How to fix a towel rack ripped out of drywall
A broken drywall anchor leaves a wide hole that standard screws can no longer grip, preventing you from simply screwing the bracket back in. Using heavy-duty toggle bolts or patching the damaged area with joint compound first creates a solid surface to securely reattach the mount without requiring advanced DIY skills.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- People have been saying this in most months since September 2026.
- This comes up 19.3× more often in r/HomeMaintenance than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Using toggle bolts2 people mentionedDid this help you?
- 2Using toggle anchorsDid this help you?
- 3Removing the busted plastic drywall anchor and replacing it with a slightly larger oneDid this help you?
- 4Replacing standard wall anchors with toggle boltsDid this help you?
- 5Patching mounting holes with spackle or joint compoundDid this help you?
- 6Using construction-grade waterproof adhesive after cleaning the surfaces and sanding them down, then holding the fixture in place with masking tape while it cures.Did this help you?
- 7Attaching it directly to a studDid this help you?
- 8Cutting a large hole in the wall to install wood backing for supportDid this help you?
- 9Use a molly boltDid this help you?
- 10Try WetNFixDid this help you?
- 11Move the entire thing left or right to find a stud and patch the old holesDid this help you?
- 12moving brackets to screw into studsDid this help you?
- 13screwing a board into the stud and mounting the rod to the boardDid this help you?
- 14Swap out the standard plastic wall anchors for toggle bolts or snap-toggles.Did this help you?
- 15covering the hole with a posterDid this help you?
- 16hiring a contractor to do the repairDid this help you?
- 17Packing more mortar into the joints as a temporary patch.Did this help you?
- 18Wedging small stones into the gaps with mortar.Did this help you?
- 19Accepting the need to periodically re-mortar the wall rather than permanently fixing it.Did this help you?
- 20Removing the tree entirely and rebuilding the wall.Did this help you?
- 21Applying drywall compound or spackle, sanding it, and painting over itDid this help you?
- 22Painting an accent color over the repaired section to hide imperfections in the texture matchDid this help you?
- 23Sealing the damaged area to prevent further crumbling without trying to achieve a perfect, clean finishDid this help you?
- 24Using premixed plaster and spray texture to get the finish as close to the original as possibleDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“This wall was broken, I’ll have about three days to make it look okay, is there a way to?”source ↗
“I broke a window in my parent’s house playing tennis against the outside wall. I had it fixed the next day before my parents got home & thought they never saw it.”source ↗
“My 11 year old for some reason decided to try and hang on the towel bar and ripped it out of the dry wall.”source ↗
“Do I need to patch the wall with spackle or joint compound before attempting to anchor this back in?”source ↗
“Can I just put two toggle bolts in the hole and reattach the towel rack anchor that way?”source ↗
“pulled this out of the wall. Any quick tips to put it back up without too much fuss. I don’t really care how it looks for now, I know how to do it right and just patch and move but something lazy?”source ↗
“Accidentally broke this soap holder of the tile wall of the shower. Is this someone I can probably fix myself, as a reasonably handy woman?”source ↗
“Just this morning our towel rack rod fell off.”source ↗
“It seems like that side bracket was damaged, and I can’t tell if the wall was as well.”source ↗
“I am not handy (at all) and have no idea how to fix something like this.”source ↗
“I noticed the top nail came out a little because the panel is a bit heavy.”source ↗
“What can I do about this?”source ↗
“Will this eventually fall out?”source ↗
“What is the easiest way to fix a toilet paper holder that fell out?”source ↗
“put tape on this wall and it ripped out this chunk, i am renting so i don’t wanna pay them for this when i move out, can i repair it myself it should i call a professional?”source ↗
“We replaced our vanity and the old one was taller.”source ↗
“Had to take my microwave down to do some painting and when I reinstalled it I couldn’t get it level. If I fully tighten both bolts the right side droops and if I loosen the left bolt to make it level side-to-side (shown in pictures) the front droops.”source ↗
“My parents have a low (less than 1 1/2 ft tall) retaining wall that is probably about 25-30 years old that has a section that is slowly getting pushed out of shape by a large tree.”source ↗
“The retaining wall is already pretty close to the tree, so there's a decent chance that even if we were to remove the stones and try to push the wall back to its original shape, we either wouldn't be able to or would risk doing damage to the roots”source ↗
“Since the gaps are kind of large and ugly, I was wondering what the best approach would be to re-strengthen the area and make the gaps less obvious.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 5How to fix a gap behind an outlet faceplate
- 2How to attach a new TV to an existing wall mount
- 31How to fix a botched drywall patch with uneven edges and gaps
- 2How to cover an ugly plastic fence without drilling
- 7How to fix a PVC drain pipe broken flush against the wall
- 2How to remove and reinstall wood wall panels without ruining them