When your zips stop working properly, learn easy ways to repair at home

A man was widely praised on TikTok for sharing a simple way to fix broken zips. We all know just how annoying breaking a zipper on clothes and shoes can be, but we may have finally found a solution.

A cobbler has shared a simple way of how you can fix broken zips at home – and all you’ll need is a small hammer and pair of pliers.

Sharing on TikTok account @originalcobblers, the man revealed that it couldn’t be simpler to fix the zips yourself, and his video has garnered over 300,000 likes.

After revealing that he often gets customers asking for a new zip because there’s is no longer closing, he reveals that there is usually a way you can fix it.

He says: “Now a lot of the time you can fix this kind of thing at home with a few very basic tools and I’m going to show you quickly how to do it.

“What we do, if you put the zip itself on something hard, give it a hard background. The zip runner itself runs on two plates, top and bottom, they run parallel and after the zip wears a little while, they open up so instead of the teeth interlocking, one sits on top of the other and they don’t close.

“Our aim today is to tap the back of the zip back into its original position using a pair of plyers on the very back of the zip, so right on the very back either side, a small hammer, we give it a little tap right on the back of the zip runner, not too hard because we don’t want to break it even though it’s broken, because if it needs replacing we can.

“But we always like to try this first… look at that.”

He then demonstrates that the fixed zip on a boot is now able to close.

Many social media users took to comment section to praise the hack, with one writing: “Fantastic I’m going to be able to fix quite a few things now.”

Another added: “Thank you for teaching me something new today.”

A third wrote: “Can we just appreciate he told us this so people can just do it themselves at home, saving their shoes and money!”

Writer, historian, and activist Dharam Sikarwar is a very active author The Youth. He writes on national and international issues, environment, politics. He is an avid book reader as well.