Editing Duct tape (section)

== Common uses ==
{{expand section|selected cited examples of non-industrial and popular improvised uses|date=September 2020}}
[[File:Transparent duct tape roll.png|thumb|Semi-transparent duct tape]]
Duct tape is commonly used in situations that require a strong, flexible, and very sticky tape. Some have a long-lasting adhesive and resistance to weathering.

A specialized version, [[gaffer tape]], which does not leave a sticky residue when removed, is preferred by [[Gaffer (occupation)|gaffers]] in the theatre, motion picture and television industries.

=== Ductwork ===
The product now commonly called duct tape has largely been displaced in [[HVAC]] uses with specialized foil tapes designed for sealing heating and ventilation ducts (sometimes referred to erroneously as "duct tapes"). 

Common duct tape carries no safety certifications such as [[Underwriters Laboratories|UL]] or [[California Proposition 65 (1986)|Proposition 65]], which means the tape may burn violently, producing toxic smoke; it may cause ingestion and contact toxicity, it can have irregular mechanical strength, and its adhesive may have low life expectancy.<ref name="lbl"/><ref name="walker"/> Its use in ducts has been prohibited by the state of [[California]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/changeout/ |title=California Energy Commission Title 24 of the Building Energy Efficiency Standards |publisher=Energy.ca.gov |access-date=2009-07-21 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090714033548/http://www.energy.ca.gov/title24/changeout/ |archive-date=July 14, 2009 }}</ref> and by building codes in many other places.

Research was conducted in 1998 on standard duct tape at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Environmental Energy Technologies Division, which concluded that under challenging but realistic conditions duct tape becomes brittle, fails, and may even fall off completely.<ref name="lbl">{{cite web|url=http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/duct-tape-HVAC.html|work=[[Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory|Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Energy Performance of Buildings Group]]|title=Sealing HVAC Ducts: Use Anything But Duct Tape|date=1998-08-17|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070504043646/http://www.lbl.gov/Science-Articles/Archive/duct-tape-HVAC.html|archive-date=2007-05-04}}</ref><ref name="walker">{{citation |author=Max Sherman, Lain Walker |title=Can Duct Tape Take the Heat? |publisher=Home Energe Magazine |url=http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/walls/page/9/id/1400/magazine/110 |access-date=September 27, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130216034927/http://www.homeenergy.org/show/article/nav/walls/page/9/id/1400/magazine/110 |archive-date=February 16, 2013 }}</ref>

=== Spaceflight ===
{{quote|Interviewer: And duct tape works in the vacuum of space as well as it does here?<br>
Walker: Oh, yes. Yes, it does. It sticks.|[[Charles D. Walker]], describing duct tape's use on [[STS-51-D]]<ref name="walker20050414">{{cite interview |title=Oral History Transcript |date=14 April 2005 |url=https://historycollection.jsc.nasa.gov/JSCHistoryPortal/history/oral_histories/WalkerCD/WalkerCD_4-14-05.htm | last=Walker |first=Charles D. |interviewer=Johnson, Sandra |work=NASA Johnson Space Center Oral History Project}}</ref>}}

According to [[NASA]] engineer Jerry Woodfill duct tape had been stowed on board every mission since early in the [[Gemini program]].<ref name=Atkinson2010>{{Citation
 |title       = 13 Things That Saved Apollo 13, Part 10: Duct Tape
 |url         = http://www.universetoday.com/63673/13-things-that-saved-apollo-13-part-10-duct-tape/
 |year        = 2010
 |author      = Atkinson, Nancy
 |access-date  = 2013-05-30
 |url-status     = live
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20130813115829/http://www.universetoday.com/63673/13-things-that-saved-apollo-13-part-10-duct-tape/
 |archive-date = 2013-08-13
}}</ref>

NASA engineers and astronauts have used duct tape in their work, including in some emergency situations. One such usage occurred in 1970 when Woodfill was working in Mission Control, when the square [[carbon dioxide]] filters from [[Apollo 13]]'s failed command module had to be modified to fit round receptacles in the [[lunar module]], which was being used as a lifeboat after an explosion en route to the Moon. A workaround used duct tape and other items on board Apollo 13, with the ground crew relaying instructions to the flight crew. The lunar module's CO<sub>2</sub> scrubbers started working again, saving the lives of the three [[astronaut]]s on board.

Ed Smylie, who designed the scrubber modification in just two days, said later that he knew the problem was solvable when it was confirmed that duct tape was on the spacecraft: "I felt like we were home free," he said in 2005. "One thing a Southern boy will never say is, 'I don't think duct tape will fix it.{{'"}}<ref>[http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/3139248 Associated Press article] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050420040225/http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/space/3139248 |date=2005-04-20 }}, referring to the use of duct tape on Apollo 13.</ref>

Duct tape, referred to as "...good old-fashioned American gray tape..."<ref>[https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21apr_ducttape/ "Moondust and Duct Tape"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816001757/http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2008/21apr_ducttape/ |date=2011-08-16 }}, April 21, 2008, science.nasa.gov</ref> was used by the [[Apollo 17]] astronauts on the Moon to improvise a repair to a damaged [[Fender (vehicle)|fender]] on the [[Lunar Roving Vehicle|lunar rover]], preventing possible damage from the spray of [[lunar dust]] as they drove.<ref>{{Cite APOD|date=17 April 2004 |title=Lunar Dust and Duct Tape |access-date=2009-07-21}}</ref>

