Browse Forums Bathrooms and Laundry 1 May 17, 2018 12:47 pm We have plastic towel rails in our bathrooms. They are original from when the house was built (over 10 years ago). One rail has broken. We'd like to replace it, but can't work out how to remove it from the wall. It doesn't have any visible screws. Can't see any small holes in the brackets (eg. for a hidden set screw). Have tried moving/pulling/rotating/etc the brackets, but cannot get them to shift. Can see what looks like a kind of locking tab that sticks out a bit, but trying to lever this hasn't succeeded in getting the rail to move. Spent ages searching the internet and couldn't find anything similar to what we have here. Found loads of advice instructing me to locate the small hole on the underside of the bracket, but there is no hole on ours. Pics below (showing both intact towel rail, and broken towel rail). If anyone has any advice, I would be most grateful. Thank you! Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 2May 17, 2018 2:11 pm So when you press that tab thingy down it doesn’t make any difference, because from the pics that looks like it should press down and release? See the silver ring thing, does that turn at all? If all else fails and seeing as its broken anyway, try tapping it with a hammer to break it off without damaging the wall so you can see in how it’s holding, then you should be able to remove the others with this knowledge, fingers crossed. Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 3May 17, 2018 3:59 pm Ok, had some progress! Yes, I thought that pressing on the tab things would release the rail, but no. One of the tabs actually broke off and it still didn't release the rail. Managed to get the silver ring off one side. The large circular cover didn't come off though. Took a hammer to it. Still didn't come off. It rotated though, so I kept attacking it and finally got it to come off in one piece. Now I can see what's behind it: Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Unfortunately, the other side isn't cooperating. The silver ring won't slide off - it's being blocked by the curve of the remaining broken rail (the other side didn't have this issue). The large circular cover will only rotate, but won't move away from the wall. I tried hitting it upwards with a hammer. No success. This is what it looks like now (top view): Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Are they designed to be permanently attached? There doesn't seem to be a way to remove them, aside from breaking the thing, which seems ridiculous. Any advice? If we want to replace any of the other towel rails, are we going to have to break them in order to get to the screws inside? Thanks for any help you can provide . Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 4Jun 15, 2018 1:48 pm I'd just get a hacksaw and cut off the broken part of the railing, then the silver and cap part will slip off. Looks like you'll have to do that to remove the others as well. I'd cut them as opposed to using a hammer so you don't pull the screws out of the wall. Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 5Oct 21, 2018 3:17 pm Hi. Great photos!! I have exactly the same plastic towel rail as you in my two bathrooms (house is about 18 years old). One of the handrails has been pulled away from the wall by a few mm so I want to repair the handrail. I have spent hours trying to get the large circular cover off by turning and pulling the cover and by pressing the tab up and down. All I managed to achieve is breaking off one of the tabs. Have you by any chance managed to solve this problem? Not a Handyman. Western Australia Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 6Nov 06, 2018 11:11 am I found this forum while trying to remove the same towel rail, I hacked at the round bit with a saw then it was just a matter of unscrewing the screw, Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 7Nov 06, 2018 11:13 am jodiegethejobdone I found this forum while trying to remove the same towel rail, I hacked at the round bit with a saw then it was just a matter of unscrewing the screw, And those little tag things are completely useless they are moulded to the rail and serve no purpose other then to provide false hope it will be a simple removal Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Like ⋅ Add a comment ⋅ Pin to Ideaboard ⋅ Re: HELP! *** How to remove this towel rail? *** 8Apr 24, 2019 5:19 pm My husband just had the same issue with the same towel rail in our bathroom. The plastic tab tag thing has nothing to do with getting it off the wall. What he did was use a bread and butter knife to pop out the chrome dress ring out and away from the plastic cup. He then slipped the knife between the gyprock and the plastic cup to pop off the mounting wall bracket, taking care not to damage the gyprock. The key is in the dress ring and sliding it off the cup. Electrical just got back to me and said the most they can provide is a single power point on the Bedroom 1 side of that wall. After handover, your towel rail installer… 2 3852 Please suggest a solid quality swivel bar towel holder in bathrooms & bedrooms from… 0 3130 How do you remove one of these ceiling air con vents? And is it possible to disconnect the duct joined to the vent from inside the house, without going into the roof cavity? 0 5947 |