Shower curtain

Aug 09, 2006 19 Replies

I would like to make my own shower curtain however I'm unclear as to what type of fabric to use. The shower gets heavy use (at least 4 showers a day) so it needs to be something durable, washable as well as functional. Thanks for any info you may have .. this is my first posting to this group.


I should have added, I have an aversion to plastic/vinyl shower curtains, so I would rather not line the fabric one w/ anything like that.

thanks,

"Knit Chic" wrote in news:PxmCg.5715$ snipped-for-privacy@newssvr12.news.prodigy.com:

Too bad about that. You can use a vinyl liner and make your curtain out of anything you like. I've done patchwork shower curtains and others made out of a whimsical fabric d'jour. But I did use the liner.

If you aren't going to use a liner, you will need to select something like a very tightly woven nylon, such as is used for windbreakers or light-weight tents.

I use a shower proof poly taffeta, a bit like anorak fabric. Works well. It isn't coated. It was sold as shower curtain fabric, and it is a woven fabric, not a poly sheet.

My experience with lightweight windbreaker weight nylon shower curtains is they billow out and allow leakage if you have a strong shower spray. So I took a page from some of the hotels I've stayed in and use a duck fabric which has some heft to it, especially when wet. Haven't had any mildew problems because I spread it out afterwards to dry, rather than bunch it up. JPBill

I sew a weighted cord into the bottom of mine.

My favorite is ye olde closely woven cotton canvas. Heavy enough the mini-hurricane you create in showering doesn't wrap the curtain around your ankles, easy enough to take down and bleach.

Kay

If you have a metal tub - cast iron under porcelain, like mine - you can put magnets into the bottom hem.

But only if you can stand the smell it produces....

Beverly

over here we have a version that you bung in the washing machine with the item you want to treat - a lot less smelly than spraying!

Several years ago I used a product for a couple of jeans jackets for 'waterproofing'. Yup, in the washing machine. But haven't had the need lately so don't know if such is still available.

On the other hand, the cotton duck shower curtain in DM's house in humid Houston, Texas, lasted probably at least 10 years with no waterproofing.

Jean

I'd guess you haven't tried Nikwax cottonproof?

Some are made of polyurethane. Guess what urethane is.

That's how I feel about the plastic shower curtains ... they smell exactly the same as body bags ... just no zipper.

>

Nikwax make great products for this sort of thing. Their spray-ons for things like tends don't smell much. They only tell you to do it outside because you need to put the tent up and not many folk have space to do that indoors!

So... How do you get out of the shower without the zipper? :P

Diiosocyanates reacted with polyols.

Polyurethane is not the same thing as urethane (ethyl carbamate), and it is not made of urethane units. It's a chain of organic subunits joined by urethane linkaqes.

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lycra, clear elastic, Ultrasuede, many coated nylons , pleather,some rigid insulating foams, Gorilla glue, many carpet paddings... they've all got polyurethane components. Kay

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