How to Clean a Shower Curtain

Over time, your shower curtain could accumulate too much dirt which can lead to the buildup of bacteria and mildew. If left unchecked, this can become their breeding ground which can lead to several potential health problems.

Fortunately, you can prevent that from happening by simply cleaning your shower curtain. The question is, how? Here’s how:

Start by removing the curtain

Before you even begin, you need to remove the curtain from its rings first. This is actually a good time not just to clean your shower curtain but to remove any dust or dirt buildup in the shower curtain liner as well. You should also soak the rings in a gallon of water using a solution that consists of a ½ cup of vinegar.

Use a mixture of baking soda and laundry detergent

After removing the curtain, mix ½ cup of baking soda with ½ cup of laundry detergent. You may also use borax which can be found in your local grocery store alongside other household cleaning supplies.

Place your curtain inside your washing machine

Throw your curtain along into your washing machine. Make sure you remove the curtain hooks before doing so. If you have a fabric curtain, add a color-safe bleach into the water to remove any bacteria.

However, if you have a plastic curtain, detergent and baking soda will work just fine. In case there are marks which are hard to remove, particularly mold and mildew stains, then you can opt for the traditional baking soda and white vinegar mixture. You may add the baking soda along with the laundry detergent during the wash cycle. This will help add abrasiveness which can help remove the mold.

You should then add vinegar during the rinse cycle to help eliminate stubborn stains and provide you with a more sparkling finish. It also helps to add one or two towels in case you have a huge washing machine. Start it in the gentle cycle then add the mixture gradually while the machine fills with water.

Manually remove any remaining marks

Most of the time, some marks will still remain on your shower curtain even after washing. These can be usually found along the hems as well as the top and bottom portion. In such case, you may use a solution that’s formulated to deal with those stubborn stains. Alternatively, you can use a weak mixture of bleach and water or a mixture of water and baking soda.

Afterward, use an old toothbrush to remove those hard stains which can’t be removed via washing.

Hang it to dry

Once you’ve removed all of the stains on your curtain, the final step is to let it dry. However, you have to hang it to dry. Don’t use an automatic dryer to do so, as this can only cause your curtain to shrink. In case your curtain is wrinkled, use an iron then iron it on low heat after it’s completely dried up.

Additional Notes