So you buy a tube of Liquid Nails or another construction adhesive and you end up only using a little. What do you do? Here’s how to store Liquid Nails once opened.
This is one of those cheap and simple life hacks that can end up saving you a fair bit of money. Enough to be worthwhile, at least.
Store Liquid Nails once opened
Of course, once you open the top, there’s no way to put the top back on. You have to close the hole up somehow. I’ve seen tools that screw into the tops of caulk and adhesive tubes. They work, but I lost mine of course. And I haven’t found another one.
But then one time I found a tube of construction adhesive in a house we bought. Someone had driven a screw into the top of the tube. I thought that was clever. I unscrewed the screw, and the adhesive on the end of the screw was wet. So I loaded it into my caulk gun, and sure enough, it still worked.
So, to store Liquid Nails once opened and keep it from drying out, find a deck screw big enough to fit in the hole tightly and screw it in with a screwdriver. I normally use a coarse thread screw and it’s worked fine for me. I don’t recommend storing the tube in the garage if you can avoid it. The high fluctuations in temperature won’t be good for it. Keep it in a basement instead. I’ve been able to keep tubes several months this way, and it works for caulk too.
When you go to use it, just remove the screw with a screwdriver and load it up again.
These tubes aren’t terribly expensive, but there’s no point in spending $4 and only using part of the tube. This trick will help those tubes last longer and save you some money.
David Farquhar is a computer security professional, entrepreneur, and author. He started his career as a part-time computer technician in 1994, worked his way up to system administrator by 1997, and has specialized in vulnerability management since 2013. He invests in real estate on the side and his hobbies include O gauge trains, baseball cards, and retro computers and video games. A University of Missouri graduate, he holds CISSP and Security+ certifications. He lives in St. Louis with his family.