Removing Evil Wall Anchors–A Tutorial

I am taking a short break from packing boxes, because 1. I am running out of boxes, and 2. I am dang tired and want a break!

I have been painting at the new house for what seems like FOREVER, but really has only been 2 or 3 weeks. I will definitely have some before and after shots to share, but for now, I wanted to share a quick tip.

Recognize these? EVIL WALL ANCHORS. You know how hard it is to get these out to make the wall look pretty again? (Oh, and FYI, they make AWESOME wall anchors that you screw into the wall instead of pounding in, and then can UNSCREW from the wall when you want them out. Way easier.)

So, there were about ten gazillion of these in my new family room. Not so good for the whole painting thing!

Now, I don’t know if I saw this somewhere and suddenly remembered it, or if I was just brilliant and came up with it on my own. Probably the first option. Anyways, after my stroke of brilliance, I grabbed the drill.

I put on a drill bit that was bigger than the hole in the anchor, but smaller than the outer edge of the anchor. I actually had to bump up bit sizes twice before I hit the right one. If you aren’t sure, start smaller and work up.

Now, drill into the anchor. Once your bit has a good grip on the anchor, pull! You might have to wiggle the drill around a little to loosen the anchor. I had some that came out with a small tug, and some that needed a little more elbow grease.

And TA DA! Evil wall anchor OUT of the wall! You might have to use pliers or vice grips to twist the anchor back off the drill bit. I had to do that with some of them, and then some just twisted back off using my fingers. Now you just have to fill the big gaping holes that wall anchors leave behind!

We are doing the big move (furniture and everything I haven’t taken over while painting) on Saturday. Wish me luck! And energy, cuz I am sorely lacking!