Had to choose between a $200 heat gun or a $12 hair dryer for shrink wrap

I work at a shipping counter during the holiday rush and we ran out of shrink wrap guns. My manager said buy a proper heat gun or use the bathroom hair dryer. I grabbed the hair dryer from home since it was free. It worked okay for about 40 packages but took twice as long and the dryer actually melted on the third day. Had to buy the heat gun anyway after ruining a roll of wrap. Has anyone else tried a cheap workaround that ended up costing more in the long run?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethn5627d ago

I read something online where a guy used a camp stove torch for shrink wrap and almost set his whole garage on fire. That's the thing with these cheap shortcuts, they always come with a hidden cost. Your hair dryer melting sounds like a nightmare, especially with a whole roll of wrap ruined. I remember a family member tried using an iron once for some packaging, thinking it would be gentle, but it just stuck to everything and made a huge mess. With holiday shipping, time is money too, so that extra hour per day adds up fast. Sometimes the proper tool is worth the price tag just for the peace of mind.

alice_kim27d ago

Ugh that reminds me of when my cousin tried to use a heat gun from his workshop on some gift wrap and melted the plastic right onto his table. Stunk up the whole house for hours. Sometimes you just gotta buy the thing that's actually meant for the job and save yourself the headache.