okay just a short video today but it should solve a big problem for a lot of you because we all use caulk and adhesives that come in these tubes and the problem is that we waste it when we only need part of the tube how do you keep what remains fresh for the next time weeks or even months down the road well I've seen a lot of so-called tips claiming to solve this problem including wrapping the nozzle with tape or sticking a nail or a screw in the end one even twists on it why you're not I think I've done that before most of these don't really work long term because they don't fully seal the tube and that's the key you have to keep the air from getting in not just most of the air all of the air or eventually it's going to seep in enough into the end of that tube to create a great big plug that you won't be able to pull out because the tube is tapered and you'll have to cut the whole thing off or it could even get into the whole thing and ruin it how do you get it to last after you initially open it well I found two methods that seem to work really well the first I use mostly on flexible sealants like silicone and latex caulk and the second I use on adhesives that Harden like liquid nails and other construction adhesives so let's start with the first one most of the time when I'm working with caulk I'm wearing gloves to keep it off my hands so when I'm finished I just cut a finger off the glove and I slip it onto the end of the tube's nozzle now this isn't going to fit tightly which is good because there's another step I'm going to squeeze some of the caulk into the sleeve let it Pour around the outside of the tube so you can feel it underneath that sleeve just squishing around on the outside of the nozzle that will help keep the sleeve in place as you put this away and over time the silicone or the latex or whatever is in here will begin to cure but instead of curing from the tip down into the nozzle and eventually into the tube it cures from the end of the sleeve up around the outside of the tube and by the time it gets to the end you're going to have an air tight seal now I don't have any old tubes on hand to show you at the moment but I did find a clip online from someone else who uses this method and you can see how the silicone made a perfect little cap that pulled right off the next time the tube was called into use as I said I find this works best with flexible caulk such as silicone and latex it will work with hardening materials such as construction adhesives but I find that those don't last quite as long with these methods because these can Harden all the way into the tube so I try something different this is a Hot Melt glue gun there are a thousand uses for this thing around the shop someday I may make a video but all the ways that I use it but today I'm going to Gob some on the end of the tube of construction adhesive I try to cover it well I may even let it cool and then apply some more just to be sure I get a good seal this works really well and it can last for months or even longer and then you just peel it off when you want to use the tube again try it it works want to see something else really interesting for the last several years I've been replacing my cheap drill enforcement bits with quality bits from fish tools they're a family-run company that still forges their bits the old-fashioned way try replacing your most used bits with fish bits using the links in the notes below this video and you'll see why I love them so much
