How to Keep LED Light Strips From Falling Off?

LED strip lights are often used for decoration purposes. Users love them more due to their longevity and efficiency. Although they are very easy to install. But you have to be more careful because if they are not properly installed, it can cause them to fall off very soon.

If you are facing the same issue or skip using strip lights due to fear of falling, you don’t need to worry anymore.

You can keep the LED light strips from falling off if you avoid sticking them on dusty or uneven surfaces. Moreover, sometimes the stickiness of adhesive is reduced over time due to their quality or not proper usage. That also causes them to fall.

However, if you are facing the issue with the stickness of LED strips then you need to know the reasons why your LED light strips fall and how to Keep LED strip lights from falling off.

In this article, we will share the most common reason that leads to the falling off of your LED light strips. Also, we will guide you on how can you prevent your LED strip lights from falling off.

Causes of LED Light Strips Falling Off

Here are some common reasons why LED light strips keep falling off the wall. If you are facing the same issue you can easily compare which reason matches your problem.

Even if you are not facing any such problem, you should still know about these reasons to prevent your strips from falling off. So, the reasons are:

1. Water Damage

Water affects the stickiness of the adhesive. If you install the LED steps in a place that gets water frequently, it weakens the attachment of strips to the surface. That causes them to fall. If you want to use LED strip lights outdoors, buy waterproof LED strips that aren’t affected by water. While installing, always choose a dry and moist location for safety.

2. Dusty or Uneven Surface

Installing LED strip lights on a dusty or uneven surface affects the strength of the adhesive and it loses its stickiness over time. The uneven surface doesn’t allow the adhesive to stick properly and allows air and moisture to enter.  That’s why strips fall after some time.

3. Overheating Issues

Overheating of LED strip lights is a serious issue. Although you can sleep with LED strip lights on. But sometimes they become very hot.

There may be various reasons behind the overheating of strip lights such as using low-quality LED strips or not providing them proper ventilation. Also, when LED light strips stay turned on for a long time, they become hot.

If you have installed LED strip lights using adhesive then this heat will affect the stickness of the adhesive and as a result, strips fall off after some time.

4. Wire Problem

Sometimes the weight of the wire causes LED strips to fall. If the wire has a greater length and its weight is high, when the wire falls it will lush the strips with great force and fall them down.

5. Poor Quality Adhesive

The stickiness of the poor-quality adhesive degrades over time and causes LED light strips to fall off soon. It’s okay if you install LED strips temporarily with poor-quality adhesive,  but in the long term, it will fall down your strips and cause damage.

Ways to Keep LED Light Strips from Falling Off

You can easily protect the LED strips from falling. By now, you know very well the reasons for LED strip lights to fall. However, you can take some consideration while installing to prevent your strips from falling off.

1. Choose the Right Place

Whenever LED strips are installed, the first step is to choose a location where the strips can be installed.

Whenever you choose a place for LED light strips, you must keep some things in mind. As the surface should be even, there should be a place where there is no water, and the environment should be free from moisture.

Also, the place you choose should be able to circulate fresh air otherwise LED strips need a heat sink to avoid overheating issues.

2. Clean Your Surface

After choosing the right place, it is very important to clean the place well before installing the LED strips. The service on which you want to install the strips must be completely free of dust so that the adhesive firmly attaches to the surface.

You can clean the surface with a wet cloth or with alcohol.

3. Dry the Surface

It is very difficult to stick anything to any wet surface. If attached strips are on a dry surface, they will not stick completely and fall after some time.

So it’s important to dry the surface before sticking adhesive on it. After cleaning the surface, let it dry.

4. Position Strips in the Right Place

If you attach the LED strips to the surface and you feel that you have not placed them in the right place, you will remove them and reattach them. It will cause the adhesive to lose its strength.

An easy way to avoid this is to make small marks with a marker wherever you want to put the strips and then stick the strips at marked points.

5. Install Properly at Corners

When we bend the strips light at corners, we bend them at 90°. It doesn’t stick properly at the corners and allows air to enter the sticky part. That causes the strip to fall soon.

To avoid this, cut the LED strip lights from the corner and use the connectors. Make sure you have chosen the right connector that is compatible with your strip lights.

6. Press Them

After positioning the strips in the right place, press the strips for a while so that the adhesive completely attaches to the surface.

After the complete installation, connect with the power supply and test before use.

Additional Tips to Prevent LED Strip Lights From Falling Off

Some people hang LED strips for temporary use. They use low-quality adhesive or an adhesive that’s specially designed to stick the strips temporarily.

If you use such type of adhesive for the long term it will fall the strips after some time. So, if you want to install a strip for a long time you have to use a high-quality adhesive that reduces the chance of falling.

So, here are some additional tips about the types of adhesives to prevent your strips from falling and ensure their safety.

1. Backing Tape

While installing LED strip lights use high-quality adhesive that prevents them from falling.

If you want to hang strips for a long time then you should try 3M adhesive backing tape or Foam backing tape.  Both of them are better than regular tape and secure for your strips.

The life of backing tape not only depends on the quality but also depends on the environmental conditions and the weight of the strips.

So while installing LED strips, keep in mind all these factors.

2. Aluminum Channels

You can easily install LED strip lights on metal using Aluminum channels. If you installed strips for more than 2-3 years, this is the best option for you.

Aluminum channels are fixed with a wall and provide permanent security to the Strips. If you use aluminum channels, your strips will never fall off. Moreover, aluminum channels don’t harm the surface where they are fixed.

3. Fix the Clips

Clips provide some additional support to the Strips and prevent them from falling off. Buy the clips that are specially designed to hold LED strips and follow these steps to install them.

• Clean the surface where you will place the clips. Make sure the surface is free from dust.
• Mark the area around the LED strip lights where you want to place the clips. Distance between clips depends on the weight and length of the strips.
• Peel off the cover from the clips and attach them to the marked area.

Now roll the strip lights over the clips and then tighten the clips.

4. Hot Glue

Hot glue is also the best adhesive used to hang LED strips. It prevents the strips from falling off. Unfortunately, if you feel strips are separated from the surface you can easily re-stick it with hot glue. It’s easy to use and safer for LED light strips because it is chemical-free and will never damage your LED strip lights as other glues do.

If you are thinking about the melting of strips then you don’t need to worry about it. Hot glue is not actually enough hot to melt your strips.