Unstick Metal Zippers with a Pencil

Written by Charlotte Wood (last updated December 7, 2020)

If you examine your clothes that have zippers in them, you'll find that those zippers are generally made of two different types of materials: nylon or metal. If you have a metal zipper and that zipper becomes stuck, relief may as close as a pencil.

You see, pencils are made of a graphite core surrounded by a wooden shaft. While the wood won't be of much use (except to hold the pencil), the graphite is a great natural lubricant. This may sound a little unorthodox, but when the stupid metal zipper won't unzip, the graphite may provide just enough lubrication to make it work smoothly.

To try this out, just run the pencil's tip (not the wood) along the teeth that make up the zipper. If you have a fine point on your pencil (perhaps even a mechanical pencil), make sure you push in between the teeth of the zipper so that the graphite gets between those teeth. Then, move the zipper up and down a few times (zip and unzip a few times) to make sure the lubricant is well spread into the actual zipper mechanism.

You should realize that this tip won't work that great if you have a nylon (plastic) zipper. It also won't give satisfactory results if your zipper is not a dark color, as the graphite is dark and will discolor a lighter zipper.

Author Bio

Charlotte Wood

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