PVC-free Shower Curtain Liner in the Washing Machine
Back in April I told you about my new PVC-free shower curtain liner from Target. It’s made of EVA (ethylene vinyl acetate). If I had my way, I’d have a shower door, but since I’m living the apartment life right now, I’m dealing with the liners.
The directions on my liner say to wash with a damp cloth. Does anyone else find this as challenging as I do? Am I supposed to take it down, spread it over my living room floor and spend the day with a wash cloth? Otherwise, I don’t see how you can really get a grip on the thing.
Embolden by reader comments on my shower curtain post, I decided to put it in the washing machine like others before me. I used a small amount of detergent, cold water and the gentle cycle. I also took it out before the spin cycle. A heavy vinyl curtain wouldn’t have made it, but the EVA curtain did fine.
I hung the liner up to dry before reattaching to the shower curtain. It was wrinkled for a couple of days, but other than that, no holes, shredding or evilness came from the machine wash. So, I got away with it, but please machine wash your EVA liner at your own risk : )
PS — I did buy another EVA backup liner in case the machine wash didn’t work. So, now I’m all stocked up.
Image via flickr.
Peggy,
Cleaning the shower liner doesn’t need to get to the level of removing it or placing it in the washer at all. A nice eco-friendly non-toxic way to get rid of all germs and mildew from the shower curtain is to go buy a $0.60 bottle of Hydrogen Peroxide and place the peroxide in a spray bottle. Some Hydro Peroxide bottles now already come with a spray head themselves. Just spray down the Hydrogen Peroxide all over the shower curtain and let it sit. Since h20 aka water is technically two parts hydrogen with one part oxygen, once the hydrogen peroxide just sits there for a few minutes it reacts with the oxygen in the air and re-converts into simple water. Hydrogen Peroxide spray in general is an AWESOME eco friendly way to kill all germs on any surface. I use it on the kitchen counter, my leather couches and pretty much everything else. The consumer grade hydro peroxide found in stores is only at a 3% concentration so no need to worry about toxicity. Hydro Peroxide only becomes dangerous at the industrial levels of 30% and above, 3% is perfectly ok, I even swish it around my mouth sometimes to kill germs before brushing my teeth.