Thread seal tape
Thread seal tape — commonly known as “Teflon tape”, “PTFE tape”, “tape dope”, or “plumber’s tape” — is a polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film cut to specified widths for use in sealing pipe threads. The tape is wrapped around the exposed threads of a pipe before it is screwed into place. Since the PTFE is malleable, deformable and impermeable, it acts a little like putty under compression, being forced into small gaps between threads in order to create an air- and watertight seal when threaded into a joint. The tape is commonly used commercially in pressurized water systems, such as central heating systems, as well as in air compression equipment and thread joints with coarse threads. Thread tape is appropriate for use on tapered threads, where it is the thread itself that provides the seal surface.[1] It is not required on parallel threads – parallel threads will not seal effectively themselves, even with tape.
