TIL you can fix a stuck zipper on a winter coat by rubbing a bar of soap on it

My $120 Columbia jacket zipper seized up halfway during a snowstorm in Buffalo last January, and after 10 minutes of swearing I remembered my grandpa's trick with a basic Dial bar. Has anyone else found a random household item that saved their gear way better than actual repair stuff?

2 comments

2 Comments

clark.faith5d ago

You ever use WD-40 on a pair of boots that got waterlogged? I was camping up near the Adirondacks and my leather boots felt like sponges after a creek crossing. Couldn't get them dry by the fire without cracking the leather. A guy at the campsite told me to spray them with WD-40 and let them sit overnight. Took the water right out, kept them soft. Now I keep a tiny can in my gear bag, right next to the soap bar for zippers. Funny how the stuff in your junk drawer saves the expensive things more than the repair kits do.

fiona_johnson825d ago

Whoa, hold on. I gotta disagree with you there. WD-40 is a water displacer, sure, but it's not a leather conditioner. It's mostly solvents and light oil. That stuff will pull water out, but it strips the natural oils right along with it. Over time, it'll make leather brittle and prone to cracking, not softer. You're basically drying it out faster than fire would, just without the heat. I'd rather deal with slowly drying them by a fan with some newspaper stuffed inside. A proper beeswax or mink oil treatment after they're dry is way better for the long haul. That cheap fix might work once, but it's a gamble on a good pair of boots.