Why You Should Never Use Vinyl Shower Curtains
96Why You Should Never Use Vinyl Shower Curtains
Why shouldn't you use vinyl shower curtains? They are cheap, easy to find, and some may even be mildew-resistant. But they are also toxic.
Vinyl (PVC - also known as polyvinyl chloride) - shower curtains have been proven to release dioxin* which is a known carcinogen. Further, they are not eco-friendly as they are slow to decompose and therefore clog landfills. Equally unhealthy, is the fact that if they are burned they release even more toxic chemicals into our environment.
The World Health Organization - describes dioxins as environmental pollutants which have the dubious distinction of belonging to the “dirty dozen” - a group of dangerous chemicals known as persistent organic pollutants. Dioxins are of great concern because of their highly toxic potential. They have been shown, in experiments, to affect a number of our organs. Their half life in the body has been estimated to be between seven to eleven years.
When you unwrap vinyl shower curtains - you will be hit with that strong odor. That is the smell of the toxic chemicals. If you already have vinyl shower curtains hanging in your bathroom and still detect the smell, it is suggested you hang them out in the sun for awhile - until the odor disappears.
If you are thinking about using nylon or polyester shower curtains, they may be a bit less toxic but they are made from nonrenewable resources and they are not biodegradeable.
There are alternatives:
Glass shower doors - are one suggestion in lieu of vinyl, polyester, and nylon. These doors are made from a tempered glass.
Because we are becoming more aware of the toxic chemicals everywhere in our environment and demanding healthier alternatives, manufactures are quick to respond. Now on the market you can find shower curtains made from linen, hemp and organic cotton. These can be easily found online.
Finally - why do we need shower curtains anyway? During the time I lived in S. Korea there was no need for shower curtains or glass shower doors. I happily splashed water all over the bathroom. This is because the bathrooms are designed with a drainage hole on the floor of the bathroom, not just in the tub or shower stall. Here, in the US, we all have to be concerned about water hitting the floor and seeping down to the floor below - whereas in S. Korea the water would simply go down the drain in the middle of my floor.
For additional information about toxins in our environment, many in surprising places, as well as suggestions for detoxing your home and environment, see the links below.
*dioxin - a general term used to describe a group of hundreds of chemicals that are highly persistent in the environment. The compound rated most toxic is 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, or TCDD. Dioxin is formed as a by-product of many industrial processes such as chemical and pesticide manufacturing, pulp and paper bleaching, etc. It is formed by burning chlorine-based chemical compounds with hydrocarbons. Among other affiliations it is used in the production of Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) plastics (as in shower curtain).
See informative links below:
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Amy Butler MEMENTO Floral Organic Cotton Shower Curtain Cream Orange Pink NIP
Current Bid: $22.50
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AMY BUTLER MEMENTO ORGANIC COTTON SHOWER CURTAIN NEW
Current Bid: $23.70
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Amy Butler MEMENTO SHOWER CURTAIN 72"x72" Ivory 100% Organic Cotton RARE NEW
Current Bid: $29.99
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Thanks BK for the information. I am learning so much from just reading these hubs. I am surely going to pass this on.
Thanks einron - it seems big business doesn't care at all about the environment or our health. It is totally on us.
Thanks fastfreta - glad the info is useful. We are being bombarded with chemicals. Good thing we have the internet (and hub pages) to do research.
Thanks for the info. There is also more and more info surfacing about dioxins in microwavable dishes and plastic containers, which apparently intensifies the toxicity when heated to the extreme temperatures in a microwave. Lots of poisons in our environment. But a step at a time, more awareness will eventually do the trick, I believe.
Again, thanks for the info.
Thank you Daniel Carter. It boggles the mind how many toxins are in our every day items - and are dangerously harmful to us and especially our children. I've actually given up on a microwave. More awareness is necessary and becoming educated consumers.
Thanks again!
Hey BKC - does that mean that the average of the shower curtains on the market contain this toxin? I've never thought to check the ingredients of my shower curtain! Goodness, is anything sacred anymore???
Yes charmbaker - if they are vinyl - they have this toxin. And unfortunately this is the kind of curtain that is most often sold everywhere.
Not that long ago I was in a homestore and just happened to pass the section that sold shower curtains - the smell was overwhelming! Ugh!
Thanks for writing!
We must save our earth and we can start it from our home. We must use eco friendly products. Instead of PVC we can opt for organic cotton fabric for shower curtains. Nice hub on eco friendliness.
Thanks for sharing your ideas with us. We always keep in mind that our using of toxic products may harms environment.
