Choose an adhesive hook without drilling

A coat, keys, a bag, a tea towel: in a rental you would like hooks everywhere, and you hesitate to drill. Adhesive hooks cover most of these uses, but each model has its own surfaces and load, and the right choice depends on the wall first. This guide sorts our hooks by surface, then explains how to fit and remove them. All of them are in our selection of wall fixings without drilling, where you can filter by type, surface and weight.

Three questions before you choose

What is the surface?

This decides everything, because each manufacturer states the surfaces its product suits.

• Painted wall: the extra-large Command hooks only suit painted surfaces, solid or hollow walls. The other Command hooks in our selection also suit varnished wood, tiles and metal.
• Wallpaper: Command hooks advise against it. According to our listing, tesa’s adhesive nails for wallpaper and plaster are one of the few adhesive solutions designed for it.
• Tiles and metal: the widest choice, from tesa as much as from Command.
• Glass and mirrors: transparent hooks exist that hardly show.

If you are unsure about a recent, matt or flaking paint, try somewhere discreet first: if the paint holds badly, it is the paint that will come off with the adhesive.

How much does what you hang weigh?

The loads in our selection, stated by the manufacturers, range from 0.5 kg to 6.8 kg. Weigh what you plan to hang, for example a coat with its bag, and choose a hook whose maximum load is higher, with some margin. For tesa adhesive nails, the stated load is per nail: it doubles with two nails.

One hook or several?

To spread the weight or to keep things in one place, several hooks are simpler than one. Command hooks come in packs of 7, and the tesa Powerstrips hook rail brings three hooks on one support, up to 3 kg.

Which hook for which wall?

The loads below are the ones the manufacturers state and our listings repeat. Always check the instructions on the packaging before fitting.

• Painted wall, heavy load: Command extra-large hook 17010, white, up to 4.5 kg, or Command extra-large hook 17011, white, up to 6.8 kg. Painted surfaces only.
• Painted wall, several hooks: Command large hooks GP003-7NA, 7-pack, 2.2 kg each, on painted wall, varnished wood, tiles or metal. The pack of Command medium hooks, pack of 7 goes up to 1.3 kg each on smooth surfaces. The Command double hook 17036, up to 1.8 kg, also suits glass.
• Wallpaper: Wallpaper & plaster nail 0.5 kg, Adhesive nail for wallpaper & plaster or Wallpaper & plaster nail 2 kg, that is 0.5, 1 or 2 kg per nail (double with two nails). Keep them for light things.
• Tiles and metal: Adhesive nail for tiles & metal 2 kg or Adhesive nail for tiles & metal 3 kg, 2 or 3 kg per nail; Powerstrips Large Classic hooks, 2 kg, on tiles, glass, smooth wood or metal; Powerstrips XL hooks, up to 3 kg on tiles; Powerstrips L hooks, 2 kg, and Powerstrips S hooks, 1 kg, on tiles, glass or wood.
• Several hooks in one place: Powerstrips self-adhesive hook rack, up to 3 kg, for the kitchen, bathroom tiles or inside a cupboard.
• Glass and mirrors: Glass & transparent hook 1 kg, 1 kg, or Powerstrips Deco hooks, transparent L, 1 kg, whose UV resistance is limited.

In a bathroom, prefer a product stated to be water resistant: see the bathroom guide.

Fitting the hook, step by step

1. Choose the spot and mark it with a light pencil line or a small piece of masking tape.
2. Clean the surface with household alcohol, to remove dust, grease and soap residue, then let it dry completely.
3. Check the maximum load of the hook against the weight of what you will hang on it, with some margin.
4. Fit the strip or the support by pressing firmly, for the time the instructions give, first on the hook and then on the wall.
5. Respect the setting time before loading the hook: the instructions give it, and it varies from one product to another.
6. Load it gradually, starting with something light to feel that the hook holds.

Mistakes to avoid

• Fitting on a dirty, dusty or damp wall. It is the first cause of a hook coming off.
• Fitting on fresh paint. Let it harden for much longer than the touch-dry time, and follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Getting close to the maximum load. Keep a margin, and be even more careful above a bed, a sofa or a passage.
• Using a hook on a surface it is not meant for. The extra-large Command hooks only suit painted surfaces, and Command advises against wallpaper, vinyl and fragile surfaces.
• Ignoring the materials advised against. For tesa Powerstrips hooks, the manufacturer advises against, depending on the model, polystyrene, foam, non-stick coatings and porous materials.
• Not reading the instructions. They give the surface, the setting time, the fitting temperatures and how to remove the product.

Taking the hook off when you move out

Do not pull the hook towards you: slowly pull the strip downwards, parallel to the wall, until the adhesive lets go. The manufacturers state removal without a trace or a hole on a surface in good condition. The tesa hooks in our selection can be reused with new strips, according to the manufacturer. If a little glue is left, remove it gently, without scraping hard, using the method in the instructions.

Before handing back the keys, walk round the walls: a clean wall, with no mark or hole, is the best guarantee of getting your security deposit back. For choosing an adhesive for a picture, see the picture guide.