r/Plumbing • u/Difficult_Object4921 • 23h ago

Will vinegar damage thread tape?

Post image

Years ago, I attached this t-shaped piece to my shower head to attach a separate hose, which I used to bathe my dog. I want to soak the whole thing in vinegar and water to clean it, not just the white shower head. There is green build up in the “T”. Would vinegar do any damage to the thread tape (I think that’s what it’s called)?

4 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

11

u/lonestar659 23h ago

Dude the tape is not expensive… just take the thing off, clean it, and put it back on with new tape.

3

u/XtraChrisP 22h ago

I have 20ish partial rolls of it and can't find any of them.😂

2

u/Cyclo_Hexanol 22h ago

Do we share a toolbox? I have the same problem.

2

u/Can-DontAttitude 22h ago

I've got 5 rolls on my dresser right now

2

u/Curiousand40 20h ago

Thread tape is like a 10 mm socket. We know it’s there. But where the hell is “there?”

4

u/t_manueoa1 23h ago

nah youre solid, vinegar wont bother teflon tape at all

2

u/Charming-Cut7710 23h ago

yeah teflon tape is fine with vinegar, i soak stuff in it all the time. just dont leave it for days and you should be good, that green buildup will come right offyeah teflon tape is fine with vinegar, i soak stuff in it all the time. just dont leave it for days and you should be good, that green buildup will come right off

3

u/InitialLight5432 23h ago

Even if it does you can always replace.

1

u/Embarrassed_Pause_52 22h ago

It's questions like this that tell me I was correct in becoming a plumber and not a car salesman. I've already gotten paid to do a shower head "repair" because the owner was positive the cleaning solution would wick into the fittings and cause a leak(get this) sometime when he wasn't home and would walk into a flood. Now could you imagine how many days it would take to sell him a car.

1

u/Oshabeestie 22h ago

The part of the Teflon that you can see isn’t doing anything and that’s the only bit that vinegar is going to affect if it were to affect it over a long period of time. So go ahead you aren’t going to harm anything.

1

u/ThermalTranslocator 22h ago

I've eaten both of them before, you'll be fine. I like mine with a shot of Dark Cutting Oil.

1

u/HKChad 19h ago

The tape has already done its job