Velcro

Velcro strips, tape and straps hang light items without nails and bundle cords, lumber and gear in the house, garage, truck and job site. Homeowners, pros and DIYers all use them for the same reason: the hold is strong, and you can still pull it apart, adjust it and use it again.

Velcro is a trademark of Velcro Companies, and people use the name for hook-and-loop fasteners of every make. Swiss engineer George de Mestral came up with the fastener in 1941 and made the name from two French words, velours for velvet and crochet for hook. Velcro-brand fasteners were used on the suits, sample bags and lunar vehicles of every Apollo moon mission.

Adhesive strips, discs and tape for hanging

The strips, discs and rolls with a peel-off backing are the Velcro products for hanging things. They’re double-sided: one half goes on the wall, the other half goes on the item, and the hook and loop between them lets you lift the item off and hang it back up. Choose them by two things, the item’s weight and the surface it goes on.

General-purpose fasteners, which include the Sticky Back tape and squares, hold up to 5 lbs. They handle everyday jobs like labeling storage bins, organizing drawers and closets, and hanging light items without putting holes in the wall. Extreme Lock fasteners hold up to 15 lbs. If the item is anywhere near 5 lbs, use Extreme Lock. A strip loaded right to its limit is the one that comes down.

For lighter jobs there are several other options. HANGables Damage-Free fasteners hang posters, frames and seasonal décor with a stick-and-click and remove cleanly. Thin Fasteners are nearly invisible on glass, tile or plastic. Removable mounting tape is for temporary setups where the wall has to stay undamaged, and Sticky Back for Fabrics tape, sold in packs, closes sewing projects.

Industrial Strength tape comes on a roll and is one of the strongest hook-and-loop fasteners in the Velcro range. Cut it to the length the job needs and round the corners with scissors, because a square corner is where a peel starts.

Making the strips hold

When strips fall off, it’s almost always because they went up on a dusty wall, got a light pat instead of a hard press, and took the load the same afternoon. Clean the spot with mild soap and water and let it dry completely. Peel the backing and press each piece down firmly along its full length, because pressure is what sets the adhesive. Hang the item so its weight pulls straight down along the strip. A pull that peels up one edge works against only a few hooks at a time. Most adhesives reach maximum strength after 24 hours, so stick both halves up, leave them a full day, and then hang the item.

Outdoor mounting with Extreme Lock and Extreme Outdoor

The adhesive strips in the Organization line, including Sticky Back tape and squares, are made for indoor use. On a shed wall, a porch post or a truck box, use water-resistant Extreme Lock fasteners or Extreme Outdoor fasteners, which are both made for outdoor use. Mushroom-hook strips also stand up to weather: their stiff hooks lock hook to hook and snap shut with a click you can hear. Extreme Outdoor keeps the hook-and-loop design, so the two sides still come apart when a seasonal sign has to come down.

ONE-WRAP straps and rolls for bundling

ONE-WRAP straps grip only themselves. Cut the strap to length, wrap it around the load and fasten it over its own back. That makes ONE-WRAP the choice for anything you wrap around: extension cords and cable runs, yoga mats, décor, string lights on a stair rail or post, and lumber bundled before it goes in the truck bed. Leave each strap a few inches long so the extra tail works as a pull tab. The pre-cut Velcro straps in packs do the same wrap-and-fasten job on cords and hoses without cutting a roll.

The Heavy Duty roll has a 40 lb breaking strength. That’s plenty to keep a bundle of trim or conduit together, but it won’t hold the load down in the truck. Use a ratchet strap for that.

ONE-WRAP rolls can be adjusted and reused over and over, and hook and loop loses very little grip over many openings. When a strap starts slipping, the hooks are usually packed with lint, sawdust and pet hair. Clean them out with a stiff brush or a fine-tooth comb and the grip comes back.

ONE-WRAP Heavy Duty Roll specs

Spec	ONE-WRAP Heavy Duty Roll
Breaking strength	40 lbs
Sizes	12 ft x 3/4 in, 30 ft x 1 1/2 in, 45 ft x 1.5 in
Colors	Black, white
Operating temperature	0 to 222 °F (-18 to 106 °C)
Where it works	Indoors and outdoors
How it fastens	Wraps onto itself
Made for	Bundling and securing in the home, garage, truck or job site

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you make Velcro sticky again?

If the adhesive backing let go of the wall, it won’t stick again, so peel off what’s left, clean off the old adhesive and put up a fresh strip. If the backing is fine but the grip is weak, brush the dust and lint out of the hooks first. Also check the soft side, because loops stretch out and break after long use, and no amount of cleaning brings them back, so replace that piece.

Is hook and loop the same thing as Velcro?

Hook and loop is the kind of fastener, also called hook-and-pile or touch fastener, and Velcro is a trademark for one company’s brand of it. After the original patent ran out in 1978, cheap copies flooded in, so a strip or sanding pad described with that word may just have a hook-and-loop backing from another maker. The holding weights for general-purpose and Extreme Lock fasteners are that brand’s own ratings, so check the package for the brand name when the weight matters.

What’s the hook side of Velcro?

It’s the stiffer half, covered in tiny hooks that grab the soft loops on the other half when you press the two together. The hooks snag sweaters and other loosely woven fabric, so put the soft loop side on anything that rubs against clothing or skin. Mushroom-hook strips are the exception: both halves are hooks, and they lock hook to hook.

How do you get the most hold out of heavy-duty Velcro?

Hook and loop holds best between two rigid surfaces, because the pull spreads evenly across every hook, and vibration can actually make rigid pieces bond tighter. The hold also depends on how much surface is in contact, so when you’re unsure, use a longer piece instead of a short tab. On a strap, running it through a slot or buckle and back over itself works like a pulley and cuts the force on the bond in half.