Stick-in wall switch in your apartment - be careful!

[grayson peddie]

When you stick in a wall switch and stick it
out of the wall, you may cause damage to your
apartment. I did this once and I'm not doing
this again. I didn't realize that the walls
were painted with white.

Just want to let you know. Looks like I have
to pay for a little damage but I'm not the
one who rent the apartment -- my mom and dad
rented it.

[Eugene S]

Grayson

I had the same problem. I removed the sticky
pads and replaced them with a product I
found in Staples (Canadian store) called
Scotch Wall mounting Tabs #7220. These are
made to be removable. I mounted them ot the
corners of the switches. The foam is a bit
bouncy, but it works & comes off cleanly.

[grayson peddie]

Glad you found your solution.

I have a tip for those with a stick-in wall
switch for those who live in apartments.

When you stick in a wall switch, do it
lightly. Not to hard as this can be hard to
get them off the wall. If you do it firmly
and not too hard, you should be able to get
the wall switch off the wall easily but do
it gently.

[Noam]

You might also be able to put up a piece of
removable painter's tape, and then stick the
switch to that. The tape is designed to
remove cleanly, without removing paint, ot
leaving a residue.

[roger1818]

If you are putting it near a wall switch, I
have read that some people replace the
plate with one that is one size larger
(single to double, double to triple, etc)
and then stick the switch to the wall
plate.  When you move, just put the
original wall plate back.

[Charles Sullivan]

Roger H:
Yes, I've done that, but I replace the
original switch plate with one that's 2
positions larger.  Then the remote switch
covers the two empty holes and doesn't look
so cramped against the existing mechanical
switch.  Use a switch plate in the "Mid" size.

Any sort of stickum on a painted surface is
likely to mar or pull the paint off when
removed - especially if it been on there for
a while.  For an isolated location I use a
single switch plate in the "Mid" size and
attach it to the wall with #6 oval head sheet
metal screws.  Then Velcro the remote switch
to the switch plate.  It makes for a very
neat looking installation.  The screw holes
are very small and easy to conceal after removal.