ClosetMaid

[Howard Evans]

What is the sticky residue that accumulates on the wire shelving after
a few years? ClosetMaid acknowledges it's existance but won't provide
info as to cause or a cure. It makes the closet shelves unusable.

[jamesgangnc]

I've got closetmaid all over our house and I've never seen it? Some
of ours is at least 18 year old. Is this in a food pantry? Or a
regular closet?

[AZ Nomad]

Are they plastic coated? If not and they're wire, than they won't get
anything but perhaps oxidation -- any crud would be your own doing.
Try using a household cleaner like 409.

[John Grabowski]

> What is the sticky residue that accumulates on the wire shelving after
> a few years? ClosetMaid acknowledges it's existance but won't provide
> info as to cause or a cure. It makes the closet shelves unusable.

I've had Closetmaid wire shelves for many years. I just checked them in
several closets including the laundry and there was no sticky residue.

[nor...@earthlink.net]

I cleaned a house for a friend, prior to her moving in. The home was
cleaner than average, but the wire shelving was really gunky. It
cleaned up nicely, and the sticky stuff gone...because of that, I have
to think that the plastic coating attracts cooking oils from the air
over time. If it was from deterioration, it seems the plastic would
remain sticky. Don't know the brand, nice home.

[GROVER]

On Mar 25, 2:49 pm, Howard Evans <hwrdev...@wustl.edu> wrote:

I have seen the tackiness you described on plastic coated Closet Maid
wire shelving in several installations. One explanation for it, is
that it is caused by long term exposure to high humidity. I suspect
the manufacturer would disagree with that. I have tried to remove it
without success in the past, but If you decide to replace the shelving
get the painted variety.

IIRC the shelving was originally used in Florida where summer humidity
was causing mildew on the stored items. The shelving was usually
installed with a louvered closet door to encourage air circulation. In
many closets being built today there is an A/C vent to keep the
humidity under control.

Joe G

[Joe]

The sticky stuff is the plasticizer that is used to make the PVC
resin, normally hard (think PVC pipe) into the soft type known as a
plastisol. Poor formulating allows the plasticizer to migrate to the
surface. More expensive plasticizers don't do that, otherwise your
Channelocks would be sticky.

Joe

[The Daring Dufas]

Must be the Chinese drywall.

TDD

[park...@gmail.com]

I live in Florida and the ClosetMaid shelving has become sticky in every closet (7). I want my husband to rip it all out. Have cleaned it several times over the years, even with commercial products not available in retail markets. The product is clean, but remains sticky. Would rather have any type of metal or even wood!

[Micky]

What was thought to make these shelves worth having in the first
place?

Are they wire, so the air supposedly circulates? I've only had wood
shelves and they work fine.

If you rip out the shelves, you'll have no shelves. If the shelves
are firmly mounted, you can just put a piece of 1x6 or 1x8 or 10 over
them. Finish the wood a little bit first.

See
https://www.google.com/search?num=100&q=ClosetMaid+sticky&oq=ClosetMaid+sticky&gs_l=serp.3..0i22i30l4.152651.153872.0.154642.7.7.0.0.0.0.604.604.5-1.1.0....0...1.1.64.serp..6.1.603.7jjdrTzrZZc
By Carol Ann J. October 16, 2014

The rubbing alcohol did the trick. Years of dust, grime, even hair
wiped right away. Thanks for the tip.


http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf85572204.tip.html

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/229120699768249551/ pinterest makes you
sign up to see any of their pages. I haven't done that but maybe it's
worth doing.

[Colonel Edmund J. Burke]

Maybe hubby is jerking off in the closet.
Ever think of that?

[sjble...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 2:49:37 PM UTC-4, Howard Evans wrote:

I live in south Florida where the humidity is always high and I don't run the AC in the winter. Sticky shelves began early on. I have cleaned the shelves, but the sticky wires makes them get dirty again and difficult to clean. Now 30 years old, it is past time to replace them. I think they are Closet Maid brand. However, I need ventilation on these shelves or things get moldy. I wonder if EZ shelf brand would last longer? Or if we need to install wood dowel shelving?

[jon...@gmail.com]

Like so many Colonels, you are an idiot.

[Bob F]

Awww. He just thinks everyone else behaves like he does.

[buffsu...@gmail.com]

Joe is correct. The humidity and sticky oils theories are not what causes that stickiness. The question is: Can it be removed? If not, then the wood toppings make sense.

My rubbery coated shelving has been in a closet with dry basebaord heating and it is sticky as Heck. I came here to figure out if anything would take that sticky off.

[john...@gmail.com]

On Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 7:55:50 PM UTC-4, Joe wrote:

Joe is correct - the vinyl is oozing plasticizer over time, and there is not much that can be done. You might be able to clean the shelves with rubbing alcohol or some other solvent, but the goo will come back. Replace them with chrome plated steel wire shelving. You could cover them with a shelf liner, but the ventilation will be blocked.
John

[Jeff Galla]

On Thursday, March 25, 2010 at 2:49:37 PM UTC-4, Howard Evans wrote:

Denatured Alcohol on a microfiber towel removes the sticky residue with little effort. They'll look like new.