Six ways a bathroom fixture attaches

What each one holds, and what it costs to remove

Adhesive mounts

A continuous film of adhesive in shear against a smooth, rigid, fully cured surface.

Leaves behindAdhesive residue at minimum, and on paint or a coated finish it can take the surface with it.

Drilled mounts

The structure of the building, through a fastener sized to the wall it is going into.

Leaves behindHoles, and in tile they are essentially permanent.

Hanging mounts

Whatever the host component holds, minus a margin, through a hook in pure downward load.

Leaves behindScuffs where it swung against the wall, and wear marks on the host component.

Freestanding mounts

The floor, through the frame, as long as the center of mass stays inside the footprint.

Leaves behindCompression marks in the floor, plus wall holes if the anchor hardware was used.

Tension mounts

Friction at two contact pads, generated by outward force and nothing else.

Leaves behindPressure marks at both ends, and sometimes a cracked tile or a dished ceiling.

Portable, unmounted

Gravity and a flat surface. There is no bond, no fastener and no stored force.

Leaves behindNothing on the wall. On a floor, a damp patch and sometimes a discolored outline.

The same 6 placed by what they leave

Two of them share a stop. They are drawn sharing it rather than nudged apart to make the axis look tidier.