Adams Manufacturing, which makes suction cups, says they adhere best to smooth, non-porous surfaces like metal or glass, and it sells its holiday cups for windows and mirrors. OXO says its StrongHold Suction Soap Dish suits glass, mirrors and glazed tile and isn’t recommended on textured or porous surfaces, including some stone, acrylic or metal.
What each maker names
| Product | Surfaces named | Not recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Adams suction cups (its Suction Cups 101 guide) | Smooth, non-porous surfaces like metal or glass | A dirty surface: “It won’t adhere well to a dirty surface.” |
| Adams Holiday Suction Cups | Windows and mirrors | Not stated |
| Adams Giant Suction Cup Wreath Holder | Glass or storm doors | Not stated |
| OXO Good Grips StrongHold Suction Soap Dish | Glass, glazed tile and mirrors; it slides to avoid grout lines | Textured or porous surfaces, including some stone, acrylic or metal |
From Adams Manufacturing’s guide and product pages and OXO’s soap dish page. We couldn’t load OXO’s other StrongHold pages, so its line here is for the soap dish only.
Metal: where the makers differ
Adams lists metal with glass as a surface suction cups adhere best to. OXO says its soap dish isn’t recommended on some metal. Neither says which metals. We’d try the cup on your exact surface for a day before hanging anything on it.
Getting a suction cup to hold
- Wash the cup in warm soapy water if it’s dirty, and dry it with a lint-free cloth.
- Clean the surface too.
- If you like, rub a tiny dab of Vaseline or cooking oil on the rim. Adams says this may enhance suction.
- Press the cup all the way down against the surface.
- Put it up when it’s above 40°F. Adams says a cup bonded above 40°F gives the most reliable service from −22 to 120°F.
- Burp it now and then by pressing down, to push out air that has seeped in.
- To take it down, pull up on the release tab to break the suction.
Adams explains why the steps matter: pressing the cup pushes the air out and leaves a vacuum that seals it to the surface, and friction keeps it from sliding. It says the cup comes off when the air pressure outside it becomes lower than the pressure inside.
Will it lose its grip over time?
Adams’s pages don’t agree. Its Holiday Medium Suction Cups page says its cups won’t yellow, deteriorate or lose adhesion over time. Its Suction Cups 101 guide says a cup may need burping and may lose its grip as temperature and humidity change.
Suction cups in a sunny window
Adams says older suction cups could focus sunlight like a magnifying glass, scorching surfaces and fading color. It says its Light Diffusing Rings, used in all its suction cups, are there to stop that.
For anything heavy, or anything that could hurt someone or break if it fell, we’d use a screw or a wall anchor instead of a suction cup: see choosing a wall anchor on our drill bit site.
Hanging something on tile instead?
Hang on tile without drilling