens when closed, and now we are going to see the opposite case. When the rack gets stuck it is often the case that the trolley needs lubrication . To fix this, scratch the inside of the trolley base on both sides with the help of a sharp graphite pencil. This will be of great help to the mechanism.
If the problem when fixing a zipper is that it is hard to go up and down, take a candle and rub it along the zipper so that the car glides better. You can also use Vaseline, a perfect product to lubricate.
Tricks to solve unforeseen
If something unforeseen happens to you away from home, we offer you a couple of tricks to fix zippers that you should keep in mind in case of a pinch:
- The trick of the paper. If you suddenly notice that your zipper opens by itself, it is because the leg that stops the car has been damaged. In order to fix a zipper and avoid an awkward situation, do the following: get a small piece of paper, raise the carriage to the top stop and place the paper in the mouth of the carriage. Slide it down until it sticks and… problem solved!
- The hoop trick. It can also happen that the handle that allows you to raise and lower the car breaks or comes off. If it is impossible to put it back, use the ring of your key ring and place it in the top hole of the car, where the handle was. You can also do it with a clip, so you will have a hook to raise and lower the zipper.
