IKEA Tisken And Other Suction Cups Falling Down / Not Sticking – Here’s The Ultimate Fix

Introduction: IKEA Tisken Suction Cups Frustration

Most of us use soap dispensers in our showers such as IKEA Tisken – that are attached by suction cups to the wall tiles. The suction cups tend to stick well to the wall initially, but, after a period of 2-3 years, they appear to pop off for no good reason.

Sticking them on again may work for minutes and even hours, but these little suckers tend to fall off again and again, even without any soap weight on the dispenser. Examining the surface of the suction keeps does not show any evidence of wear. Even touching the sticky surface gives you the impression it has plenty of grip.

One would think that degreasing tiles and suction cup with rubbing alcohol should revitalize the silicon. But it didn’t work. There was initial grip, which disappeared miraculously after a few hours…and the suction cup was off again by itself.

In my frustration, I retired the Tisken and attached the spare. It worked. When comparing the old and brand new cups, I could not record any obvious difference. There was no visible or haptical wear and tear.

Coincidentally, my wife’s Tisken suction cup also fell off. She appeared to have found a fix by cleaning suction cup and tile with 70% rubbing alcohol – to remove grease from both. But that also did not last long. This went on for weeks and we had no clue why.

In the meantime, my new suction cup had also given up. Frustrating.

The only Fix that works: hot Water

All it takes is water close to boiling. Bring water to boil in a kettle, wait a few seconds until the bubbling stops, then immerse the suction cup in this hot water for about a minute. Take it out, shake it (don’t touch the surface of the suction cup, don’t use a towel), then slap it with VIGOR onto the CLEAN bathroom tile. Voila! This worked even for my older Tisken (I had written off).

A variation of this is to rejuvenate the suction cup adding a thin film of silicon grease which is used by scuba divers to seal their rubber equipment. You find it in hardware stores. You could also try vaseline.

But: thin film means thin film. I first had added a much too generous layer, which caused the cup not to stick firmly to the tile at all. Thin works, very thin works better.

Should this still not work (or fix is only intermittent), repeat the jog and let the suction cup dry up without load for a couple of days after reattaching.

Concluding Remarks

Non-sticking suctions cups can be frustrating, but there is no reason to throw them away. Just use hot water and slap them back on firmly. And done!

That was easy in the end!