Maintenance Instructions for Your Shower Curtains

It may seem strange that shower curtains get dirty with water running over them every day.

The wet environment is a perfect place for mold to grow, as well as the build up of soap scum can make for a very ugly and dirty look, if you don’t clean them regularly. To keep your bathroom shower curtains looking like new you can simply follow the care instructions below.

Maintaining Your Shower Curtains

The key to keeping them looking like new is to prevent it from happening in the first place.

Placing a liner behind your elegant shower curtains is a great way to keep both the water and soap off avoiding the two biggest enemies of clean curtains. The shield that they give is a cheap way to keep your curtains looking like new for many years.

Another really neat invention is products that you can spray on that will keep the mold and mildew from actually forming on your bathroom shower curtains as well as the liner. The only drawback of these types of products is the fact that you will need to apply them daily. Though they do wonders they do not totally eliminate the need to wash them from time to time.

Washing Your Shower Curtains

Even with the most meticulous care you’ll still need to take more drastic measures and wash your shower curtains. If you purchased the right type of PEVA vinyl or fabric shower curtain you can easily throw them in the wash machine in warm water to clean them. On the other hand if you got cheap shower curtains made of a thin plastic you had better use more gentle methods like hand washing them, or replace them with new ones.

The solution you wash them with can vary to some degree depending on the material as well as how bad they have become. Cleaning solutions can range from detergent to homemade concoctions of vinegar and baking soda. The use of toxic bleach should be only used if all else fails. I recommend going with organic bleach and soaking your shower curtains and liners if all else fails. Oxygen bleach is made up of hydrogen peroxide and soda ash which works wonders on both soap scum and mold.

Adding salt to a water solution and soaking is another great way to prolong mold and mildew from forming. Use the salt sparingly as it will form salt crystals if you happen to use too much.

Drying Your Shower Curtains

The worst things you can do for your bathroom shower curtains are drying them in the dryer, ironing them, or dry cleaning. The heat from any of these things can very easily melt or damage the material. Drip drying them by hanging them in your shower is all that you’ll need to do to have nice beautiful curtains again. High heat is the worst thing for shower curtains and should be avoided at all cost.

Tagged With: clean, cleaning, maintenance, mildew, mold, prevention, shower, soap scum, wash

Posted In: Bathroom Shower Curtains.

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