Installing a shower curtain

Mar 05, 2009 13 Replies

I'm installing a shower curtain in the corner of a wet room. Yes, I know - a 'wet room' means there's no need for a curtain, but SWMBO wants something to 'keep the draught out'....



The question is - should the curtain just touch the floor, or should it hang so that it's clear of the floor?



To my mind, having it touch the floor means it will be more likely to remain wet and encourage the growth of mould. On the other hand if I leave a gap it may not 'keep the draught out', and it may billow inwards and stick to the occupant! On this last point, it is a fairly large shower area I'm enclosing - close to 1.5m x 1.5m - so the billowing inwards problem may not be an issue.



So, what's the normal practice when installing a shower curtain? Should it touch the floor or not?



Thanks,



Mike


Its going to be a horrible mess if it does. Also it will end up trodden on, ripping it from its rail. As close as poss to minimise draughts though.

NT

I would have thought that touching the floor would be good as it would tend to stick to the floor to resist it billowing. However, arrange for something like a tie back to pull it off the floor when not in use. The rush of water tends to draw curtains inwards.

Can you something to eliminate draughts? Block up cracks around windows, fit fraight excluder strips to the door (and fir an extractor).

Regards Richard

"draught" and "fit", obviously, rather than "fraight" and "fir".

Regards Richard

Tell "SWMBO" that wet-rooms in cold climates are for poor bunnies who don't mind being exposed to all and sundry including the cold, or for rich bunnies who can afford to keep the whole bathroom so well heated (in spite of the extractor fan frantically sucking all the steam AND hot air out!) that there will not BE any cold draughts!

If you are poor bunnies who want to feel heat all around you while in the shower then you need a curtain or cubicle all around you and it needs to be fairly close.

Eddy.

All fair advice. But what if theyre not bunnies?

NT

The Bernoulli Effect IIRC.

I'm pretty sure it's down to the warm air inside from the hot shower. The effect seems to be less in summer.

Weight the bottom of the curtain, and leave it just off the floor.

Andy

Keep it off the floor to stop mould growth. Stop the hot air going out the top of the curtain by making the curtain reach the ceiling (or an enclosure above it) then the curtain will not billow inwards.

Err. Good point, Cat. I should have paid closer attention to the fact that they're hamsters!

:-)

Eddy.

I was told about this the other week. I've never noticed it though.

... So this morning I turned the shower off and waited. The curtain stayed billowing in until I opened a corner and let the cold air in. Bye bye billow.

Someone else can try a cold shower...

Andy

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