How do I unjam a zipper pull?

January 22, 2023 5:04 PM

Searching via Google provided futile because most results dealt with unjamming zippers/the teeth itself; my question is, how do I unjam/realign a zipper pull that's stuck?

Photo to demonstrate what I mean. I tried pulling gently but no go, don't want to damage the rest of the zipper/fabric. I can live with it, but the unaligned zipper pull makes zipping/unzipping awkward and clumsy.

posted by dubious_dude to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (7 answers total)

Here's a video that might help. I can't tell much from your photo, but it looks like you might need a new slider?
posted by SageTrail at 5:36 PM on January 22, 2023

And check for even the smallest amount of fabric that has been pulled into zipper pull. If you think that’s the case you can wiggle it out.

Tweezers might help to explore the terrain.

If the zipper pull is physically bent then you could try reshaping with pliers.
posted by calgirl at 5:38 PM on January 22, 2023

Once, I got stuck in my jacket. I was on my way to work on the bus and I could not get the zipper to open because it was stuck much like your picture. I got off of the bus and walked right into a shoe repair shop and the guy got out some pliers and fixed it right there and I think I gave him $10. So... maybe take it to a shoe repair shop?
posted by pazazygeek at 5:54 PM on January 22, 2023 [3 favorites]

Brute force. Use a pair of pliers if necessary.
posted by bricoleur at 6:39 PM on January 22, 2023 [2 favorites]

Best answer: Hold the body of the zip with one hand, firmly rotate the zip-pull so that it comes unstuck - you'd rotate it clockwise in your photo.

That works for me when I have this problem.
posted by davidwitteveen at 6:42 PM on January 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Zipper slides (the part the pull attaches to) often have a little spring inside that the pull engages to make the slide go smoothly. When you don't have the pull engaging the spring, it is hard to move up and down the teeth. In this case I would try to rotate the pull either counter clockwise or clockwise while not lifting it up at all. This might get the corner loose from the slide and allow you to put it back in the right position. This is also something a shoe repair or alteration shop would be able to do for a small fee, as pazazygeek suggests.
posted by soelo at 9:02 AM on January 23, 2023

Response by poster: @davidwitteveen, you nailed it. Did it exactly how you suggested, and boom, it worked. Aligned back to normal. Many thanks!
posted by dubious_dude at 8:50 PM on January 23, 2023