Using a suction cup is a great way to make use of additional space for your walls without having to drill a hole or doing any major changes to them. In this way, you don’t have to take on wall improvement projects while enabling maximum storage space, allowing you to save money and other resources. However, some challenges may arise when you choose to use suction cups as they’re not the easiest objects to attach to your walls.
No matter how much a suction cup product in the market advertises itself to be strong, it might not be the same situation for you especially if your walls have a unique surface. Ideally, you should look for strong suction cups for uneven surfaces to increase your chances of attaching them properly. However, even with the strongest suction ability, there are ways for your chosen suction cup product to have a more reliable hold and stick better.
Listed are some of them below. Check them out to find out more.
1. Rinse Your Suction Cup
While it might appear untrue, it’s said that using a few droplets of water on your suction cup will help it adhere to a wall surface better. Before placing the suction cup onto the wall, rinse the entire item with hot water first to help soften the cup and make it more flexible, allowing for maximum support. After rinsing your suction cup, you should shake the excess water off but try not to dry it off completely. Lastly, it’s now ready to be attached to the wall. The presence of water droplets can help prevent air bubbles from forming which can hinder its attachment that may cause it to loosen its grip after a while.
2. Clean The Surface Thoroughly
As you plan to stick a functional suction cup on your wall, you should first ensure that you have a clean and obstacle-free surface ready. If there are plentiful amounts of dust and other dirt particles on the wall’s surface, they might produce a gap inside the suction cup that won’t allow it to attach itself to the chosen surface properly.
You can begin by cleaning the surface with the house cleaning product of your choice, then rinse and dry it thoroughly with the help of a lint-free cloth. Moreover, using a lint-free cloth to avoid small particles getting in between the surface and the suction cup is recommended as it may boost its ability to hold on to the surface. After you allow the surface to dry, you should wipe it down again using rubbing alcohol to ensure that there’ll be no grime sitting on your wall before moving on with the next step.
3. Press Down The Suction Cup
Even if the suction cup has been staying on your wall for quite some time already, you shouldn’t forget to press down on it once in a while to eliminate any possibility of air bubble presence, promoting proper suction. Ideally, you should press it down every day and ensure that you press it correctly. Going too strong with it may cause the suction cup to slide down. If that happens, it might lose its suction, forcing you to reattach the cup again. Your main goal is to remove any air bubble, and you need to ensure that you check with it once in a while. However, if you notice that there’s still plenty of air bubbles even after a few minutes of pressing it down, there might still be traces of grime and dirt in between the wall and the suction cup, which requires you to clean both surfaces again.
4. Don’t Attach During Cold Temperatures
No matter how much you try to clean and wipe your walls and suction cup, it’ll not properly attach itself if the room’s temperature is too cold. Cold temperature is said to hinder the cup’s flexibility as it tends to stay in a non-suction position for as long as it can until the temperature goes down. Before you attach your suction cup, you should first ensure that the surrounding temperature reaches at least 40 degrees Fahrenheit to ensure that it’ll adhere well. However, if it’s winter season, you should try to keep the suction cup as warm as possible while running a temperature controller on defrost mode to keep the entire room warm.
5. Don’t Let It Carry Heavy Items
No matter how sturdy you think your suction cup is, you shouldn’t make it carry more than it can handle. To ensure that they’d stay attached to a wall surface for as long as possible, you should only place lightweight objects on it. If you’re planning to add more, you should consider the number and suction size and see if it can handle the additional weight. If you’re looking to hang something heavy, suction cups might not be the best option for you. With that, you should consider drilling instead to guarantee safety and a better hold.
Conclusion
Using suction cups is a great alternative, especially if drilling into your walls and surfaces is never an option. However, attaching them to your walls might not be easy work as you need to do plenty of things to ensure it has strong suction power. Moreover, you should also avoid hanging or placing heavy items as they might not be able to handle them properly. With proper installation and maintenance, a good suction cup should last you for months or years to come.
