subject: Quick, Easy Ways To Get Your Zipper Moving Again [print this page] Gently jiggle the stuck zipper to see if there is small 'opening' or loose place by where it is stuck. If there is, look closely to see if there is a piece of material under the zipper slide that has jammed the zipper in place. Using tweezers will allow it to be gently maneuvered out.
Sometimes, carefully tugging the zipper up or down at the same time will loosen the fabric or free it. If this works, there is a good chance the zipper will now move freely. In order to prevent another jam, or if the slide still will not move due to grungy or sticky zipper teeth there are many alternatives one may try in order to lubricate it.
By far, the best option in lubricant for a stuck zipper is a few drops of mild liquid dish or hand soap. The tip of a hard bar of soap will work as well, though will not have the same maneuverability. Soap should always be the preferred method of lubrication because it can be easily washed off and will (usually) leave no residue or stain on fabrics. If soap is not an option or does not effectively loosen the stuck zipper, try a small amount of petroleum jelly or a dab of lip balm (untinted, non-medicated and wax or petroleum based). Note: always use common sense when applying any lubricant to expensive or unusual fabrics.
Gently wiggle the zipper slide up and down, working the lubricant thoroughly into the teeth. Forcing a stuck zipper slide up or down may irreparably tear, damage or cause runs in fabric or the zipper itself. Be methodical and patient; slowly, the zipper will pick up the lubricant and slide easily up and down.
Many inventors had a hand in creating this wondrously simple contraption which is now in such common use today. The first patent for a device using an "automatic, continuous clothing closure" was submitted in 1851 by Elias Howe, the creator of the sewing machine. The sewing machine was such a success; however, that Howe did not follow up on his clothing closure patent.
In 1893, Whitcomb L. Judson introduced and marketed a "clasp locker" which was similar to Howe's patent. Judson had originally designed the clasp locker as a way to help a friend who had difficulty tying his shoes due to his bad back. Because Judson marketed his product, he is credited with the invention of the zipper, despite his patent not containing the actual word "zipper."
Judson partnered with several people including Harry Earle, Lewis Walker and a businessman named Colonel Lewis Walker, and opened the Universal Fastener Company to produce his new product. His invention worked as a slide fastener, which was designed to be closed and opened using only one hand, and was mainly used for shoes, pouches, and mailbags. The first versions were clumsy hook-and-eye fasteners and met little success when they were debuted at the Chicago World's Fair in 1893.
In the early 1900s, the company hired a Swedish electrical engineer and scientist by the name of Gideon Sundback. He took Judson's design and revised the fastener model to have metal, interlocking teeth with more fasteners per inch, and two rows of facing teeth with a slider to connect them. Sundback patented this model in 1913 as a 'hookless fastener' and then created another patent in 1917 for a 'separable fastener.' He also created a manufacturing machine to produce his new fastener.
The actual name "zipper" was coined by the B.F. Goodrich Company when they used Sundback's fastener for a line of rubber boots and galoshes. The company named the fastener a "zipper" because it could be closed in one "zip" and the name stuck. While it took several years before the zipper was used in clothing and luggage, the US Army became one of the first customers to use Sundback's fastener for all the gear and clothing the troops used during World War One.
If necessary, wash whatever article of equipment or clothing that the zipper is attached to. The zipper should be unstuck and good as new.
