What's the fix when a Velcro strap wears out?

One thing to check is if there is a lot of lint or dirt interfering with the grip of the Velcro. You can use a toothbrush on the rough side of the Velcro to try to clean it out.

Velcro is easily found in sewing and fabric stores. Also, in large craft stores, and probably even Walmart if it has a sewing section. You could try to “seem rip” it out, and sew a new set in, but probably better to give it to shoe repair to do it.

Edit: It might be glued and sewn. That might be more tricky. Still, a repair shop should be able to do it I think. I’ve had shoe soles glued and sewn at a shoe repair shop.

Walmart stocks Velcro in bulk rolls and sheets in the “fasteners” aisle. They have Velcro that you could use to attach fenders to your car, if you wanted to do that. And I’m only partly kidding. Some Velcro has holding power that you won’t believe.

You might have to do some sewing, but it shouldn’t be hard to replace the defective pieces with new facings.

Or you could just do what I do and use duct tape. :-)

Sew on a replacement piece or have a cobbler do it. In addition to the stores mentioned above, I have found a variety of Velcro at Lowes and Home Depot.

Use a toothpick and clean out all of the “hook” side. Use a needle or small wire brush to rough up the “loop” side.

Dry scrub the both sides with a toothbrush or stiff pet brush to clean the lint and dirt out.

Hold a flame close (not too close) to the fuzzy part of the velcro . This will cause the fuzzy part to curl up again. As soon as you see the threads curling move the flame away. You must keep the flame moving.

Edit: Spray both sides with anti-static spray to reduce future lint collection.

—Courtesy eHow.com and Thriftyfun.com

The main reason that Velcro loses its holding power is not so much because it wears out, but rather gets gunked up with lint/dirt.

As others have menioned, clear out the gunk and it should be fine.

Home Depot and other places sell Gorilla tape, with sticking power you have to see to believe.

You know me.. I hate to waste or retire things before their time. Here’s what I do.
.
There are two sides to Velcro. Let’s call them the hook side and the fuzz side.
I use a sewing needle or small paper clip to make a few passes through the hook side to remove fuzz and threads picked up from your socks and pants. That will make a big difference and get you 75% of the way there. Here’s how I get the rest of the way to GAN (Good As New).
I use a match or a candle and pass the fuzz side over or near it a few times to melt the fuzz a bit. The heat melts and deforms the fuzz and gives the hooks something to grab.
You only need to use heat for a second. With strong reading glasses you can actually see the fuzz melting when it get near the match.

I use this technique on my mechanics gloves all the time. It works great.
Enjoy.

I almost forgot about giving the loop side a quick pass with a lighter. That does work as long as you don’t go too crazy. It works better if you rough it up a little first.

I use a lighter for more than just rejuvenating velcro. I will “fix” frayed jeans, loose threads on my jacket or gloves, melting cut rope ends so they don’t unravel, .etc. You have to be careful but it is worth the trouble.
Fire is a powerful tool. Use it.

I wish my Leatherman multitool had a flame option. In the future, no doubt, they will offer a tiny, solid-state, fusion reactor as one of the accessories next to the blade. I’d buy it!

Yup me too, old boyscout trick.

gorilla glue!