Green Your Bathroom Shower Curtain

Your bathroom shower curtain may be sneakily leaking toxins straight into your warm shower everyday!

I hate finding out that some seemingly innocuous thing in your home is really evil.

However, the innocent-looking shower curtain that you bought to perfectly match your bathroom’s new paint job, may be leaking toxic chemicals into your home. When you take that new plastic shower curtain out of its bag, you immediately notice that “new “plastic-y” smell, right? “Sort of like the “new car smell.” There’s a good reason for that nasty smell.

Plastic shower curtains or shower curtain liners are generally made from PVC plastic. Studies from the EPA have suggested that PVC leaches chemicals from the moment you open the package, and for long after that. The EPA even concluded it’s study with the warning to “use caution when opening the new packaging of a shower curtain to minimize exposure risk.” Exposure Risk?

The villian in the plastic is the chemical brew that is needed to make the plastic soft and flexible. Just think… a hot shower, breathing in all that steam laced with chemicals. MMmmm…hmmmmm.

The good news is there are several alternatives to nasty PVC. So, why not make a safer choice, just in case? Plastic shower curtains are now being made out of PEVA as opposed to PVC and are reported to be a healthier alternative. On top of that, they’re cheap. I like that. Try IKEA for a very inexpensive and eco-friendly choice. Hemp is also a popular choice, but be prepared to shell out some money. I found some nice ones at ecobathroom.com, but remember, hemp fabrics travel a long way; so there is a trade-off, in terms of over-all carbon footprint. And, with a price tag hovering around $100.00 it’s not for everybody. (Certainly not me.) But hemp, IS natural, sustainable and water resistant.

If you like a decorative shower curtain over the liner, there’s all kinds of choices, from organic cotton to nylon. Obviously, there’s no perfect choice, but NOT choosing PVC seems like a reasonable choice to make. I’ll be looking for mine, and hoping to find it in turquoise!

Leave a Comment September 23, 2009