Which Tape Should You Use on Moving Boxes?
When sealing moving boxes, whether to move houses or put them into storage, it’s important that the tape is lightweight, strong, durable and easy to use.
Using the wrong kind of tape can create problems, by not keeping the box closed and allowing items to fall out, or even letting the box fall apart, causing damage to your valuable possessions.
Duct tape is not the solution for packing boxes! It’s a good tape for holding things together short term, and is also great for holding things together whilst waiting for glue to bond/dry.
Sometimes also called cloth tape, it is a long-lasting adhesive tape which can be easily torn by hand. It’s strong and water resistant, but doesn’t like changes in temperature. Duct tape can stick to wood, stone, plaster, brick and metal and is great for general sealing and repairs, like sealing joints in heating and air conditioning duct work.
The tape's adhesive doesn’t last indefinitely but it will often tide you over until you can fix an item properly or swap it. Taking advantage of that short term high stick and resistance to water makes it ideal for makeshift repairs to, for example, split trainers or anoraks/ski gear, or to fix holes in hose pipes or vacuum hoses.
Some can even stick to rough, slightly dirty, and uneven surfaces, indoor and out.
And in case you were wondering, duct tape was originally called duck tape because of its water resistance which emulates water off a duck’s back, it was referred to as ‘duck’ tape: during World War II Johnson & Johnson manufactured the tape for the US military, which needed a waterproof tape to keep moisture out of ammunition cases. (Thanks to RS Components for that little snippet!)
Masking tape is even less ideal than duct tape: it does what it says on the can and is designed to mask off areas that shouldn’t be painted. It’s made of thin, easy to tear paper, backed with pressure-sensitive adhesive. The adhesive lets the tape come off easily, and generally is so fine that it won’t damage the surface it’s been applied to.
It’s too weak to hold anything heavy so boxes with any weight may collapse.
Packing tape, the right thing for the job
Packing tape is designed, as the name suggests, for packing. Made of strong, waterproof materials, it also has a strong adhesive that will last, making it ideal for putting things into storage. It’s also much more forgiving of a range of temperatures.
easyStorage packing tape is the perfect solution for this. The tape is pressure sensitive and sticks to itself when pressed together, making it easier to close boxes securely. It’s thick, strong and durable but lightweight and designed to be easy to use. (easyStorage franchisees and their employees, professional packers and box-shifters extraordinaire have to use it every day, so it’s also very well tried and tested!)
Note that although packing tape can be applied by hand and cut with a knife or scissors, a tape dispenser gun can be a godsend if sealing lots of boxes.