What to Do With Open, Half Used Caulk Tubes

We all have open tubes of caulk which sit and dry out.  So what is a person to do about it?

Step 1:

Using a flatblade screwdriver, scrape out about last inch of opening.

Step 2:

Using a q-tip, wipe inside clean.

Step 3:

Using a hot glue gun, fill inside with glue and make it slightly overflowing.

Step 4:

While glue is slightly cooled, but still soft, mushroom out the top.   Let glue harden and you have an airtight seal to your caulk tube.  No more waste.

Comments

[aaahotdog]

Update, I pulled the hot glue plug out of the above tube of caulk tonight because I needed to seal up an outdoor light. Still is good 2 years later.

[MrOddjob]

Good tip. Better than plugging it with a tapered dowel. As I used to do until I saw this tip! One point though, are there no adverse chemical reactions between the hot glue & the Caulk / sealant, etc?

[aaahotdog]

Not to my knowledge. Beats the old screws I used to use.

[sunnbeam]

wirenuts also can work. twist overopen end. they come in different sizes and sometimes it helps to have a little caulk coming out to help secure it.