Duck tape has found its way into nearly every household and is used to patch up just about everything because of its strength and sealing properties. It has many applications. It is the central theme in the comedy series “The Red Green Show”. The show illustrates how duct tape is the handyman's secret weapon for fixing most everything.

Plumbers use it extensively to seal duct work in air ducts but it has many other applications. In fact it was used in the US space program on the Apollo 13 moon mission to make a work around repair.

So what is duct tape? Duct tape is cloth pressure sensitive tape often sealed with polyethylene. Once it is installed it is very difficult to remove. It comes in 1-7⁄8 inches rolls and is silver-gray in color. The history of duct tape is somewhat clouded. It was developed during WW II for sealing ammunition cases. Because of its properties it was used to repair military jeeps, firearms, and aircraft in the field. I have often used it to temporarily repair aircraft and automobiles.

As a quick first aid treatment duct tape has been used as a temporary bandage until proper medical treatment and bandages can be applied to a wound. It also can be used to make quick repairs on clothing such as worn pants with worn knees. Homeowners use it to make temporary furniture repairs, laying carpets, sealing boxes, patching broken windows and much more.

Although the primary maker of duct tape today is Scotch there are many other less expensive brands of which most are not worth buying because they are cheap and poor quality imitations. Cheap duct tape is not worth wasting you money on.

On the down side heat will soften the duct tape adhesive causing it to loose its strength. If there is weight or stress on the repair the tape will fail.

Duct tape is not meant for exterior repairs unless it is labeled UV resistant. Sunlight will cause the plastic that ties the tape's threads and adhesive together to weaken and fail. Scotch makes a variety of special all weather duct tapes which greatly extend the life of the tape when used outdoors.

Duct tape repairs are only temporary. Eventually a permanent repair must be made. It certainly is not the “fix-it-all” for everything but is a very convenient way to make temporary repairs to almost everything.