Craft & DIY

#21 · Unclog a glue bottle nozzle

Poke the dried glue blockage out of a blocked nozzle and get back to crafting without a full meltdown.

A pointed chopstick is the right shape to clear the dried plug in a PVA, fabric glue or wood glue nozzle - the plug that makes an otherwise perfectly good bottle feel finished and sends you out to buy another one.

How to do it

1. Take the cap right off rather than trying to work through it.
2. Push the chopstick point into the nozzle with a slow twist, so it cuts rather than compacts the plug.
3. Drive the plug down into the body of the bottle, or hook it out on the tip - either is fine.
4. Squeeze a test bead onto scrap paper before you point it at anything that matters.
5. Wipe the outside of the nozzle before you recap. This is what causes the plug in the first place.

Why it works

Water-based glues skin over where they meet air, and the nozzle is the one place that is permanently exposed. A chopstick tapers continuously, so somewhere along its length it matches the bore of almost any nozzle - and unlike a nail or a screw it won't split the plastic on the way in.

Tips & warnings

• Store glue bottles nozzle-down. Gravity keeps wet glue at the tip and the plug never forms.
• Superglue is a different problem - it cures rather than dries, and a blocked nozzle is usually permanent. Store those in the fridge in a sealed bag.
• For very fine tips, a pin works better. A chopstick handles everything from about 2mm up.