Hello R Oberoi - Nice to meet you!
I so agree about making the right choice. We are, after all, each responsible for our environment. We can no longer say we don't know - even though manufactures don't tell us.
Hello Clara Ghomes! You're welcome. I am so glad we are seeking out this information and taking back some control over our environment.
Thank you for writing!
Interesting article, I used to work in a factory where we used liquid vinyl inks silkscreening (it explains why Warhol was the way he was), they are a tough batch of chemicals. Glad to see your warning for everyone, well done BKcreative!
Ben
Thanks Ben Zoltak - thinking about Andy Warhol, it makes me think of the phrase 'mad as a hatter' because people that made hats used mercury in the hat bands which seriously affected them. Good thing we can share all this toxic information.
I agree. I have been knocked out by the smell at times when I've put up a new shower curtain. I will have to re-think the next time I purchase a new one.
Thank you for the info.
Lord Bryan
You're welcome Lord Bryan. It's amazing how we have ignored these toxic odors but I learned from a very wise elder here in Brooklyn many years ago how this out-grassing can give you flu-like symptoms. It happened to me with paint and she told me what was happening. Surely, we deserve better. Or we can be savvy like in Asian countries where the drain is on the bathroom floor instead of in the tub or shower stall - so no need for the curtains - water can splash everywhere!
This hub just made me laugh....I wish I did have a drainage hole in my bathroom floor! That would be great!
It makes so much sense, doesn't it herbivorehippi? I think a shower would be so much more fun if you can let yourself go and just splash water everywhere. In Seoul - it was soooo wonderful!
BK: Your hub made me purchase a hemp shower curtain. Thanks for the information on this. We Americans as so behind the times in all of this. I would love to have the a drain in my bathroom, besides have a great time in the shower, it would make cleaning the bathroom so much easier.
You're very welcome Brenda201B - I'd love to design a house now - and I would certainly have drains right there on the floor of the bathroom - it just makes so much sense. I live in an old building in NYC - and water on the bathroom floor has caused serious damage - it can be an innocent shower with too much water hitting the floor - or cases where the sink or tub has run over - disaster!
Thanks for writing!
Thanks for the info on this! I was not aware. I do have to admit that I love the smell of a new shower liner though as caustic and horrible as they are! lol
Great Hub!
I think it's like the 'new car smell' that we were taught to love - it's new so it must be okay. Whew!
Nice to meet you - and thanks for writing!
Thanks a lot, BkCreative, now I've gotta worry about my plastic shower curtain containing dioxin!!! Aren't there enough carcinogens in my apartment as it is? The reason I buy the darn thing is because at Target they sell them for $2.50 apiece. Perhaps next time I'll look for a mildew-resistant cloth. Is that cool? Thanks for the heads-up. Later!
When you think about that smell Kosmo - yikes! I've read that it helps if you let the shower curtain bake out in the sun until the smell goes away. I like the Asian idea - the drain hole is on the floor not in the tub or shower stall so you don't even need shower curtains. When I lived in S. Korea I splashed water everywhere - it was so glorious!
We need to seriously redesign American bathrooms. The basins and the shower water could flow into a tank through a ceramic filter, to be used as toilet flush water. Our tub and sink drains are always getting clogged. If we didn't use toxic soap hair could be composted. I agree shower curtains are a good place to start, how about plastic bottles next :) PBA rubbed into our scalps every day with zero non-plastic alternatives.
thanks for the thoughtful informative hub
So true Uva! Our bathrooms were designed with absolutely no considerations for the environment! Why shouldn't bath water be used to flush the toilet - it makes sense. And we pay for this waste of resources in dollars and cents as well.
And those plastic bottles - I wrote a hub (about toxic personal care products) about the BPA (bisphenol A) found in plastic containers - it is a hormone disruptor (and were used in baby bottles as well). Right now almost every metal food can in the supermarket has BPA lining its cans. Only one company claims not to but who to trust.
Thanks for the input!
BkCreative , thanks for the heads-up on these pvc shower curtains. Being in an older house we don't have the drain hole in the floor so we must use a Curtain. We are now using a curtain made of 100% Polyester. Can you tell me if this material is carcinogenic?
Great Hub , thumbs up for the safety alert!
It seems that polyester is also one of those synthetic fabrics. On the other hand you already have it so it would be wasteful to toss it. I'm a bath person - but even my cotton curtains have probably went through a chemical treatment process. But I've had them for years and at least they are lasting forever.
Nice to meet you by the way. You have great hubs and I am now a follower!
