Rub the bottom of a candle along the teeth of the zipper. Jeff Brendenberg, author of "2,001 Amazing Cleaning Secrets," recommends using a white candle to avoid spreading dye over the suitcase, although other candles will work if you don't have access to a white candle. Move the slider along the teeth as much as possible to spread the wax. Remove any excess wax with a paper towel.
Apply several drops of olive oil onto the zipper. Pour small drops of olive oil onto your finger or a paper towel and rub it along the zipper. Be careful not to get any of the olive oil on your suitcase. Zip and unzip the zipper several times to ensure the olive oil is spread evenly along the zipper. Remove excess olive oil with a paper towel to avoid staining the suitcase.
Run the edge of a bar of soap along the zipper. Use a small bar of soap to make it easier to spread, if one is available, as a larger bar of soap can rub off on the material on the sides of the zipper.
Gloss the zipper with a waxed-base stick of lip balm. The small stick makes it easy to limit the area coated by the lip balm. Rub the balm along the zipper. Spread the balm by moving the slider of the zipper back and forth along the teeth.
