I’ve posted three articles about use of double Velcro-style Command Picture Hanging Strips to hang light or medium-heavy pictures, with the advantage that the picture is flush against the wall, and there’s no movement to cause swinging since all four corners are adhered to the wall rather than the object hanging from just one hook at top center. However, longevity has been a concern, especially given occasional anecdotes from people about the strips not sticking well to walls in hot or humid climates.
My 2016 article introduced the concept and was entirely positive, based on a short period of time in my old home. I was subsequently there for another year before moving to my current home, and had no failures during that time.
The 2018 article was written about 5 months after moving to my current home and thus having gone through a new round of mounting pictures and other objects: new walls, and some new items belonging to my wife (who was already there). The Command Strips were still doing well, although the picture frames being mounted were more variable and sometimes not flat, or didn’t have a good full surface to which I could optimally stick a strip. I pointed out some of the challenges posed by these variations and noted that one of the picture frames was a bit warped, so all four corners could not be tightly against the wall at the same time and one of them only had part of the strip against the wall; but it was holding up well despite that.
The 2020 article was written because I had started to see failures in the more challenging situations that I had mentioned in 2018. The warped picture frame had a corner that had separated a bit more from the wall, but 3 1/2 strips were still adhered. However, one picture fell spontaneously; it had waxy paper on the back and had been mounted by putting duct tape on the paper and sticking the Command strip adhesive side to the duct tape. The Command Strip had not failed; it was the duct tape that had separated from the backing paper. I figured this was a special case. Some small framed photos in the bathroom had only a thin plastic rim on the back rather than a full surface and thus had started slowly sliding, and ultimately fell (2018 and first 2020 photo below). The Command Strips ultimately had failed in that sub-optimal situation, so I cleverly built up extra material and stuck the Command Strips to that (second 2020 photo below).
 |
| The challenging bathroom frames in 2018 failure in 2020, my solution in 2020, and failure again in 2025 (click to enlarge) |
 |
| Photos from my 2018 article. I did not take new photos for this article because they look identical now to how they looked when first mounted 8 years ago, including side view (click to enlarge). |
I should point out something very important: ANY of these methods of hanging pictures could potentially fail one way or another, so never mount/hang anything, with any method, over the head of a bed, crib, dog bed, etc. that you would not want to fall there. That includes Command Strips, maze picture hoods, regular picture hooks, and nails. Note that the Command website also emphasizes that you should never mount something over a bed. I got a useful comment last month on my 2020 Command Strip article from somebody who apparently had a spectacular failure after 5 years. I was hoping to find out more details, like whether the Command Strips had separated from the picture, the wall, or themselves, but never got a follow-up. I’m including a screenshot of that useful dialogue (screenshot is below).
 |
| Timely, recent comment on the 2020 article with my reply (click to enlarge). If this commenter sees this, I've love to learn more details. |
So here’s a rule of thumb. If, after having stuck a picture to the wall with Command Strips, you find yourself patting yourself on the back and saying, “Aren’t I clever to have figured out a solution?!”, it is an inauspicious sign of things to come!
