10 Great Ways to Use Duct Tape

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Everyone knows that duct tape is very useful for fixing things (and it has some wacky applications), but I bet you didn’t know these 10 great ways to use it! (See also: Top 10 Unusual Uses for Duct Tape)

1. Splinter Remover

Instead of breaking out the tweezers and ripping your finger open, remove splinters by placing a piece of duct tape over the splinter. If the splinter is exposed, lift the tape straight up. If the splinter is not exposed, leave the tape on for a half hour, then slowly peel away the tape and the splinter along with it.

2. Keep Snacks Fresh

Chips getting stale? Use a piece of duct tape to keep the air out of bags of chips. I’m always losing my chip clips, so a cheap, disposable method works great for me!

3. Wart Treatment

Remove warts with duct tape. The duct tape acts as an irritant to the wart, which causes the immune system to attack it. Place duct tape over the wart for six days, then soak the wart in water and scrape the area using a pumice stone. Reapply the tape the following day and repeat this treatment until the wart goes away.

4. Bandage Replacement

Run out of bandages? Place a tissue or cotton ball directly onto the wound and use duct tape to hold it in place. That’s all a bandage is anyway, and this guy won’t come off as easily as a Band-Aid.

5. Lint Roller

Remove lint, hairs, and feathers from your clothing by wrapping a piece of duct tape around your hand and pressing the duct tape to your clothing. This is a great way to remove pet hair, too!

6. Book Covers

Create a durable, creative, and waterproof book cover using different colors of duct tape. First wrap a book in newspaper, and then cover the paper with a few layers of duct tape. This is a great idea for people who try and sell their books back at the end of the semester.

7. Shoe Waterproofing

Create a pair of waterproof shoes for gardening or hiking. Cover your shoes with duct tape to prevent water and dirt from getting in. (Bonus tip: Protect your ankles from ticks by wrapping duct tape around your pant cuffs to seal out the nasty bugs!)

8. Hem Pants

If your pants are too long, use duct tape as a temporary fix by folding the pants under and taping them from the inside. This one is perfect for hand-me-downs where you want to leave room for growth.

9. Extend Sports Gear

Whether you need to tighten your shin guards (using tight strips of duct tape), extend the life of a hockey stick (wrap the bottom of the stick), or fix torn ski pants (patch them up), just put some duct tape on it.

10. Fly Catcher

Hang strips of duct tape on your porch or in your cabin. The sticky tape will catch the unwanted bugs and flies that are ruining your good time.

Don't you just love when household items can serve several purposes and save you money? Check out some of these novels ways to use vinegar or toothpaste, too!

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Money Beagle's picture

I never heard of the splinter remover idea until now. That's great!

Ironically enough, one of the things that duct tape should not be used for is....sealing ducts. We sealed all of our ductwork in the basement, and it's best to use aluminum tape. You can use duct tape but it will all fall off in a matter of months!

Guest's picture
Guest

That will be because of dust/dirt. It works fine on new installations

Guest's picture
Megan

My mom always says, "A person only really needs two things to fix any problem: WD-40 if it doesn't move and it should, Duct Tape if it moves and it shouldn't."

The only thing on this list I haven't used Duct Tape for is as a wart remover, but good to know!

Guest's picture
Monica

I have to disagree with using duct tape to hem pants. Don't get me wrong, it works if you have to, but I do alterations on the side and when I have done back to fix hems that have been taped I hate it. The goo from the tape bungs up my machine and makes the hem look crappy. I need a good way to remove it, any suggestions?

Guest's picture
Sonja

Goo Gone....It works great for removing sticky tape remnents and will also remove glue that's gone astray.

Guest's picture

never heard of using this for wart treatments.. wow.

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Julie

Our pediatrician asked us to try this with our young daughter several years ago. It definitely worked-quickly!

Guest's picture

Left a patch of duct tape out one day and came back to find it caught a roach. Will be keeping that in mind in future when the roach motel is not as catchy as it could be.

Guest's picture
Rez

I love using Duct Tape, the only problem with it is that when its warmer outside, its not as sticky as you would like. Besides that, some great ideas.