We've all had
tubes of things - lotion, Blistex, hand sanitiser, ointment, whatever
- develop a leak at the crimped end.
If you're like
me, you've probably tried to fix them with duct tape or Gorilla Tape
with varying degrees of success (or not success at all), and ended up
having to throw away the entire thing.
Even if you can afford to toss out an entire container of something, if you're reading this post, you probably really don't want to.
Just a few minutes ago, I encountered this issue, and it occurred to me that I could probably just heat and re-crimp the tube. Sure enough, it worked just great! Here's how...
What you need:
⦿ Leaky tube
of whatever
⦿ Pliers or
multi-tool
⦿ Lighter
⦿ Cup or bowl
of water
⦿ Wash cloth
or hand towel
What to do:
⦿ Especially
if the contents are flammable (anything containing alcohol or
petroleum products, for instance), make sure that you have a cup or
bowl of water and a wet wash cloth right in your work space.
⦿ Squeeze any excess product from the leaky spot back into or out of the tube, trying to clear as much as possible from the crimp area.
⦿ With your pliers close to hand and ready, hold the leaky part of the crimped end of the tube just above the flame until it is melty.
⦿ Quickly use the pliers to crimp the end well.
⦿ After the end cools, test to see if it is fully sealed, and repeat as necessary.
