I get the appeal of glow-in-the-dark stickers, but honestly, I’ve seen them fail more often than not. They start peeling or just lose their glow after a while, especially in damp basements. Reflective tape holds up better in my experience—plus, it’s easier to spot with a flashlight when you’re half-awake and panicking about water everywhere. I’d rather trust something that doesn’t rely on “charging up” under a lightbulb, you know? Safety first, even if it means sacrificing the disco vibe.
Reflective tape holds up better in my experience—plus, it’s easier to spot with a flashlight when you’re half-awake and panicking about water everywhere.
You’re not wrong about the glow-in-the-dark stuff being unreliable. I’ve tried both, and I’ll admit, the stickers tend to peel off after a few months, especially if there’s any moisture in the air. Reflective tape just seems to stick around longer, literally and figuratively. Still, I keep a couple of those old glow markers on my main shutoff just in case—maybe it’s habit at this point.
One thing I’d add: even reflective tape can get grimy or lose its shine over time if you’ve got a really damp basement. I wipe mine down every few months, but it’s easy to forget. At 2 AM with water spraying everywhere, you want something you can spot fast, so redundancy isn’t the worst idea.
Anyway, I hear you on “safety first.” A little disco vibe isn’t worth fumbling around in a puddle trying to find the shutoff. Good call trusting what works for you.
Reflective tape’s not bad, but I’ve actually had better luck with those cheap plastic key tags—the kind you write on with a marker. I tie one to the shutoff and it’s held up for years, even in a damp crawlspace. Maybe not as flashy, but it’s hard to miss. Anyone else try something low-tech like that? Sometimes simple just works, and you don’t have to keep buying new tape every year.
