Is that zippered jacket making a racket in the dryer again? Do you ever procrastinate putting a load in just because you don’t want that noise clogging up your day? Here’s how to make that problem disappear in less than a minute.
To stop a zipper from making noise in the dryer, turn the item inside out and zip it up. Most zippers have a layer of fabric on the inside, which will prevent the teeth from hitting the sides of the dryer as it tumbles around. If the pull and the stop are still making noise, wrap them in tape.
Want to know how it works? Read on to find the root cause of the noise and how to stop it at its source.
Why do Zippers Make so Much Noise?
Zippers are one of those things that make dryers infamously noisy, and it’s among the worst of them. It’s one thing to hear the low rumble of the dryer, which simply tells you the dryer is running before fading into the background.
It’s a whole other story to hear a “clack, clack, clack” every few seconds, incessant but not entirely consistent: the most irritating kind of noise.
Metal
The worst noise-making zippers are the metal ones. As the load tumbles around inside the spinning drum, the metal components of the zipper, the teeth, the pull, and the stops, all bump and brush against the sides of the dryer, which is also metal.
The result is the sound of metal on metal, which isn’t appealing when you’re trying to relax or do chores.
When the metal of a zipper is thrown against the side of the dryer by the force of the spinning, it’s like the metals try, however briefly, to scratch each other. The tapping and scraping sounds are the vibrations of those attempts.
That’s why metal zippers make the worst noise in the dryer: there’s nothing keeping the metals from touching, so they can constantly scratch and scratch away.
That’s not even mentioning the pull or the stops. If the teeth were comparable to a light chain that occasionally scrapes the drum, the pull, and the stops are like the heads of hammers, banging down with the weight of the whole item behind them.
These components have a little more concentrated weight behind them, as well as angular momentum. That means that these little spots of metal strike the metal of the drum with quite a bit more force than the teeth do, making the noises they make louder.
Plastic
Plastic zippers aren’t nearly as bad because they’re not as sharp or heavy. Plastic zippers tend to have smoother edges and rounder teeth.
They’re also lighter, which means they don’t get as much force behind them from the spin as metal zippers do. Plus, plastic against metal makes a completely different sound.
Because of all that, you won’t get as much noise from the plastic zippers. If you do get irritated by your plastic zippers making noise, though, zipping it up inside out will definitely help, since plastic zippers tend to have more protective fabric on the inside that makes it virtually impossible for the plastic to touch the dryer’s metal drum.
On the other hand, the pulls and stops of plastic zippers can be just as bad as the metal ones: in fact, it’s not uncommon to find a zipper with plastic teeth but the pull and stops are made of metal.
Even if it’s not metal, though, the pull is prone to flailing around and making all kinds of ruckus as the dryer throws it around the drum.
Cover up the Noise
The best way to stop noise from happening is to put some kind of barrier between the things that are making the noise happen.
That’s why zipping up the item inside out will usually work: you’re putting that layer of protective fabric in between the metal parts that make the noise, keeping them from meeting and making the noise.
But that isn’t always a be-all-end-all solution. Some zippers have minimal protective fabric and have nearly as much exposure to the teeth on both sides.
Having it inside out won’t protect much against the stops or the pull either, since the inside of these components is usually just as capable of noise from the inside as the outside.
Tape
This is where the tape comes in. Wrap some tape around the stops and the pull to make a layer of noise protection. Any kind of sticky tape will do, but duct tape may leave some residue because of the dryer’s heat.
Make sure to apply the tape after the wash cycle rather than before, because the moisture can make the tape just fall off.
You can also put a strip of tape along the teeth, which would serve the same purpose as the protective fabric.
The tape puts up a barrier around the hard parts of the zipper, making it impossible for the metal to touch directly. While thin layers of tape may only muffle the sound that happens, the tape should usually do the trick to quiet down
Paracord
If you’re not a fan of the idea of tape residue on your zipper, you might try using paracord instead. It won’t help with the stops, but if you weave it through the pull, you’ll create a cushioned barrier around it so that the pull can’t even come close to the drum, and the soft cords should completely muffle any attempts that pull makes to make noise.
Still, Making a Racket?
If these solutions don’t work, there are other things you can try. The best way is to replace the metal with plastic. It’s a longer-lasting solution, but it takes a bit more effort to do.
Switch out the zipper for a quieter one. That means if you have a metal zipper, get a plastic zipper to replace it.
Replacing the zipper may be harder on some items than others, but either way, you should only try this if you know how to use a seam ripper and you’re comfortable using a sewing machine with the foot up.
