Much like perishable foods, medical tape has an expiration date and responds to temperature and pressure. Variables like humidity, heat, cold, and time affect the performance of your adhesive product. The responsibility of delivering and maintaining product is very important as it not only directly impacts the health and skin of the patient, but also impacts your budget.
While the temperature and age of the product is something that needs to be paid attention to, we also want you to know that while we advise using the tape within 18 month, it does not mean that the tape will fail after that time. What it means, is that you will get the best performance from your Hy-Tape when used within the recommended time frame.
Storing & Using Hy-Tape In Excessive Heat:
As the seller of a specialty tape we do our absolute best to inform, and educate the transporters of our tape on what temperatures Hy-Tape should be stored during transport and when being warehoused. Overheated tape will begin to melt. The adhesive can become less effective and you will notice that the roll will “telescope”. If this happens we recommend you pull a strip of tape and see how evenly the adhesive remains on the strip. In order to achieve the most benefits out of Hy-Tapes unique qualities we recommend storing the tape at a normal room temperature. Periods of higher temperatures will not destroy the tape, but it is most effective when cared for properly.
The Effects of Cold on Hy-Tape:
Some indications that Hy-Tape has beed negatively impacted by cold weather are easy to detect. Tape that separates from the adhesive backing may have been stored in freezing temperatures for a long period of time. Cold weather may also make the tape brittle and cause it to snap or rip prematurely. When brought back to room temperature and used within the expiration time, Hy-Tape will often time perform as promised.
To avoid the breakdown of Hy-Tape we recommend the following storage precautions be followed:
- Store the tape in its box over log periods of time to protect it from the sun and other environmental issues.
- We recommend when storing the tape for long-term between 50°-80°F.
- Although Hy-Tape is waterproof, make sure to keep it dry. Even the presence of moisture in the air can contribute to a chemical reaction.
- It is wise to keep track of the age of your tape. Create a system so you know when each lot was delivered, so that you can use the oldest tape first.
- Over stacking the tape and creating pressure atop the stock is not advised. It can crush the tape rolls and over time destroy the rolls.
- Besides proper stacking and cool, dark, and dry storage, best practices dictate rotation of stock to yield the best value out of your adhesive tapes.
Read Our Directions for Use
If there are ever any issues with the performance of your tape or if you have any questions regarding the storage, we encourage you contact us by calling 1-800-248-0101.