For labeling, I’ve had better luck with stainless steel cable ties and engraved tags—no fading, and they hold up even in mechanical rooms.
Funny you mention that—I tried the stainless tags once, but my basement’s so damp they started rusting after a couple years. Guess I should’ve sprung for the pricier marine-grade ones... For now, I just use old bread bag tags for temporary labels. Not pretty, but at least they’re getting reused.
I get the appeal of stainless tags, but I’ve actually had mixed results too. Like you said,
Same here—guess not all “stainless” is created equal. I’m always looking for ways to keep things labeled without spending a ton or having to redo it every year.“my basement’s so damp they started rusting after a couple years.”
Here’s what’s worked for me: I use painter’s tape and a Sharpie for quick labels, then cover it with clear packing tape. Sounds janky, but even in my crawlspace, it holds up for a while and peels off clean if I need to update anything. For anything more permanent, I’ve been experimenting with plastic plant tags (the kind for gardens). They’re cheap, easy to write on, and don’t seem to mind the humidity.
Honestly, sometimes the “official” solutions just don’t hold up as well as you’d think—especially if your space is damp or you’re on a budget. Anyone else find that the simple fixes last longer than the fancy stuff?
I get where you’re coming from with the painter’s tape trick—it’s quick, cheap, and you can slap it on just about anything. I’ve done the same in a pinch, especially when I’m mid-repair and need to keep track of what’s what. But honestly, in my experience, anything adhesive-based eventually gives up the ghost in a really damp spot. Even with packing tape over it, the humidity seems to work its way in and the ink starts to blur or the tape peels at the edges after a year or two. Maybe it’s just my luck, but I’ve had to crawl back under there more than once to redo labels that basically turned into mystery blobs.
The plastic plant tags are a step up for sure—at least they don’t rust or rot. But I’ve noticed some of them get brittle over time if you’ve got any kind of temperature swings (which is pretty much every basement or crawlspace I’ve ever seen). Had one snap right off when I tried to move it last winter.
I know it sounds old-school, but I actually went back to using aluminum tags with an engraver for anything critical—like main shutoffs or lines that would be a real pain to misidentify during an emergency. They’re not fancy, but they don’t rust, and you can scratch info in deep enough that even if they get grimy you can still read them. Not as cheap as tape or plastic, but I figure if it saves me from crawling around with a flashlight trying to guess which pipe is which during a leak at 2am... worth it.
I guess nothing’s perfect down there. Sometimes the “official” stuff is overkill, but sometimes the DIY fixes just don’t last as long as I’d like either. It’s always a bit of trial and error depending on how gnarly your basement gets.
Aluminum tags, huh? Never would’ve thought of that, but it actually makes a lot of sense. I tried the painter’s tape thing too and yeah, it was a mess after one winter—labels just turned into sticky blue mush. I’m with you on nothing being perfect down there. Sometimes I wonder if it’s just my basement that eats everything alive, but sounds like it’s not just me. Might have to give those metal tags a shot.
I get the appeal of aluminum tags, but are they really that much better long-term? I’ve seen them corrode in damp basements, especially if you’re anywhere near salt or chemicals. I actually switched to heavy-duty zip ties with plastic labels—yeah, not as “permanent,” but they hold up better than tape and don’t react with pipes. Anyone else notice metal tags getting weird after a few years? Maybe it’s just my luck, but nothing seems to last forever down there...
