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Removing Lint When You Don’t Have a Lint Roller
Have a big job for a lint roller, but worried the one you already have on hand just won’t cut it? Missing a lint roller altogether?
No matter what your lint-roller situation, we’ve got you covered. And the good news is, all this project takes is two ingredients you probably have at home: a paint roller and some (ideally good quality) duct tape.
The process of making your very own, super-powered lint roller is simple — just wrap the tape, sticky side out, around any paint roller, and then get to work on your clothes, couch, or virtually any other fabric you can dream up.
Masking tape, painter’s tape, or basically anything you have on hand will work, too. On a big or small roller. You’ll want to make sure to spot test first, especially if you’re using it on something nice, since sometimes cheap duct tape can leave gummy residue on fabric.
3 Reasons to Use Your Super-Powered Lint Roller
1. When you don’t have a lint roller at all
The super-powered lint roller is a perfect option if in a pinch if you can’t seem to find your existing lint roller or you don’t have one.
2. Cleaning up a big, hairy mess
If you’re a pet owner (or live with a human who sheds), you know what it’s like to discover big, hairy messes in unexpected places. (Gross.) These heavy-duty or everyday hair-ridden scenarios are where your super-powered roller will come in extra handy. It’ll do a better job of picking up lots of hair, without having to tear and twist off a half a dozen sticky sheets from your disposable roller.
3. Precise rolling of a large area
If you don’t have time to pore over every inch of your interview suit with the tiny lint roller you have on hand before you leave, a larger roller that covers more surface area will pack a stronger punch, leaving you ample time to finish your skincare routine before jetting out the door.
Is Your Business Using the Right Packaging Tape?
There are two primary types of packing tape that are used to seal cartons: plastic pressure-sensitive tape and paper water-activated tape. Each has different physical properties, methods of application, appearance, and performance. It is important that companies go beyond simple decision drivers like cost and availability, and consider how these attributes can impact their operations.Plastic Pressure-Sensitive Tape
Plastic pressure-sensitive tape (PST) is what is referred to as a “surface mount” type of tape. This carton sealing tape is manufactured by applying a dry adhesive to a plastic film. Both the adhesive, which can have many different strength formulations, and the film, which comes in a variety of widths, are petroleum-based materials.
Pressure-sensitive tape is generally applied with a hand-held “tape gun.” The pressure applied after the tape is dispensed, typically with the fingers or palm as a follow up, causes the tape to adhere to the surface of the carton.
Plastic pressure-sensitive tape can be further divided into moving tape and shipping tape or packaging tape.
Moving Tape
Moving tape generally does not have to be as strong or adhere as well as shipping tape for a few reasons. First, cartons used in a move from one location to another tend to be handled fewer times than product shipments – potentially just being carried onto a moving truck at the point of origin and off the truck at the destination – so the tape has to endure less stress.
Second, there is minimal risk of theft during a move, as cartons tend to be in the care of the same crew from start to finish. And finally, the person who receives the carton is often the one who sealed it. Consequently, there are not many negative repercussions if the condition of the seal is not optimal on arrival.
What is electrical tape made of?
The key properties of a reliable and trustworthy electrical insulating tape are that it must:
act as an effective insulator against electricity, protecting circuitry and users by not conducting current easily
be heat-resistant and fireproof to a reasonable degree for the application it’s being used in
be flexible, user-friendly and easy to apply to a range of wires, circuits and connections (often in relatively tight spaces)
By far the most common material for electrical tape these days is vinyl, but we’ll investigate more materials and their uses in a later section. For now, we’ll take a closer look at some of the general properties of insulating tape listed above, and how best to use it to make the most of those key attributes.
Does electrical tape conduct electricity?
When used properly, electrical tape should act as an insulator - that is to say, it should protect against transfer of any electrical current passing through the wires to people or components potentially coming into contact with them. As such, properly rated and applied insulating tape should NOT conduct electricity.
How to use electrical insulation tape
Electrical tape is most commonly used in DIY applications for making repairs and joins to smaller wires. As we’ll outline in more detail below, it should not be used for major repairs to very badly damaged wires, or on its own for creating permanent connections in junction boxes, light switches, or wiring outlets.
In these sorts of high-demand, potentially high-temperature environments, insulating tape should only be used in conjunction with purpose-made wire nuts and other connector tools for a safer and more secure fix. Furthermore, electrical tape shouldn’t be used as a standalone repair for damaged or unspliced wires in close proximity to soft furnishings or other flammable materials
Can electrical tape catch fire?
