Ask a member of the public what plumbers tape is and they probably won’t know. Many an amateur DIY person has tried to use tape to stop a water leak and the fact is, it doesn’t work. But you, as a professional, know that plumbers tape is an invaluable tool in a specific application. It works as a kind of filler, adding a layer of material between the ridges known as the thread.
Also known as Teflon tape (the brand name of the famous and controversial non-stick coating) and PTFE tape (because of a material called polytetrafluoroethylene, AKA Teflon), plumbers tape is wound around the thread so that when it enters the corresponding thread on what it is being screwed onto, even if the threads themselves don’t form a tight enough seal to stop seepage, the tape can fill the gaps and make the joint watertight.
Plumbers tape is used in industry in other applications where a tight screwed seal is needed, including fuel lines, which it can do because it is resistant to petrol and oil. For that reason, it has its place in the automotive industry, which involves moving fluids, making a knowledge of some plumbing tricks useful to the mechanic, or to give them their modern title, the automotive engineer.
Hydraulic systems, ducting, showerheads: the list goes on. Wherever there is a screwed joint pith liquid to deal with, PTSE tape to the rescue.
How Much Plumbers Tape To Use
The enthusiastic amateur may be tempted to use more (or perhaps less) than necessary, because they have nothing to compare it with. The recommended amount is three or four windings: enough to fill the gaps without making the joint soft and difficult to close. As with so many aspects of the plumber’s trade, experience makes this easier to assess and to carry out. A vital tip to maximise its effectiveness is to wrap in the direction the thread is going, so it sits more naturally.
The Origin of Plumbers Tape
In the 1930s the boffins at the Dupont chemicals company were hard at work developing practical solutions for the issues of the day, and whether by accident or design they came up with PTFE and set about finding more uses for it. The plumbing trade probably wasn’t high on their list, but after non-stick cookware had wowed the world, the commercial department persevered with finding new markets and somebody came up with the idea of making it into tape. Possibly someone working on the project had a leaking hosepipe connection at home that was driving them crazy — we don’t know. Anyway, they carried out experiments and found that it would serve this purpose admirably.
It is not the sort of thing the public will have much call for – in most people’s understanding tape is only tape if it’s sticky – but the plumbing world embraced it as a quirky but useful addition to their toolbox.
So, there you go, one more lesson learned: that is how to use plumbers tape.