I use a lot of tape on a regular basis. Usually it is for regular things which you would guess require tape – normal things like holding parts in place or masking something off before finishing. I always have tape with me, from blue masking tape (my favorite) to electrical tape, and we keep plenty of other tapes in the shop, including packing tape and aluminum foil tape (my second favorite).
No matter which tape you prefer or which of these you have with you, they are all equally good for one thing – cleaning up. That’s right, cleaning up.
A nearby rug can be a handy clean-up tool too.
You see, I was on an install about 15 years ago which was small (only drilling a few holes), and I brought nothing with me to clean up. Since there was no rug nearby to sweep the dust under, I decided to use some tape like a lint roller to clean up the mess. I simply rolled the tape around my hand, sticky side out, and used it to pick up the dust. And, it worked great!
Tape does a great job on manly messes like glitter and paper scraps (above).
Now, whenever I don’t have a vacuum or a broom handy, or if I just want to impress the ladies, I reach for the tape and pick up the mess. And, while not perfect for cleaning big messes, tape excels at thoroughly cleaning up small, lightweight messes which are hard to grab and tend to easily fly around or cling with static.
On the job site, I use tape to clean up all kinds of dust and debris. And, at home, we use tape to clean up after doing home repairs and craft projects (it works amazingly well on glitter). My fancy tape clean-up method works so well that I don’t bother to turn the truck around when I realize that I head out without any official cleaning tools.
Next time you find yourself needing to clean up a little mess, don’t go searching for a vacuum either. Just get out the tape and get on to the next job.