Adhesive hooks or screw-in hooks?
It depends on your wall's surface and on whether you can make holes. A stick-on hook goes only on a surface its maker names; a screwed hook needs a fixing that suits your wall.
Adhesive hooks
- Where it goes
- Only on a surface its maker names. For its Smooz bathroom hook, tesa says:
Works on tiles, metal, natural stone, marble, concrete, wood, glass and many types of plastic
. Not for:Does not work on wallpaper, stucco and other surfaces with non-stick coating
. - What it needs
- No drill, a clean surface and the maker's steps. tesa's steps for its bathroom hooks clean the tile with rubbing alcohol, glue an adapter ring to it and then wait:
The adhesive needs to cure for twelve hours. Do not touch the adapter during this time and definitely do not check if it holds.
- How it comes down
- By the maker's own removal steps. For its bathroom hooks, tesa says:
First unscrew the bath design from the adapter. Now grip the adapter ring with a pipe wrench and slowly twist it carefully clockwise from the wall.
- Which maker's figure applies
- The hook maker's own figure, for the hook as it is sold and on the surfaces it names. Our hooks guide gives tesa's, and Will it hold? compares your own item with it.
Sources: tesa, tesa Smooz bathroom hook, Product Information BNR 40318, en-GB, as of 25/02/25. Checked ; tesa, Towel Hooks. Checked .
Screw-in hooks
- Where it goes
- Into the wall, through a plug or fixing chosen for the wall behind the surface: plasterboard, brick, block, or the wall behind tiles.
- What it needs
- A drill, the right plug, bit and screw for your wall, and a check for cables and pipes first. B&Q says:
Before fitting a wall plug, always use a detector to check there are no cables or pipes behind the area where you want to drill.
- How it comes down
- Unscrewed, and the holes stay. Shelter lists
holes in walls or doors
among the things a deposit can be charged for in England. - Which maker's figure applies
- The hook maker's own rating, and the wall fixing maker's recommended load for one fixing. A hook stands out from the wall, so we do not work out a load per fixing for it: What's my wall? gives fischer's figure for one fixing, and the lower of the two applies.
Sources: B&Q, How to fit wall plugs. Checked ; Shelter England, Damage and missing items (deposit deductions, last updated 6 May 2024). Checked .
What about a painted wall?
We give no maker rating for a stick-on hook on a painted wall. The makers we could check do not name painted walls for these products, and tesa's fitting guide for its Power.Kit towel hooks lists Lacquers and wall paints no
. A screwed hook goes through the paint into the wall, so its fixing is chosen for the wall behind it.
Source: tesa, Towel Hooks. Checked .