Zippers are common fasteners you can see everywhere you look and are part of your day to day life. However, despite being small, zippers are not simple. All too often, you will encounter some issues with it if you don’t care for them properly. Below are a few tips you can keep in mind for your zippers to remain working smoothly and clean.
Oxidation
Metal zippers that are made of copper will turn black because of oxidation once applied to woolen cloth. Residual bleaching agent and chemical substance after manufacturing wool or leather products release gas that is reactive to metal zipper. This can result in color change of the zipper. There is also vulcanization when the metal zippers have been bound by a rubber band that contains sulfide.
While electroplated zipper sliders have undergone rustproof treatment, you can combat oxidation by wrapping them with special paper to lessen scratch and discoloration.
Color Transfer
The dark colors of zippers or certain special materials applied on their surface may cause staining on light fabrics in some cases. For example, color transfer may take place if polyester tape dyeing with disperse dyes have a direct contact with the oil or adhesive of PVC tape or synthetic leather.
You can place a piece of paper between fabrics and zippers to avoid color transfer that results from humidity, temperature, pressure, or long time contact.
Washing
Fix the slider and zip the zipper before you wash your cloths, or else, the slide will scratch on fabrics and the tape may end up shrinking. You have to pay extra attention to the chlorine-containing bleach and strong detergents that dissolve the oily film and paraffin wax on the zipper surface. When the zipper becomes difficult to open and close after washing, you can smear soap or other similar lubricate substances on its teeth and zip it up several times.
Wrap painted sliders with cloth before you wash them so that the paint layer will not peel off.
Take note of these simple care tips and buy zippers from ZipperShipper.com.