How to Straighten a Plastic Tube Cable Holder

Attach one end of the tube to a ceiling. Attach the other end to a weight, one that dangles to the floor. In most cases the ceiling height will be high enough to allow the weight to dangle sufficiently.

1. Use a larger/heavier weight, the more serious the bending.

Leave it in this position for a few days. It can even remain like this for up to a week. Just be sure to keep it out of the way of people and pets.

Remove the weight after the time you've allocated it. The kinks should have disappeared. Repeat if needed.

Stretch out the tube to its full length. Notice how all the kinks and bends make it very hard to use.

If available, get a relatively strong, yet thin piece of wood. This should measure roughly 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m) long (other sizes depending on the tube length). Slip this wood down through the tube until it is relatively straight.

1. A few yardsticks or rulers going lengthwise and half sticking out of the slit works just as well also, but is more hassle and there is a greater chance for the tube to slip. Use rubber bands, if necessary, to hold the rulers if you choose to use them instead of a piece of wood.

Boil some water on the stove. You will not need much, only about ¹⁄₂ gallon (1.9 L) of boiling water. (More if you have to repeat this process.) Place the tube with the wood pieces (or rulers) in the bath, the tube situated at an angle as to allow you to pour water down through the tube. This should straighten it, as the hot water makes the plastic pliable, and will straighten to the wood (or rulers). The tube will not shrink, just straighten.

After pouring hot water through once or twice, leave the tube on the wood (or rulers) for 5 to 15 minutes, to allow it to cool. Once cooled the tube will be straight and a lot easier to work with without the kinks and flexible again.

Dry off any excess water from the outer side, then (this is more tricky) the inside.

1. For the outside, toweling it off is easy, the inside is harder to dry through the cable slit. You can take a paper towel, rag or other piece of drying material wrapped on the handle of a spoon or other utensil to get most of the remaining water out.

Set the dishwasher rinse setting to hot. Put the holder through a standard hot wash.

Remove from the dishwasher when the cycle ends. Lay it out flat on a clean surface to dry.