Although most reputable brands of electrical tape will have decent thermal properties (generally to cope with temperatures up to around 80 degrees Celsius), many varieties of insulation tape are indeed flammable if they’re allowed to get hot enough. The likelihood of combustion is usually reasonably low if it’s used sensibly and in the environment for which it was designed, but this will depend entirely on the application in question and the type of tape being used.
Several varieties of electrical insulating tape have much more advanced heat-resistant properties than others. We’ll highlight some of the more specialised types in subsequent sections.
What can I use instead of electrical tape?
There are various alternatives to electrical tape available, with the most popular options including wire connectors (or ‘wire nuts’) and heat-shrink tubing. Wire nuts are typically insulated plastic caps with internal threading that are designed to be twisted on to the ends of stripped wires.
Heat shrinks are very commonly found on wires in smaller electrical components and circuits, but they’re not usually used in household or industrial applications where the wire gauge tends to be much larger.
Other types of adhesive tapes are not generally recommended as a substitute for electrical tape when in direct contact with wiring or circuitry, as they’re designed for other applications and tend to lack sufficient thermal or insulating properties for electrical use, which can mean they quickly become unsafe if deployed incorrectly.
Can you use electrical tape to insulate wire?
One of the main purposes and most common uses of electrical tape worldwide is to insulate and protect wires and other connections. However, it’s worth noting that in many applications, simply twisting wires together and sealing with electrical tape alone is deemed an unsuitable splicing method for meeting stringent safety standards.
Wire nuts are often required in addition to insulating tape for achieving a fully code-compliant setup, so always check any regulations that might apply to the job in question.
Furthermore, always be aware that despite the impressive dielectric performance of many purpose-manufactured electrical tapes, very few materials are always 100% non-conductive under the right combination of circumstances. Given enough voltage and current, a short enough path to ground and in the right/wrong environmental conditions, even the most specialised electrical tape types could potentially conduct enough current to cause serious harm.
Be vigilant of the potential limitations of insulating tapes when used incorrectly or unsafely, and always shut down all circuits to the fullest extent possible before commencing any kind of repair or maintenance work on them.
Electrical Tape vs Duct Tape
It’s very important, when dealing with electrical circuitry, to acknowledge and understand the key differences between an electrical tape and duct tape:
Duct tape is a widely available pressure-sensitive hybrid sticky tape, generally made from a cloth backing coated with a thin layer of polyethylene or similar flexible plastic
The main aim of duct tape is to provide a flexible high-tack layer that will adhere reasonably well to a very wide range of surfaces, and provide a degree of moisture resistance (although it is not technically ‘waterproof’ to any significant degree)
Although it may technically offer slightly more protection against exposed wires than no covering at all, cloth duct tape is NOT an electrical insulating material and is entirely unsuitable for proper protection against live current
Duct tape is flammable if allowed to heat up to any significant extent
Duct tape is not especially durable and will degrade relatively quickly in adverse conditions (ironically, it’s not especially suitable for duct work for this reason) when compared to most specialist electrical tapes
Electrical tape is generally made of a stretchy vinyl/PVC material designed to offer better insulation against current
While all tapes will eventually shift or degrade in especially challenging environments, proper electrical insulating tape from a reputable brand (such as 3M) tends to perform far better in the long-run against adverse weather conditions, changing temperatures, moisture ingress and chemical corrosion
Is duct tape safe to use as electrical tape?
As we can see from the bullet points above, duct tape is a multi-purpose utility product and is absolutely NOT a suitable substitute for purpose-made insulating tapes where electricity is concerned.
Electrical tape is specifically designed and produced for meeting the day-to-day needs of electricians, and is the only appropriate choice when an adhesive tape is required in an electrical context - duct tape, or any other kind of adhesive tape for that matter, will not do the job safely.
Different types of electrical insulation tape, colours, materials, and their uses.
There are a large number of electrical tape types sold on today’s market, with a wide variety of intended uses, key attributes, materials, colours and sizes on offer. As with most such products, the best kind to use will be entirely dependent on the scenario and the job you expect it to perform.
In this section, we’ll go over some of the different kinds of electrical tape and what sorts of applications they’re most commonly found in.
- Created: 01-12-21
- Last Login: 01-12-21