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9.8

How to fix a separated zipper

Fix the slider before you blame the teeth, because a zipper that splits behind the slider usually has a slider that has spread open.

Detail of a gold zipper on a soft pink textile.
Photo: Mat Brown / Pexels
Area: HandsFrom age 12Time to learn: 20 minutes

Squeeze a worn slider back into shape with pliers, put a slider that came off back on by removing a top stop, and replace a broken slider or pull instead of the whole zipper.

Why it matters

A slider works by pressing the two rows of teeth together. When frequent or rough use bends it or spreads it open, the teeth pass through without locking, and the zipper splits behind it. A small squeeze often fixes it, and a new slider costs far less than a new garment. Repairs keep clothes out of the trash; the EPA estimates US landfills received 11.3 million tons of textiles in 2018.

How to do it

  1. Find the cause. If the teeth open up behind the slider as you zip, the slider has spread. If one side of the zipper has come out of the slider, it came off the track. If teeth are missing or bent, or the slider is cracked, a squeeze will not fix it.
  2. Fix a spread slider. This fix is for metal sliders; replace a plastic slider instead. Move the slider to the bottom. With pliers, gently squeeze the top and bottom plates of the slider slightly closer together, first on one side, then the other. Clamp only the slider, never the pull tab or the fabric.
  3. Test after each squeeze and repeat with slightly more pressure if it still splits. With locking pliers, tighten the adjusting screw only 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn between tries. If the zipper becomes hard to move, you went too far; ease the gap open with a thin flat-blade screwdriver.
  4. Put a slider back on. On the side that came off, pry open and remove the metal top stop with a flush cutter or pliers.
  5. Feed the loose side into the slider from the top so both sides enter the wide end evenly with the teeth lined up. Zip all the way down and back up to mesh the teeth.
  6. Fit a new top stop just above the last tooth. Set it with its post on the same side as the slider, clamp it at several points with needle-nose pliers, and tug to make sure it holds. If you have no stop, sew several tight stitches across the tape just above the top tooth instead.
  7. Replace a broken slider. Remove a top stop, slide the old slider off, slide on a new slider of the same size and type, and clamp a new stop in place.
  8. Replace a broken pull. If only the tab broke and the slider still works, thread a replacement pull, a small split ring or a loop of cord through the hole in the slider.

Common mistakes

  • Squeezing hard in one go, which pinches the slider so it will not move.
  • Clamping the pull tab or the fabric along with the slider.
  • Skipping the top stop, which lets the slider run straight off the end again.
  • Squeezing a zipper that has missing teeth. That zipper needs replacing, which a tailor can do.
You can do this when …you can tell a spread slider from a broken one by looking, and can make a split zipper close and stay closed.

Sources

  1. iFixit: Repairing zipper slider
  2. iFixit: How do I replace a broken zip slider (VAUDE)
  3. iFixit: Zipper stop replacement
  4. U.S. EPA: Textiles material-specific data

Sources and numbers last checked . How we check

Topic: Simple fixes

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