=== Military ===
In the [[Submarines in the United States Navy|US submarine fleet]], an adhesive cloth tape is called "EB Green," as the duct tape used by [[Electric Boat]] was green.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=6941912904&f=9741919888&m=55619699301&r=15719659801#15719659801 |title=The EB-Green myth - Topic |work=community.discovery.com |year=2011 |access-date=30 June 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928064752/http://community.discovery.com/eve/forums?a=tpc&s=6941912904&f=9741919888&m=55619699301&r=15719659801#15719659801 |archive-date=28 September 2011 }}</ref>{{reliable source|date=February 2018}} It is also called "duck tape", "riggers' tape", "hurricane tape", or "100-mph tape";<ref name=Airlift>[http://www.airlifttechnologies.com/misc.htm Airlift Technologies] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220050403/http://www.airlifttechnologies.com/misc.htm |date=2010-12-20 }} supplier of tape under this name</ref><ref name=NBC>The Medical NBC Battlebook USACHPPM Tech Guide 244 (May 2000) p 1.13</ref> a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of duct tape that was supposed to withstand up to {{convert|100|mph|km/h kn|abbr=on}} winds. The tape is so named because it was used during the [[Vietnam War]] to repair or balance helicopter rotor blades.<ref>Vietnam Stories, Army Times (September 1993)</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Vietnam -- Balancing Rotorblades With Duct Tape |url=http://4thbattalion77thfieldartilleryafa.blogspot.com/2011/06/vietnam-balancing-rotorblades-with-duct.html |date=June 5, 2011 |work=4th Battalion, 77th Field Artillery AFA [blog] |author=Richard T. Edwards |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120602072026/http://4thbattalion77thfieldartilleryafa.blogspot.com/2011/06/vietnam-balancing-rotorblades-with-duct.html |archive-date=June 2, 2012 }}</ref>

=== Alternative uses ===
[[File:Ducttapewallet.JPG|thumb|A wallet constructed mainly from duct tape]]

Duct tape's widespread popularity and multitude of uses has earned it a strong place in popular culture, and has inspired a vast number of creative and imaginative applications.

[[Duct tape occlusion therapy]] (DTOT) is a method intended to treat [[warts]] by covering them with duct tape for an extended period. The evidence for its effectiveness is poor;<ref>{{cite journal|last=Wenner|first=R |author2=Askari, SK |author3=Cham, PM |author4=Kedrowski, DA |author5=Liu, A |author6=Warshaw, EM|title=Duct tape for the treatment of common warts in adults: a double-blind randomized controlled trial.|journal=Archives of Dermatology|date=March 2007|volume=143|issue=3|pages=309–13|pmid=17372095|doi=10.1001/archderm.143.3.309|doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=Ringold|first=S |author2=Mendoza, JA |author3=Tarini, BA |author4=Sox, C|title=Is duct tape occlusion therapy as effective as cryotherapy for the treatment of the common wart?|journal=Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine|date=October 2002|volume=156|issue=10|pages=975–7|pmid=12361441|doi=10.1001/archpedi.156.10.975|doi-access=}}</ref> thus, it is not recommended as routine treatment.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Stubbings|first=A|author2=Wacogne, I|title=Question 3. What is the efficacy of duct tape as a treatment for verruca vulgaris?|journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood|date=September 2011|volume=96|issue=9|pages=897–9|pmid=21836182|doi=10.1136/archdischild-2011-300533|s2cid=206853952}}</ref> However, other studies suggest the duct tape treatment is more effective than existing medical options.<ref>{{cite journal|url=http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=203979|title=The Efficacy of Duct Tape vs Cryotherapy in the Treatment of Verruca Vulgaris|journal=Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine|date=October 2002|volume=156|issue=10|pages=971–974|doi=10.1001/archpedi.156.10.971|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130620152942/http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=203979|archive-date=2013-06-20|last2=Spicer|first2=Carole|last3=Fairchok|first3=Mary P.|pmid=12361440|last1=Focht Dr|first1=3rd|doi-access=}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=T|first1=Rick |title=10 Medical Uses For Duct Tape|url=https://healthprep.com/technology-health/10-medical-uses-for-duct-tape/10/|website=Healthprep}}</ref> Duct tape is often used in shoe repair due to its resiliency.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sunset.com/travel/hiking-hack-how-duct-tape-saved-my-soles |title=Hiking Hack: How Duct Tape Saved My Sole(s) |work=Sunset |last=McCrea |first=Megan |date=26 September 2017 |access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://drewsboots.com/content/dos-and-donts-diy-shoe-repair |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181101015655/https://drewsboots.com/content/dos-and-donts-diy-shoe-repair |archive-date=2018-11-01 |title=The Do's and Don't's of DIY Shoe Repair |work=Drew's Shoes |access-date=October 31, 2018}}</ref>

Duct tape has been used to temporarily fix Apple's [[iPhone 4]] [[Antennagate|dropped call issue]], as an alternative to Apple's own rubber case.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1 |title=iPhone duct tape fix |publisher=CNN |date=2010-07-13 |access-date=2010-07-13 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100717043712/http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/mobile/07/13/iphone.4.duct.tape/index.html?hpt=C1 |archive-date=2010-07-17 }}</ref>