How to Fix a Chrome Bathroom Towel Bar that Keeps Falling Off

Does your chrome bathroom towel bar keeping falling out of its bracket? If so, this simple fix-it task is one that can be made in less than 15 seconds with a small sized screw driver and a replacement machine screw.

Before tackling this repair however, it helps to understand how a standard chrome towel bar is constructed in the first place.

Most of the standard towel bar assemblies seen in modest homes are three-piece units consisting of the horizontal towel bar, a set of matching brackets, and two metal plates or "wall cleats". The cleats are the first things that go up on the wall and are held in place with a couple of stout screws. Once the cleats are up on the wall, the installer inserts the towel bar between the two brackets and then attaches the brackets to the cleats.

To keep the brackets from falling off, they are held in place with a tiny machine screw. When the towel bar is wobbly or even falls off the wall entirely, it's because the screw is either loose or has fallen off.

These instructions will help you make this repair.

1. Check the screw. To find this tiny screw, look beneath the bracket. It might be on the flat part of the bracket's base or in the area where the bracket curves upwards. If the screw is still there, then all that you need to do is tighten the screw with a small screwdriver. If the screw is missing, you will need to purchase a replacement. What I do is remove the screw from the other bracket and take it with me to the hardware store for a match.

2. Making the repair. Once you have that replacement screw, the first step is just to return the bracket back to its location over the cleat. Use your fingers to insert the machine screw into the hole and start threading it through. Finishing tightening up with the screw driver. That's really all there's to it.

Tightening towel bar screws is one of those regular home maintenance tasks that just needs to be taken care of once a year or so. By checking the screws periodically, you can keep the towel bar functioning properly and avoid the possibility of scraping the bathroom walls when the brackets fly off the cleat unexpectedly.