Stuck Zipper Quick Fix - Use Olive Oil To Unstick It

A stuck zipper can be a real nuisance and quite aggravating. Below I've gathered four different home remedies you can use to fix one, most likely with stuff you've already got in your home.

Fix With Olive Oil

Here is a quick household remedy you can try to unstick that zipper quickly and easily - put a drop of olive oil on it.

Yes, that's right. It's that easy.

After you put the drop of olive oil on the zipper wipe off any excess olive oil, and then your zipper should move like it is supposed to.

Extra hint - be careful when using this trick on zippers attached to cloth, because the olive oil can stain the fabric if you're not careful.

That is why this tip works best with luggage or other bag zippers, which are attached to plastic or leather objects.

If you do get an olive oil stain on cloth using this tip follow these olive oil stain removal tips to get rid of that stain.

Do you have any other ingenious ways to use olive oil around your home besides to unstick a stuck zipper? If so, share your uses for olive oil here, or read even more tips already submitted.


Top photo by Identity Photogr@phy

Use Bar Soap For Fixing Stuck Zipper

After I shared the tip above about olive oil I had several readers write in to say what they used instead.

One of the most popular suggestions was a bar of soap.

For example, Mary said, "We always rubbed a bar of soap on our stuck zippers."

In addition, Denise said, "I was always told to rub teeth of zipper with a bar soap to make it slide easier."

There's a lot of other household uses for bar soap here if you'd like even more ideas for using this common item in your home.

Photo courtesy of Horia Varlan

Crayon Or Candle Wax For Stuck Zippers

Another common suggestion from readers was to use some type of wax, again because it should help make it slide more easily.

Janna explained, "Household wax works better. Just run it over the inside and outside."

Many people used candle wax, from a cheap candle stick for example.

However, there were also suggestions for crayons.

I liked Patricia's suggestion, who said, "Keep the wax crayon from the Easter egg color kit," and use that. Great way to reuse an item, and those crayons are colorless so less noticeable I would think.

Photo courtesy of NeilGHamilton

Use The Graphite In Pencil Lead To Help Zipper Slide Easier

The final popular suggestion from readers for zippers was to use a pencil lead, in much the way they also suggested rubbing other substances on the stuck teeth of the zipper.

In fact, a reader, Christine, summed up all the advice by stating, "To prevent the zipper getting stuck in the first place rub with soap bar, wax (I use an old candle), or pencil lead (graphite). Works like a charm."

Now, if you accidentally get marks on the item you're working on here are instructions for removing pencil marks.

So, there you have it! There's quite a few home remedies for fixing stuck zippers.

Plus bonus, you can also use WD-40 to loosen the zipper up, as explained in more detail in this article about WD-40 uses!

Do you have another one? If so, I'd love to hear it. You can share your remedies and hints here and I'll add them to the page.

Photo courtesy of orangeacid

Related Pages You May Enjoy

Helpful Household Hints Around Your Home

Go From Home Remedies For Fixing Stuck Zipper To Home Page