Nov142009
15 Comments
Survival Survey: How many ways can your duct tape tape?
I can think of only four or five uses for duct tape, and that’s plain embarrassing for someone who calls herself, “TheSurvivalMom”! Every survival book and website claims that duct tape is a must- have, and writers wax nearly poetic about everything duct tape can do.
So, for my benefit, and probably that of at least some of my readers, tell us how many ways duct tape can be used!
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Karen
You can use it to reupholster a vinyl seat in a car – no lie!
TheSurvivalMom
I believe you! I've also seen car doors literally taped shut with duct tape! Not sure if someone was trying to keep their kids IN the car or OUT of it!
Anne M.
Duct tape is great cause it can hold up to water pretty good – like on the outside of a house or car. Here's some of the things we've used duct tape for:
- fixing a diaper – the tabs had broke off
- taping plastic onto broken car windows – then you can wait till the new window comes
- fixing screens – piece on each side works great!
- taping cracks in house windows – then you can wait till the new window comes
- hold cables tight on antenna poles – cheaper than zip-ties!
- on tool handles – like a grip strip so no blisters
- plastic over windows in house for weatherization
- hold down a edge of the carpet
- splice carpet together (underside)
- fix a remote that's lost it's back
- edge plywood/OSB "furniture" so the edges aren't sharp (think garage/shop)
- to tape down switches that shouldn't be flipped
- fix cracked storage tubs or trash cans
- any vinyl seat repair, especially car seats (like above!)
I've seen:
- rips in coats fixed with it
- shoes mended (like your picture above)
- to make letters for a sign – like for sale
- to hold on trim work on cars
- fix broken screen door handles
- to fix wallets & purses
My son can fix ANYTHING with it, seriously. He is a complete tape freak.
I know in quite a few different places they do a special day at the school where you go in duct tape "fashion".
TheSurvivalMom
Anne! This thread has been waiting for someone like you! A real duct tape pro! Thanks for those tips!
Anne M.
HAHA! We do got a book around here all about duct tape, I'll have to dig it out =)
your welcome!
Jeanne
My roommate's car got side-swiped by a city bus and it broke her right-side mirror off the car; she duct-taped it temporarily until she could afford to get it fixed — it held for a few months! My personal favorite use of duct tape is making perfectly-fitted bodice patterns: you put on a t-shirt that you don't mind being cut up, then wrap duct tape around it until the entire torso is covered. Then cut it off carefully, and use it as a pattern for making fitted tops or corsets or dress bodices!
TheSurvivalMom
Ding, ding, ding!! I think we have a winner in the Most Creative category! Using duct tape to make a dress bodice would never have occurred to me, ever. LOL
Preparedness Pro
Oh my gosh, duct tape kept my bumper on my car when I was in my 20s, until I could afford a new car. The stuff is amazing. We have a ton of it!
preparednesspro.com
TheSurvivalMom
Well, I've been educating myself on the many, many uses of this miraculous product! I guess it's one thing you can never have too much of!
KYLadybug
I know this is an old post but it made me laugh – we have a saying in our house "It ain't broke – it just needs a little duct tape." (Bad grammar and all – we are from KY
)
TheSurvivalMom
Have you seen the new trend in duct tape fashion design? I kid you not!
LizLong
There's one use for duct tape that almost no one thinks of. It was actually recommended to me when I bought my first home: taping a duct. No joke – you can use duct tape to tape a duct! You could also try it on a duck, but it would probably object.
Depending on the color (and there is a rainbow of it out there), you can also use it to cover reflective surfaces including chrome if you need to hide something, or you can tape reflective orange / silver / whatever on your clothing or anything else you want to be able to find.
TheSurvivalMom
Now that's a novel idea! Who would have thought??
rharvey72
I know this post is from a while back, but if there are any other new users to your site, I am certain they are reading everything you have on your site, so it will still get read, and maybe be useful to someone.
My friend uses it in her Kindergarten classroom to mark where the kids will sit on the floor for story time.
My daughter has used it to repair a horse blanket (I had resewn it one too many times and refused to do it again, she prefered to tape rather than sew
).
My DH has used it to tape a papertowel onto his hand when he cut it while working outside, he was obviously too busy to stop and come in to get properly bandaged.
I recently used some to close a box of Borax that I didn't want spilling in the laundry room should it get turned over.
We always keep several rolls of duct tape, a few spools of wax string (another can't live without item) and lots of zipties around the house…I know they would all come in handy in any emergency or survival situation.
Sean
This is a subject near and dear to my heart!
Duct-Tape can be used for almost anything! I've made wallets, messenger bags and laptop sleeves out of it for people. My Wife needed a new dressmakers form for herself, so we used the idea mentioned above and made one custom sized to her out of Duct Tape. I've repaired cars, firearms, clothing, used it to hold on gauze/dressings in First Aid situations, used it to fix camp chairs (those folding collapsible ones), strollers, and emergency shelters out in the woods, repaired holes in tents, tarps, and ground sheets, to seal up drafts in windows, and one particularly hot summer (my biggest project) made a free standing sun awning/Gazebo out of 4 rolls of Duct Tape, and some lumber we had around.
The uses are truly only limited by what you can figure out to do with it!