Stop Making A Damaging Mistake When Hanging Art On Your Walls

Planning to decorate your walls with picture frames, posters, or other framed art pieces? Then you're probably already familiar with adhesive strips and hooks, which typically make it easy for you to hang up decor without putting nails in the wall. These peel-and-stick products are also particularly useful additions to your renter-friendly DIY decor ideas. An especially popular and reliable choice for homeowners is 3M Command Hooks. With the right installation, they'll stick to all manner of surfaces, including cinder block, tile, and metal. However, when you use adhesive hooks and strips on your walls, you might occasionally notice some damage to the paint and drywall, especially if you're not pulling the sticky side off correctly.

To minimize the damage to the wall when you take down your adhesive hooks, pull the sticky tape behind the hook straight down, parallel to the wall. If you remove the product by tugging outwards from the wall, you could end up having a patching or repainting project on your hands. In some cases, it can be difficult to avoid making scratches anyway. 

If you're putting art or other decorations up for a short while, then you might want to consider layering painter's tape over the area where you're going to place your hooks. On Instagram, @sugartown_art_and_antiques has a quick video that shows us exactly how the trick works. This temporary hack is particularly great for hanging your Christmas garland for a week or two during the holidays.

Preventing damage to your wall when you're using Command Hooks, or any other similar product, starts with correctly applying and removing the adhesives. Before you remove the protective layer from the hook's backing, wash your wall with a spot of rubbing alcohol. The same principle applies when you're installing peel-and-stick wallpaper or tiles. Once you've placed the hook, hold it down for 30 seconds, and wait one hour before hanging anything on it. As mentioned earlier, make sure to pull the sticky part down, rather than outwards, when you take the hook down.

If you're trying the temporary painter's tape hack, this might seem like a handy solution for long-term fixtures as well, but you actually shouldn't let painter's tape stay on your wall for more than two weeks. The adhesive from the tape can still bind with your paint and splinter it if you give it enough time. For parties or holidays, however, this trick might work perfectly. When you pull your painter's tape off, peel it slowly at a 45-degree angle. If the sticky part of your adhesive is leaving behind residue, try using a blow dryer on low heat to soften it before removing it.