HTD Tech Tip #5: How to Stop Squeaking Computer Bags

I have a great computer bag, believe it or not, it is called “The Blogger” by Timbuk2, appropriate, right?. I have practically no complaints about it, with one BIG exception. It squeaks! When I walk, the hinge seems to rub back and forth, causing a grinding/squeaking noise. It is extremely annoying!

You can see the hinge circled in red in the image below. I have a feeling that this is probably a common problem with all types of bags that have hinges for their shoulder straps. I also think that this may be more common when there is metal on plastic for the link.

So, I started thinking, what could I do to fix this? Here is what I came up with. I took some WD-40 and sprayed it onto a paper towel and rubbed it on both the metal and plastic connections. The next day, I was walking down the street and I noticed something…actually, I missed something. The noise. It was gone!

So, WD-40 seems to be the miracle cure to those squeaky laptop bag shoulder straps! Just a quick word of caution though, some plastics might not work well with WD-40 and may actually degrade. You might want to test it on the plastic on an area that is not load bearing.

HTD says: Let me know if this works for you! My bag is definitely quieter and less annoying when I walk now.