How to store Liquid Nails once opened

Last Updated on September 11, 2023 by Dave Farquhar

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

store Liquid Nails once opened
If you have leftover construction adhesive at the end of your project, you can close the opening back again with a large screw rather than letting the tube go to waste.

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 an old, discarded tube of construction adhesive. Someone had driven an ordinary screw into the top of the tube. I figured someone had tried to reseal the tube with a screw instead of using a tool like the one I’d lost. 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. If you have the option, keep it in a basement instead. I’ve been able to keep tubes several months this way. And if you’re wondering, this trick works for caulk too.

When you go to use it, just remove the screw with a screwdriver and load the tube 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.

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