Not Martha
← →

my very stuck zipper

This is my very stuck zipper. I’m not sure how I managed to get this garment zipped up in the first place but now I cannot unzip it. Does anybody have tips on working free a zipper that is this crooked?

update: Thanks to everybody for the recommendations! I started with pencil lead and that did the trick nicely. After only a few back and forths I freed the zipper and didn’t have any damaged teeth. Yay!

· comments [59] · 09-15-2008 · categories:misc · mumbling ·

59 responses so far ↓

  • 1 PaulQ // Mar 14, 2014 at 5:19 am

    I used the lead pencil on a rucksack zip and it worked

  • 2 Marilyn // Apr 17, 2014 at 1:46 pm

    Rub soap on the zipper.

  • 3 KC Adams // Aug 1, 2014 at 4:43 pm

    Pencil lead!! I just found this site while looking for tips to unstick my wallet’s zipper and thought I’d give the pencil trick a try. It works!!! :)

  • 4 mark // Nov 12, 2014 at 11:59 pm

    Thanks for the lead tip. That worked like a charm!

  • 5 TG // Dec 28, 2014 at 9:56 pm

    Rubbing pencil led on the exposed teeth finally released my stuck DOUBLE ZIPPER. I spent minutes trying to force it without a lubricant, but the lead trick worked in 15 seconds. Thank you all!

  • 6 Capt.Kraz // Feb 19, 2015 at 11:19 am

    HELP!!!
    OK, the zipper on my very cheap but very warm “Walmart special” jacket is zipped all the way up and will not come down for love nor money, not even for all the handy tips and tricks commented here. It is not coming apart at any point and I can see where it is mis-aligned at the very bottom. It is not caught on fabric. Point, it is one of those plastic coil looking zippers. The jacket is a “Faded Glory” brand, and the zipper stop has what looks like “5A” or “5R” stamped on it. In spite of its cost this is a very warm, hooded jacket and I don’t want to lose it…

  • 7 christine // Mar 3, 2015 at 5:59 am

    woohoo my zip was stuck half open and half closed, did the soap trick and it worked, was going to pay to have a new zip put in, thanks

  • 8 Mel // Apr 27, 2015 at 10:36 am

    Definitely the lead pencil, worked like a charm! It saved my expensive jacket!

  • 9 Jeanette // Dec 5, 2015 at 4:19 pm

    Lead pencil worked for me too!
    Thanks SO MUCH for this great tip!
    Saved my favourite jacket and surprised my mother who is a seamstress and had never heard of this method. So now 2 people have learned something new :-)

Leave a Comment