Could a cheap roll of duct tape help protect your home from flooding? New research suggests it could make a surprisingly big difference.
  • Hirom@beehaw.orgEnglish
    5 hours

    Duct tape could be useful as an improvised protection. It requires the door to be kept closed.

    A waterproof panel right in front of the door would allow to keep using the door. Obviously it requires acquiring those ahead of time, possibly work on the door opening to ensure it fits perfectly.

    • Drusas@fedia.io
      3 hours

      Sandbags are typically used during flash floods and other imminent/unpredictable flooding.

  • Pratai@piefed.caEnglish
    7 hours

    As is with typical modern day geniuses, both apparently isn’t an option.

    • egrets@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2 hours

      The linked paper says 73mm-wide 27m-long branded high-quality black duct tape, so I’d guess it’s Gorilla Tape, which is well known in the UK and consistent with that description.

      They also tested three other types of tape; details are in the paper.

    • Redfox8@slrpnk.netEnglish
      4 hours

      Aka gaffer tape, cloth tape. Not an electrical tape, it’s a general purpose, fix nearly anything tape. Given the name, originally designed to quick fix ducts!

      • grrgyle@slrpnk.netEnglish
        2 hours

        I don’t think gaffer tape would hold up to water. I think this is legit super sticky duct tape like for ducts, not just keeping electrical cords in place so people don’t trip on them.

        Source: I gaffed for a couple summers

        • Redfox8@slrpnk.netEnglish
          33 minutes

          Fair point - I use those names for being near enough the same product (sticky cloth tape easily ripped by hand), but I get there are variations for use in more specific cases.

    • Warl0k3@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11 hours

      They’re great for big floods where the amount of water that leaks through is negligible and/or they can be placed so deep they can form an effective dam (and where you have dozens of people to set them up…). But man, apart from breaking up waves they are useless if you’re trying to protect a small structure. You’ll have more success using them to bust a hardware store window and then stealing a tarp…

  • sicarius@lemmy.worldEnglish
    11 hours

    I recall maybe mythbusters making a boat out of gaffer tape but I don’t recall ever seeing anyone make a boat our of sandbags!
    here it is

  • HerbGrower@slrpnk.netEnglish
    9 hours

    Sandbags wrapped in a tarp would probably do pretty well, then duct tape the seams. That gives you a heavy barrier and a waterproof membrane as well. Keeps it off your walls too, which may or may not let water leak through if there is a reasonable depth of water against them.

    But it also depends on your house and the stuff around it. Where I live surface flooding would have to get past my front wall and there is just a narrow path through the brick wall. So sealing there would make the most sense.

    At least until it reaches the height for sewers to back up and flow into my house. Then may as well burn it all down and abandon it.

  • wyldrstallyns@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    10 hours

    The least you could do is spell it correctly, but that bone-apple-tea is disturbingly prevalent. 🤦🏼‍♂️

      • potpotato@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2 hours

        Duct tape was originally duck tape — adhesive on duck cloth — and became particularly popular with GIs during WWII. It would later be developed into its current form using polyethylene backing.

        • Redfox8@slrpnk.netEnglish
          30 minutes

          Interesting how the name pretty much stayed the same with modern popular products!

          That does explain why it would work well with floods if originally designed to be waterproof. Like lost knowledge refound (at least by some!)