Toxic, thank you for the information again Carolyn, Now I obliged you to write more hehe, Happy weekend my friend, Maita
You're very welcome Maita. Always a pleasure when you visit. It'll be 80 in NYC - so my kind of weather - it will be a happy weekend. Here's wishing you the best with lots of sunshine. CarolynOnSaturday!
Thanks BK, this is useful information. Luckily for us in Australia we also have a drain in the centre of the floor so my shower is open in one corner of the room. I never could understand why other countries don't do this.
Great hub, thank you.
It makes sooooo much sense TheFont to have that drain on the floor. Seems so many countries do this but not in the US. I suspect here - it was the cheapest thing to do. Sigh. But not always the best. So we have filled our homes with these toxins and then our landfills. It makes no good sense.
Thanks for commenting!
so true and they use the same chemical in many of your synthic upholstery and drapery fabric!!!! I also just bought a yoga mat unrolled it and the smell almost knocked me over!!!
Wow dawnM - and here we embrace yoga for the many benefits - but what about the mat? I was in the process of going out to buy a mat - but I think I will stick to the old wool rug I have - which is supposed to be toxin-free. Good grief!
Thanks for sharing that information!
BkCreative, I've been reading through a few of your hubs. Your hubs are interesting and very informative. I'm a fan.
Thanks F A Williams. I'm your fan too and have been enjoying your hubs. I've been commenting and will be back!
I'm so glad I dumped my vinyl curtains. They smelled like plastic and always got moldy. My cloth one looks great and washes easily.
I'm glad too InfinityVal - when I think of those vinyl curtains and the smell and how could it not affect my household. Seems they have gotten smellier over the years.
Thanks for writing!
I don't heat food in plastic anymore, but I haven't thought about the problems that may be caused in the shower!
So true HealthyHanna - we are immersed in this stuff!We know heating food is a toxic but the plastics are everywhere!
Very interesting! I don't have a vinyl shower curtain but I've never given much thought to them either. Great information!
Thanks for commenting GreenThumbLady
I may need to look for a better alternative. I'll have to stick with a curtain for now, but maybe a better type. Honestly, I'd love to get glass shower doors, but it just hasn't been in the home improvements budget yet (plus we'd have to put it on a purple bathtub! HA!). My brother lives in Japan, and like S. Korea, they basically have a shower room. It's a great idea. My brother's toilet, and a sink/vanity were outside of the shower room. Then he had a fully tiled room with drain (and even another mirror/sink) where you could bathe and/or shower. I loved it!
I love those rooms Ashlea. It was such a pleasure to take a shower in S. Korea and just let the water splash everywhere. When I think of all the damage done in buildings here because of tubs overflowing, or just from showering - yikes!
When I looked for cloth - it was sooooooo expensive - maybe I will make my own. I'm a bather so it's possible.
Thanks for commenting!
I love decorating curtains in my house. Thanks for sharing this hub. Wonderful ideas!
Thanks for commenting brennawelker!
Thanks for another great hub Bk.
And by the way to all hubbers, I never heat food in the microwave that is in plastic containers. I always use glass bowls or plates.
You're welcome sharewhatuknow. And it's good to pass on that information about plastic and the microwave. Thank you!
I didn't know this. I hate the smell of shower curtains when they come out of the package. Curtains do keep in the heat when you want a nice warm shower. One day we will have to get shower doors.
The shower room sounds nice.
Good hub.
When you mention that smell moonlake I can recall it so clearly - it was powerful. I loved the shower room in S. Korea. I was able to splash everywhere. Mmmmmm.
Is it ok to use PVC after 1 month? When it won’t smell so strong any more. I have a curtain that is 2-3 years old now.
It is not recommended that you purchase PVC shower curtains, Alex. However, if you already have them then it is suggested that you hang them out in the sun until the odor is completely gone before you bring them indoors.
Thanks for this great info. I'm linking this hub in one I'm writing about the recent Silent Spring report on chemicals in household products, including shower curtains!
Thanks LauraGT. I'm so glad you found the info timely. I've just become your fan by the way. So glad to meet a like mind!
Okay, so I've read this before. I guess the reason why I don't remember it, is because at the time I didn't use shower curtains. Now that I do, it really interests me. Being in my own home I had control, now the control is taken away, I'll have to take another route. Thanks again for writing this. I don't know if I voted the last time, but this time I voted up, useful, and interesting. I also "liked" it and posted it on facebook.
einron Level 4 Commenter 2 years ago
Thanks for the info. We should help the environment.