How to Fix a Broken Zipper

Whether on a coat, a bag, or a pair of pants, we have all had a zipper that slipped and stopped catching the teeth. You can move the zipper back and forth all you like, but in the end, the item in question never actually zips, though sometimes it might start to catch just to get your hopes up. Whenever this occurs it is always frustrating, and it also generally renders the item useless unless you can get it fixed.

But how do you fix something like this? Well, you could take it to a clothing repair shop of some sort. Seamstresses and the like can certainly fix a broken zipper in a flash, but there’s no guarantee buying a new pair of pants or a new jacket wouldn’t be less expensive in the long run. If you know how to sew, you could always take out the old zipper and sew in a brand new one too. Problem solved, and a new zipper won’t cost you a lot of money, but it will be a time-sink and quite a headache.

Before you throw out your purse or pants, however, you should be aware that there are ways to fix a broken zipper that doesn’t require going to an expensive repair shop or being able to sew a new zipper into the broken item. In fact, the method shown in the video only requires a pair of pliers and takes barely any time at all. Check it out.

It’s amazing how simple fixing a broken zipper actually is. Since the zipper portion’s job is to press the teeth together until they stick, when the zipper isn’t tight enough to engage the teeth, the teeth aren’t forced solidly into position and can’t firmly close.

Thus, tightening the zipper with pliers fixes the issue in a snap. With this trick, you can save your coats, bags, and even jeans in no time. 

You do need to have your zipper have this particular problem in order to fix it in this way. If the zipper portion isn’t loose and not properly engaging the teeth, tightening it probably won’t help your zipper issue. However, surprisingly, most other zipper problems are as easy to fix, if not easier.

Imagine how much money you will save just fixing your zippers instead of buying new clothes or bags when the zippers break.