RDP Saturday – ZIP
Garry has a sweatshirt from the 2013 World Series Red Sox victory. It zips up the front. Last week, it stopped zipping.
I got it to work again, but I think it is on its final legs as a viable zipper. I suggested to Garry that maybe he should wear it open and not zip it. Meanwhile, I improved his mental position in this world by getting him a new 2018 Red Sox World Series Champion sweatshirt — which doesn’t even have a zipper. It’s a pullover.
The good news? The zipper will never wear out.
The bad news? He wears hearing apparatus and eyeglass and he has to remove everything before he puts on the sweatshirt. It looks really good on him and I’d show you a picture, but I forgot to take one. Next time, okay?
Zippers are great until they aren’t and the price you get charged for replacing a zipper often exceeds the price of the clothing in which you are replacing it.
They should use better zippers. Or reinvent zippers so they last longer and zip more smoothly. I mean, really, they are upgrading EVERYTHING else, whether we like it or not. How about fixing zippers?
Also, maybe pave the roads?
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Categories: Daily Prompt
FUNDAMENTAL VALUES 
HOBBIES BUT MORE THAN 
PAYING FOR CHORES? 
URSULA LE GUIN LED US HERE 
SERENDIPITY - SEEKING INTELLIGENT LIFE ON EARTH 
Pave the roads? You’ll have more success getting them to invent a better zipper. I don’t know when it happened exactly, but at some point some lack wit decided PLASTIC was better for zippers than the old metal. That individual deserves(ed?) a swift kick in the pants for their idiocy. Those plastic ones wear out twice as quickly as the old kind.
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The metal ones fall apart only slightly slower and they tend to fray more quickly. We need some techno wiz to put some effort into making toilets that don’t clog with paper, drain cleaners that really clean drains, threads that don’t fall apart in the laundry — AND ZIPPERS. Better zippers.
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I’ve lost a few good hoodies to zipper problems… though for whatever reason, it’s a bigger problem on my coats. And if it’s cold enough for me to wear a coat, I probably want it zipped up, which makes it even more frustrating. Then again, I’ve had zippers on blue jeans break on me after using the restroom outside of the house and there’s no way I can go home and change. No way to hide that wardrobe malfunction…
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The worst are heavy winter coats with two-way zippers AND buttons AND a lot of elastic. I can barely figure out how to put them on, they get so complicated. Warm? Absolutely, but usually, I give up and layer. It’s easier. Almost all my coats have buttons.
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The worst zippers are on the duvets if they don’t work anymore. I usually replace them myself but do not enjoy the work
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Replacing zippers is tricky work. My recent duvet covers have buttons, not zippers. Buttons fall off too, but at least you can pretty easily fix them. The zipper always broke on the second or third time I tried to insert the duvet.
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Oh and that shirt looks fraken awesome!
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That’s a model wearing it. But it looks great on Garry, too and maybe tomorrow (when it’s light), I’ll take a picture.
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That would be awesome. I bet it looks great on him too!
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Wax, petroleum jelly, crayon wax wd40 all work on a sticky zipper if that’s the issue.
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It’s not merely sticky. It’s falling apart. You pay a lot of money for clothing and they use really cheesy zippers in them. Metal. It’s all frayed around the base.
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Ah, I see, well that’s not a quick fix unfortunately.
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My clothing seldom outlives the zipper, hee hee, I might be a wee bit hard on clothing.
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And zippers have not improved with the times. Funny how we put all our inventiveness into technology and nothing into the basics. No one has improved buttons and buttonholes, either!
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Have you tried spraying it with Pam? Also, waxing the strips might help.
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It’s frayed. No amount of wax will help. It needs a new zipper.
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I bought a zipper repair kit online that was supposed to just clip on and repair the old zipper. Problem is, it doesn’t seem to repair anything but bit metal zippers. Since I havent’ even seen a big metal zipper in years, back to the drawing boards! Drats.
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This IS a metal zipper, but a small one and it’s all frayed along the base. Nothing will fix it except replacement and no one is going to do that job for a reasonable price. We need better zippers!
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On this one, they just give you a new little pull tab that clips onto the track and it closes it up like the original one did. I suppose you have to sew up a bit if a prong is missing. Sorry he has to give up his old friend.
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He can wear it. Just not zipped. I bought him two new ones. The man has about 300% more clothing than he will EVER wear. He never throws anything away because he never changes size.
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That’s a great sweatshirt, of course, I am a sucker for anything bright red. Zippers, yes, the nylon ones are a pain in the neck. Once they break that’s it. The metal ones are a bit more robust but still a nuisance when they get caught on something or detach at the bottom. Replacing zippers in jeans and trousers is a horrible job. I’m not a great sewer and although I did it to favourite pairs of jeans a few times I was never happy with the results. David’s jeans had to come from the Big Man shop and weren’t cheap so we’d try to get a bit more life out of them. I hate to waste stuff but I’m afraid anything with a dodgy zipper gets ditched now.
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This frayed and detached at the base. I can get it to work, but it’s a goner. The fabric is shot. He can wear it open, but I don’t think it will survive more than one or two more pulls. Better zippers! We need better zippers.
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I agree. Zippers should last forever. I have a favored vest (loads of pockets so it’s great when I go walking looking for photographs) but the front won’t zip. My solution? wear more layer sand leave it open because I really need the pockets!
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I told Garry: wear it open. If he zips it up, the next time it probably won’t unzip again and then it will be useless. At least open, it looks like it was intended. Yes, zippers should last as long as the clothing lasts. For that matter, so should the thread which has a tendency to melt in the wash after a few runs through the machine.
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That’s one snazzy pull over. I hear the Red Socks did really well this year.
Leslie
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Their best EVER year. In more than 100 years.
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That’s great…..
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