Plumbers Tape Wrapping one pipe’s male threads in tape creates a smoother surface with more lubrication, thus allowing it to reach further into the second pipe’s female threads. For extra assurance, liquid sealant can also be added to the tape’s surface before connecting the two pipes. Although “Teflon” is technically a brand name that is now used universally much like Band-Aid, any Plumbers Tape labelled “PolyTetraFluoroEthylene” or “PTFE” will suffice. [1] • 1938 — Dr. Roy Plunkett, a DuPont scientist, discovered polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). • 1946 — DuPont registers the trademark, Teflon™ for PTFE. • Late 1940s — DuPont began marketing PTFE on a small scale for certain industrial applications, including valves, o-rings, and pipe linings.
• 1969 — DuPont PTFE fine powder is used for plumber tape for sealing joints in piping and central heating systems. However, DuPont never manufactured the tape. The manufacturers purchased and used DuPont PTFE fine powder that was of a lower quality and at a lower cost. The companies that made the plumber tape switched to the lower quality powder. They didn’t have permission from DuPont to use the Teflon™ brand because they no longer were using DuPont product. • Separately, in the 1990’s, DuPont stopped selling its PTFE product lines labeled as Teflon™, including fine powder. The reason for the change was to ensure products bearing the Teflon™ brand now needs written authorization from Chemours. Teflon™ is a registered trademark of Chemours Teflon™ for PTFE.