LED strips are great – when they’re on the wall. What causes them to fall off? What can you do to keep them attached to the wall?
Let’s take a look.
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Why are my LED light strips not sticking?
From our experience, LED light strips won’t stick to the wall very well for three main reasons: a rough/dirty surface, poor quality adhesive, or it hasn’t been attached well enough.
Let’s take a look at each.
The surface is rough or dirty
The first and most often overlooked reason for LED light strips not sticking to the wall is that the wall itself is rough and/or dirty.
We cover wall surface quality in our article looking at whether LED strips rip paint off the wall (hint: they don’t have to!), but to put it simply, the rougher and dirtier your wall, the higher the chances of your LED strip peeling off over time.
If your wall is rough, it means it is not flat. You’ll usually have a lot of imperfections and bumps on the wall (like my wall below), due to years of accumulated dust build-up or paint spots that raise off the wall.
When an LED strip light is stuck to these imperfections, the adhesive sticks to the imperfection rather than the wall itself.
This inevitably leads to the imperfection breaking loose under the added weight of the LED strip, which then starts to peel off the wall.
And as most of you will know, once an LED strip starts peeling off the wall, it’s only a matter of time before gravity works it’s magic and drags the rest of the strip down with it.
In short, your wall needs to be a smooth surface for the adhesive to stick properly.
Poor quality adhesive
Another major cause of LED strips failing to stick to the wall is poor quality adhesive.
It goes without saying that cheap LED strips will come with cheap adhesive backing, which almost always won’t last as long as you’re expecting.
While all LED strip lights comes with double-sided self-adhesive, there is a vast difference in quality between the gold-standard brands like 3M and cheaper, knock-off brands.
If you’re looking for a high-quality LED strip that will last, we recommend Philips, or if you’re on a tight budget Govee.
Not pressed down for long enough
The third and final reason we usually see for LED strips not sticking to the wall is, quite simply, that you’re not pressing them down for long enough when you first put them up.
Each manufacturer will have slightly different recommendations, but as a general rule you should be pressing down firmly for at least 20 seconds.
And it’s also important you’re doing this across the while length of the strip, not just in certain parts. As we mentioned before, once one bit of the adhesive becomes unstuck, it won’t be long before the whole thing’s falling off.
How to ensure my LED strip light stays stuck to the wall
Now that we know the most common reasons why LED strips fall off the wall, let’s look at some tips and tricks to keep them attached to your wall for as long as possible.
Clean your wall first
Cleaning your wall is your first step to help an LED strip light stick because, as explained earlier, accumulated dust, and dirt, will create a barrier between the adhesive backing of your LED strip and the wall’s surface.
So, cleaning the wall first will ensure a clean and smooth surface for the adhesive to adhere properly, resulting in a stronger and longer-lasting bond between the LED strip light and the wall.
We recommend a good wall cleaner like this one.
Use an aluminum profile
If you’re having difficulties with your LED light strips because of a rough or dirty wall and cleaning it isn’t working, aluminum profiles may be the way to go.
These are essentially flat aluminum tubes that you can drill into your wall, allowing you to attach your LED strips to it rather than the wall itself.
The beauty of this is that you don’t have to worry about a rough surface, as the aluminum profile your LED strips will be attached to is flat and smooth by design.
And as an added advantage, you can also add a diffuser on top of the aluminum profile, creating a gorgeous, diffused light color of your choice. My favorite is milky white!
Use additional adhesive
Just because your LED strip light comes with adhesive backing already attached, it doesn’t mean you can’t use some additional adhesive to make it even stronger.
A good silicone glue will work great for this. Just be sure to press the LED strip to the wall for long enough to ensure your strips properly adhere!
Closing remarks
In summary, LED strip lights might not stick to your wall due to a rough or dirty surface, poor adhesive quality, or inadequate pressing during installation.
To ensure a strong bond, try to clean your wall first, and if needed explore solutions like aluminum profiles or additional adhesive.
For more LED strip tips, check out our articles on connecting LED strips (both with and without soldering), how to fix your LED strip if it gets damaged, as well as how long LED strips should be lasting you.
Happy lighting!
VIEW OUR CAVELIGHTS RECOMMENDED LED LIGHT STRIPS HERE.
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