How to Clean Your Shower Curtain Naturally

We all use showers to get clean, but cleaning showers and shower curtains often falls under the radar. We'll explain how to clean your shower curtain using natural ingredients.

Shower curtains are used to prevent water from getting all over the floor, and to add privacy in shared bathrooms. Most people think that shower curtains don’t need to be cleaned, because all that’s getting in contact with them is soap, water, or shampoo. However, if left uncleaned, shower curtains are susceptible to mildew – which can be hazardous to health if left untreated. 

In order to keep on top of it, you should ideally clean your shower curtain once a month. If that sounds like too much work for you, you should be cleaning it at least once every 3 months. That being said, if you notice that the curtain is covered with scum, or mildew has started to appear, take action straightaway. Learn how to clean your shower curtain using simple and natural methods. 

How to Clean Plastic Shower Curtains

Hand-washing is the best method when it comes to cleaning plastic shower curtains, as you can really see where the problem areas are, and use some elbow grease to get it clean. Follow these steps to clean plastic shower curtains:

1. Remove the shower curtain from the rod. 
2. Dampen a cloth with some water, and sprinkle baking soda on the cloth.
3. Scrub the entire shower curtain, and rinse with warm water. 
4. Go back and spot treat any areas of the shower curtain that still have soap scum. 
5. Continue until the entire shower curtain is clean. 

How to Pretreat Plastic Curtains

The best way to stop scum from building up on plastic shower curtains and keep them clean for longer is to give them a pretreatment before you use them. If you’ve purchased a new plastic shower curtain, take the following steps to pretreat it: 

1. Add the plastic shower curtains to your washing machine. 
2. Add a small bit of white vinegar to the machine, and run it on a rinse cycle – make sure the water temperature is warm, not hot. 
3. Once the rinse cycle is finished, hang your shower curtain to dry, and then use as normal. 

Note: When placing a plastic shower curtain in the washer, it is incredibly important that you don’t use high heat. This can cause the plastic to melt and can ruin both your shower curtain and washing machine. 

Cleaning Fabric Shower Curtains

Fabric shower curtains are much more susceptible to mildew, so it’s important to clean them regularly. The process is as simple as doing a load of laundry. Let’s take a look at how to clean fabric shower curtains: 

1. Remove the shower curtain from the rod or hooks. 
2. Fill your tub or a large bucket with warm water and a little bit of homemade laundry detergent. 
3. Allow the shower curtain to soak for approximately 1 hour, then spot treat any really bad patches with homemade stain remover. 
4. Place in the washing machine along with ¼ cup citric acid, baking soda, or white vinegar to the machine (don’t use all three!).
5. Clean the shower curtain using the rinse cycle, and then hang to dry. 

If cleaning your shower curtains once a month, you can skip the soaking step as long as you don’t have large spots of mildew on the curtain. 

Read more: 

• Washing Clothes with Vinegar: Benefits of Adding Vinegar to Laundry
• Your Washing Machine Smells? Get Rid of Washing Machine Odors Using These Home Remedies
• 3 Soap Recipes: How to Make Homemade Soap
• How To Clean Your Fridge With Apple Cider Vinegar

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Tags: Cleaning Guide Practical Tips Remedy