Review of Rubbermaid 36 Inch Garment Closet

When my husband and I were working to make our unfinished basement into livable space without remodeling it, we realized that we needed one crucial element: closets. I've always been one to try to save money whenever and wherever I can, so I traipsed over to Wal-Mart and purchased four Rubbermaid 36 inch garment closets.

The set up on the first one was a bit confusing. I had trouble figuring out when and how to put the outside cover on. The poles themselves were easy enough to put together due to a guide they enclosed with the product, however. The poles seem to made out of an inexpensive metal, (my guess is aluminum) and they have stickers on them of letters that helps with the assembling process. After about thirty minutes of trying different methods of putting the cover on, I finally got it. The next three were simple enough after I had the first one figured out. The time estimated to put all four up was about an hour and 15 minutes.

The bottom and top of the closet that the poles fit into are made of plastic. Also, there are plastic T joints used at each pole intersection. Though the poles seem sturdy enough, the plastic poses a problem. I bought a closet to hold the clothing for each of my family members, so that there wouldn't be too much stress on each closet. However, due to the plastic holders, my son's closet began to collapse. It refused to stand upright once the clothing was placed on the hangers. After checking to see what the problem was, I saw that a plastic T joint had cracked and was no longer offering support, causing the whole top half of the closet to fall forward.

My daughter's closet began to form holes in the cover just days after being in use. This caused a problem for us for two reasons: it was no longer aesthetic and being in the basement, it allowed any musty smells that may appear to settle on the clothing. The elements inside were no longer protected.

Two weeks after purchase, the zipper on the front of the cover broke, making it impossible to zip, then, two days later, the see through plastic at the top tore from the fabric.

My husband's closet seemed to be just fine until two months after use, in which, the top portion began to fall forward just as my son's closet had done. The problem was the same.

If a person purchases these closets to store seasonal clothing, the closets should work fine if the weight put on the hanging pole is relatively light. We did have our closets packed full, so this may be part of the problem.

The cardboard piece that goes on the bottom of the closet offers no support, however, and seems useless to have.

I paid roughly $20.00 for each of my closets, and I believe I got my money's worth. We have since replaced the closets with Supreme Garment Rack closets and have had no problems.