Shower liners and curtains - they help prevent water from overflowing to the rest of your bathroom, causing a flooded mess. As these bathroom fixtures are constantly in contact with water, they can accumulate much dirt, mold, and hard water stains from the frequent moisture.
Thankfully, cleaning your shower curtain, especially if it’s made from plastic, is not a difficult task. With our guide, you'll be able to easily clean both fabric and non-fabric liners, as well as the curtain, without much effort.
As with every other area in the house, the bath can get grimey when not cleaned properly, and most of the fixtures near shower and bath areas are in constant contact with water. Make time to clean the entire bath area, and include your curtains and liners into your cleaning schedule with five simple habits.
How to Keep Shower Curtains Clean: 5 Best Habits to Remember
Whether you have a fabric curtain or plasticine shower curtains, you can easily clean these using simple cleaning methods to get rid of mold, soap scum, and mineral deposits from hard water stains. Cleaning a curtain is fairly simple, but you should be replacing your curtain once a week to prevent mold and bacterial growth.
Fabric shower curtains are most susceptible to mold growth as the porous fibers can serve as the perfect environment for mold, germs, and bacteria to grow. Cotton liners provide the organic material for these organisms to feed as well.
Make cleaning your shower curtain part of your home maintenance routine, and keep your liners looking like new with our five best habits to incorporate in your cleaning regimen that will upkeep your shower curtain.
Wash Fabric Shower Curtain Liners
A little known fact when it comes to fabric shower curtains is that they’re machine washable! Just wash your fabric liner the same way you clean any other fabric: using laundry detergent as your cleaning solution, and let the laundry machine do the work.
Fill the washing machine with water, add laundry detergent, and toss in your dirty fabric curtain. Let the washing machine go for a full cycle, then drain the water and start a rinse cycle. Afterwards, hang your curtain somewhere where it can properly air dry before placing it back on the rack.
Helpful Tip: Remember to remove the plastic or metal rings before washing fabric curtains as these can cause your laundry machine to break down, and the rings may also break under the pressure of the laundry machine.
Wipe down a Plastic Shower Curtain Liner
A plastic liner cleans much easier, as it does not have a porous surface that accumulates dirt. Simply create a cleaning mix using water with a few drops of dishwashing liquid, and use the mixture to wipe your curtain liner clean.
After showering, wipe your liners dry to remove excess moisture, and allow the material to air dry to completely reduce the frequency of mold and bacterial growth. Keeping your curtains dry makes it easier for you to clean them later on, and prevents staining as well.
Use a Daily Cleaning Spray
A daily cleaning spray is formulated to keep mildew and germs away from your bathroom, and the same cleaning solution can be used on your curtains. Commercially available cleaning sprays are convenient, although they may contain some ingredients that are harmful to the skin and lungs.
You can create your own cleaner using white vinegar, baking soda, and some water in a spray bottle. Mix together white vinegar and water in an equal ratio, then add two to three tablespoons of baking soda. Use this mixture to clean your curtains, and use a scrub brush to get the mixture deep into stained fabrics if necessary.
Helpful Tip: Use a microfiber cloth to wipe down your curtains and liners as the microfiber material does not leave dust and lint residue on the smooth surface.
Dry your Curtain and Liner before Replacing
Although most homeowners understand the need to clean a curtain, most don't realize that they must air dry the fabric or material before placing it back on the rack. Excess moisture trapped in the material is a bad thing for bathrooms, as these can start the presence of microorganisms to grow in your shower area.
When you place a damp shower curtain liner in your tub, they can also increase the humidity in the room, and cause the area to feel heavy, moist, and encourage mildew, bacteria, and germs to thrive, creating colonies around the bath area. Always dry your liners before replacing.
Use Bleach on White Shower Liner
White liners or curtains can be cleaned with bleach to both whiten stains, and remove any scum, and disinfect your shower curtain liner at the same time. Simply soak your white shower curtain liner in some diluted bleach, and let the bleach work its magic to whiten your fabrics.
Clean a shower curtain liner with color-safe bleach if it has designs or is made with colored fabric, but test out the solution on a small patch on your shower curtain liner to ensure that the bleach will not make the color bleed into your tub of water.
Helpful Tip: Instead of bleach, you may also use hydrogen peroxide and to spot clean stains away so you won't have to soak your curtains and liners!
Make Cleaning a Habit
For a completely clean bathroom that is full of life, keep the areas clean and dry at all times. If you don't have the time or energy to tackle the cleaning tasks, let our trained and experienced cleaners at Luce Home tackle the cleaning chores for you. Contact us today for a free consultation.
