Wire Shelves In Your Closet Sagging? Here's A Quick Fix That Can Help

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While most of us think of buildings as solid, immovable structures, the truth is that they are always moving. On a day-to-day basis, you won't notice these small changes, but over long periods, structures will gradually begin to sag and twist as materials shrink, expand, and deteriorate through natural causes. There are some places where the stress, wear, and tear show up faster than others, and closets are one of them.

In particular, one of the downsides that could convince you to ditch wire closet shelving is that they are prone to bending, sagging, and pulling away from the wall. Eventually, the shelf could even rip loose completely and come tumbling down, along with everything stored on it. Before you switch your basic closet shelves for an alternative that gives you way more storage, there's an easy cure for sagging shelves: adding shelf (also called loop) clips.

Your closet shelves will look much tidier, and you can avoid causing damage to your walls or hurting someone. The key is being proactive and addressing the problem of sagging wire shelves early instead of letting the situation get worse. These extra shelf clips counteract the stress that's being put on the existing wall clips, making them less likely to fail. For this fix, you'll need some BokWin Wire Shelf Back Wall Loop Clips. If the clip kit doesn't come with them, get some screws and drywall anchors, too. Toolwise, all you need is an electric drill and maybe some gloves to protect your hands.

For this sagging wire closet shelf solution, start by clearing the contents of your closet so you can inspect the shelf and adjust them as needed. Identify the points where the back wire has detached from the clips that hold the shelf to the wall, causing the shelf to bow in the center. After you snap the wire shelf back into the wall clips wherever possible, it's time to apply an elegant solution: adding shelf clips next to the wall clips.

If the clips on your shelves aren't installed at the correct intervals or directly into studs, install clips in the gaps to correct the issue first. For example, ClosetMaid recommends support clips should be installed every 16 inches maximum along a shelf. Directions differ across models and manufacturers, so be sure to check the installation manual that came with your wire shelf system. After that, install shelf clips right next to any wall clips the shelf has come loose from.

For extra strength and shelves holding heavy loads, trade the plastic anchors for metal anchors. This is an especially good switch if you notice any old plastic anchors are wiggly. You can also add more Yingsi-fty Wire Shelving Support Brackets to the shelf at the weakest points. If your shelf continues to sag despite these fixes, add a wooden board to help straighten it out, add extra support, and distribute the weight more evenly across the shelves. You could even go a step further and build plywood covers to hide ugly wire shelves and create a lovely closet aesthetic.