How to Quiet a Noisy Zipper: Reduce Zipper Noise in 5 Effective Ways

Looking for how to quiet a noisy zipper?. Perfect, then you’ve come to the right place. In this guide, you will discover some of the effective ways to reduce zipper noise.

There are many scenarios that can make zipping a noisy zipper embarrassing or annoying. Maybe you are in the middle of a conference, or class and you need to remove something from your bag but it’s almost impossible to remove it without drawing attention to yourself because of a noisy bag zipper.

Or you are walking in the wilderness enjoying the serenity or the calm wind and nature but your noisy zipper doesn’t want to give you a break.

Noisy zippers can be found in bags, shoes, shirts, and many more. They can be particularly annoying in quiet places.

If you’re concerned about how to silence a noisy zipper, then worry not anymore as I will discuss some of the ways you can reduce or stop your zipper noise.

But before we dealt with the different ways to quiet a nosy zipper, let’s first look at why zippers make noise.

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Why Do Zippers Make Noise?

Zippers are designed such that when you are opening or closing it, all the teeth will touch each other as you pull the zipper past.

The faster you move the zipper, the louder it will make sounds since the segments will be colliding with greater force, and you’ll be hearing more of the collisions in a shorter timer period.

On the other hand, if you move the zipper slowly,  you will notice a reduction in the noise though this won’t completely remove the noise problem.

Another technique some people use is to hold their finger over the tape just in front of the slider as it moves to make the zipper slightly quieter.

Besides the sounds made when moving a zipper faster, the other type of noise that zippers make is caused by the metal zipper pull jangling against the metal slider and elements.

This is experienced when the zipper is in motion, causing the pull to bounce around, slapping the other metal parts of the zipper in the process

This type of zipper noise occurs most during movement instead of during use. Plastic zippers are much less likely to cause this since they don’t have metal parts to bang against each other.

Why Should You Worry About Noisy Zipper?

There are several reasons why you will need to silence your noisy zipper. Not only can it be annoying to you but it can also be a distraction to others around you.

Noisy Zipper on Backpack

The click-clack noise on your backpack as you walk, run or commute to work can be annoying and frustrating.

It could also be you are in a quiet office or near-silent classroom, the effect of opening a noisy bag zipper can be distracting to others who are around you and may draw unnecessary attention to you.

Noisy Zipper in Tent

To those who enjoy camping, going out at night out of your tent for a nature call is inevitable. If you are tenting with a partner, you don’t want your noisy zippers to wake them up.

It could also disturb other campers around you and I am sure you don’t want that.

Another issue with your tent zipper may be caused by wind. As the wind blows your tent walls, the zipper may jangle around, becoming loud enough to wake a light sleeper.

Noisy Zippers on Shoes and Booties

The effect of the noisy zippers on shoes or booties can be even more pronounced than noisy zippers on tents. They can draw unwanted attention to you wherever you go.

Every step you take will shake and dangle the zippers causing unwanted sounds. Nobody likes that unless you are an attention seeker.

How to Silence a Noisy Zipper

1). Lubricate the Zipper with Wax

Sometimes, the only thing you need to lower your zipper noise down is to lubricate it. If you find out that anytime you zip, that sound goes off like an engine, it’s most likely there is a lot of friction.

With some wax, you will notice an effect on the noise. If you’ve candle wax is fin, but surf wax would be even better.

To do this, start by opening your zipper, gently applying the wax along with the zipper segments from top to bottom, and reserve. Generously rub it from various angles to get good coverage.

The reason for applying the wax is that it will act like a cushion that dampens the impacts of the zipper segments coming together. This intention will reduce the level of noise the zipper makes.

This method can also be applied if you are looking for how to make a tent zipper quiet. To maintain the low noise levels, occasionally replace the wax on the zipper for optimal results.

2). Replace the Pull With Paracord

If your metal zipper pull is doing too much jangling, then one of the best ways to silence it completely is to replace it with a paracord pull. This works well on both bags and shirts.

To fix your paracord pull, you will need some metal snips, a blade, or any shape object that can help you to cut the bottom loop of the zipper pull and remove it completely.

Next, you will cut your piece of paracord to the desired length, usually just a few inches. Tie the two ends together to form a loop. Straighten the loop out so the knot is at one end and the loop becomes two lines with a knot on one end and a point at the other.

After that, you simply thread the end opposite of the knot through the zipper.  Now feed the knotted end through the loop on the other side of the zipper hole, pulling the knot tight. There you have it, your paracord zipper pull to silence your zipper.

3). Get a Zipper Pull Kit

A zipper pull kit is effective because it will act as a shock absorber that dampens the noise of the zipper pull rattling noise around.

One advantage that a zipper pull kit has over using a string or paracord pull is that it comes with a plastic tap that you can use to pull that is attached to the end closed and it appears neater than using a string.

5). Plasti-Dip

Another great way to quiet a zipper is to plasti-dip the zipper pull instead. Sure, it may be more time-consuming and difficult than the other methods mentioned here but is another way to silence the zipper. This is a great solution to silence shoe zippers. So if you are wondering how to stop boot zippers from jingling, there you have it!.

This is for those who don’t like the look of paracord or string dangling from all of their zippers.

The plasti-dip works as a sound-dampener, absorbing the impact of the zipper as it slaps around. While this won’t completely silence your zipper, it will dull the impact and stop the resonance, resulting in a very reduced amount of zipper noise.

To apply this, dip your zipper and pull in the plasti dip. This may be difficult depending on what the zipper is on, so smaller items such as shoes and booties are excellent for this.

Once you dip the zipper pull, you’ll need to hang it so that it can dry without getting any of the plasti-dip on the item itself. Once it’s dry, your zipper is noise-dampened and rugged.

In today’s busy life, there are a lot of things that can make plenty of noise to disturb your peace. A bet clink-cloak noise is one of the least sounds you would want to be hearing constantly when using your zipper pull.

Whether you are out camping, or one the conference or classroom with your mates, fixing a noisy zipper will spare you all the unwanted attention or sounds and those around you will truly appreciate it.