How to Lubricate a Zipper

If those jeans are tight as all get-out and really tough to zip up, you may need to lubricate the zipper. When you're in a hurry and can't get that nasty zipper to budge, lubrication often gets it moving, and as long as the teeth aren't stuck in the cloth, even a seemingly broken zipper may just need a little lubrication to become functional again.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Wax paper
• Lip balm
• Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing
• Soap
• Pencil
• Candle

1. Apply some lip balm. Use up the rest of that old tube—you deserve a new one and the zipper deserves the lip balm. Simply rub the teeth in the zipper with the balm and zip up and down to spread it.

2. Put the glide back into your zippers by rubbing the teeth with soap. Move the zipper up and down to spread the lubrication.

3. Dab a little Alberto VO5 Conditioning Hairdressing over the zipper teeth. This will lubricate it for smooth operation. Again, you'll need to spread the lubrication over all of the teeth.

4. Clip a sheet of wax paper and fold it over until it is easy to handle. Run the folded sheet up and down both sides of the zipper until the zipper mechanism is running smoothly.

5. Rub the teeth of the zipper with the tip of a pencil. The graphite will lubricate the zipper, making it easy to move up and down.

6. Use a candle to coat the zipper teeth. Take the candle and rub the waxy part up and down the zipper. Move the zipper up and down. Reapply if necessary.

Tips & Warnings

• Be careful not to get the substances on the cloth surrounding the zipper, as this can cause stains.

[pirategeek]

on 10/8/2009 Just to clarify - you only need to try one of the above methods, not all - they're options, not steps.