<p>DS’s school apparently does not allow command hooks. I’m trying to figure out where he will hang a jacket or a towel, as the room doesn’t seem to have any hooks built in. When we’ve used over-the-door hooks in the past, they’ve either scratched up the door or the door frame. Are there decent over-door hooks that we could put on the room door, closet door and/or bathroom door to provide places to hang stuff without damaging the doors? Or other ideas? freestanding racks seem less than ideal due to space constraints!</p>
<p>Were those metal or plastic door hooks? Perhaps plastic ones would scratch less. Or perhaps you could try lining a metal one with a sticky felt like moleskin to protect the door. </p>
<p>We’ve had damage with both plastic and metal over door hooks. I was thinking metal would be thinner and less likely to damage the frame, but more likely to damage the door itself. :-/</p>
<p>That’s such a crazy rule. Compared to all the stuff we used to hang stuff back in the day, schools should embrace the Command line. My kids have used Command hooks and picture hanging tabs on all kinds of surfaces, as have I, and never had a problem with removing them or with leaving any residue. What do the students at this school use to hang posters and such?</p>
<p>I think with a son, the doorknob or the foot of the bed is where the towels go :-)</p>
<p>The floor was my son’s surface of choice…</p>
<p>My DD lofted her bed then hung a sturdy multi-hook over-the-door hanger on the metal edge of the bed frame (the part the supported the mattress). She was able to hang multiple jackets coats, purses, … and no damage. If the bed is not lofted, everything would drag on the floor.</p>
<p>This is just a gripe not helpful advice, but I really don’t understand why colleges don’t invest in some picture molding and then you can hang anything you want without damaging anything.</p>
<p>Can she make better use of the closet with one of those contraptions that adds an extra pole? Like this: <a href=“http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Hang-Extra-Closet-Rod/dp/B0000TQEWY”>http://www.amazon.com/Easy-Hang-Extra-Closet-Rod/dp/B0000TQEWY</a></p>
<p>Coat trees don’t take up alot of space: <a href=“http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/3/tree-coat-racks”>http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/1/3/tree-coat-racks</a></p>
<p>IKEA makes an over-the-door hook that has a protective backing to prevent scratching the doors. It’s the GRUNDTAL line. I haven’t used one, so I don’t know if it works, but it looks promising.</p>
<p>Do you know if the door to his dorm is wood or metal? If it’s metal you could get magnetic hooks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the great suggestions. I especially like the idea of hanging an over-the-door hanger off of a lofted bed, though I doubt my DS will want to loft his bed.</p>
<p>I found an OXO over-door hook that also seems to have anti-scratch features. Might try a couple of those (since I don’t have easy access to an IKEA).</p>
<p>I don’t know if the door is wood or metal, but I can’t imagine a magnetic hook holding up a winter coat, or even a wet towel. </p>
<p>The school recommends painter’s tape or poster putty for hanging things (which is fine for posters, I guess, although I’m sure either of those is more likely to do damage than a command hook!) I tried asking on the school’s forum what students use for hanging coats and towels, but that forum is not very active.</p>
<p>I suspect that the school does not allow command hooks because they experienced too much damage from them. How can a command hook do damage since they are designed specifically to not damage walls? When they are taken down improperly, they do damage the walls. I discovered this when my son took down some posters from his wall. I’d put them up with Command Poster strips specifically to avoid holes in the wall. My son took them down incorrectly and we had to repair the wall in several spots. </p>
<p>This reminds me of when my daughter decorated her room freshman year with cool mirror stickers that were supposed to come on and off easily. They did not come off easily at all when she went to move out and the wall suffered some damage. She touched up the spots on the wall with white-out. We did not get any notice about damage, so I guess she did a good enough job!</p>
<p>I was just reading the rules for my D’s dorm and it said to use Monkey Hooks instead of Command strips. I emailed the housing office for an explanation and they said the paint can be peeled off if command strips are removed improperly. Monkey Hooks make tiny holes but I guess are more like a pin prick (and obviously wouldn’t work on a cinderblock wall.)</p>
<p>IMO they should tell the kids if they use the products wrong and damage the paint, they will be responsible for $X in damage per spot. Or just provide dabbers with extra paint of the correct color, and let the kids touch the paint back up themselves.</p>
<p>My kid’s college dorm room didn’t have a closet door…just a folding thing. No way a hook could be hung in that. I asked him about a towel…he put it on the back of his desk chair, or hung it at the end of his bed.</p>
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<p>And that is the point at which I bought D the super quick-drying towels. (She didn’t like them, BTW.)</p>
<p>I hate those towels too. Don’t blame her. I really don’t understand the people who design or run dorms. Having a place to hang a towel or a wet coat is not an unreasonable expectation. In my son’s dorms people generally left their towels in the bathrooms which had cubbies and hooks. There were enough to go around that everyone could just claim one.</p>
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I totally agree. And to go off topic, what about the hotels that want you to use the same towels for multiple days for the sake of the enivronment, but do not provide towel racks for dying your wet towels?!</p>
<p>DS’s closet in the dorm had a towel bar on the inside door. Although I don’t know if he actually used it for his towel. 
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