New bathroom with shower curtain?

[ToothSmush]

We are re-doing our bathroom, it is small so will be a shower over the bath setup. These days the default for this seems to be a glass shower screen along half of the bath, but I'm thinking an old school shower curtain along the bath would work so much better for us. It's what we currently have.

We only have one bathroom and it gets busy in the morning, so with a shower curtain one person can shower in relative privacy, while someone else is brushing their teeth, brushing hair etc.

Also I used to live somewhere with a glass screen and it was a right pain to keep clean.

Has anyone else kept the shower curtain when doing a new bathroom?
Is it still a normal thing to do?

I had a shower curtain when I refurbed my old 1 bed/ 1 bath flat 10 years ago. I never regretted it. I put a glass shower screen in when I refurbed my latest home but we have multiple bathrooms and a water softener, so minimal cleaning issues and no privacy issues. In your position I’d 100% go for a shower curtain.

We've gone back to a shower curtain after years of screens. We're in a hard water area and I got sick of cleaning the screen. So easy to just launder a curtain and hang it straight back up. We went for a curved shower rail which seems to give a bit more room when we're showering.

I've just discovered the most easy and effective way to clean shower screens. Wipe all over with a cloth soaked in white vinegar. Leave for a minute or two and rinse with a clean cloth. Gets rid of those limescale spots and makes the screen shine.

I’ve got a shower screen which I’m thinking of replacing. I’m in the London area with hard water and limescale and it’s almost impossible to keep clean.

The secret (I've found) to ensure they don't cling to you is to have the pole just out side the edge of the bath, so not directly above it or inside.

I can't stand a curtain. If you move in the shower, you touch it and its freezing cold, they then cling to you are feel awful- yuck! In our old place, we had a shower within the bath. We had a fixed screen at 1 end and at the shower end we re-used a folding screen from an actual shower. It meant that the bath/shower could be completely enclosed to keep heat and splashes in. You could you get an opaque screen if privacy is the issue.

-Change the bathroom door to open outwards into the hall or get a pocket door. It saves you 1m2 of floor space and will make the bathroom feel much larger
-If limescale is an issue, consider a softener
-We put an L shaped bath in. More room to stand/move in the shower end obviously more space in the bath.

We put a shower curtain in the children's bathroom as they were primary aged and I didn't want glass in there. It is on a curved shower curtain pole so keeps it away from your body and it has never touched their body when showering.

We had a white shower curtain as like you said it allowed the other child to be able to use the bathroom at the same time providing privacy for both children.

Got rid of the shower screen as soon as I moved into my new house and fitted a shower curtain. No regrets! Hate those screens with all my being 😆

The curtain is much easier to clean and can give a different look to the bathroom.

You can get lovely high-end pinstriped linen shower curtains with a lining inside.

Mines not fixed it hinged so you can push it over the bath it open it out into the bathroom.

i have a water softner installed in the house so it doesn't need cleaning constantly. Just normally with the test if the bathroom. I don't not have a sink because it needs cleaning. Or a toilet. It's no different & no more effort than cleaning a shower curtain.

Yes I much prefer a curtain. I have a plain transparent or cheap white one on the inside and a pretty one on the outside. The outside one lasts for ever and I replace the inside one as needed.

I don't like theway the lighter ones stick to me & I don't mind the thicker ones so mucb from that pov (as they behave themselves) but they take just as much cleaning to keep clear as glass but are more difficult than a hard sheet of glass & they take up space in the bath that the glass one doesn't & IME you end up with a gap on the curve.

IMO glass is just easier to clean, & less hassle. (& yes tidier)

but each to their own as I said, you only need to please the people in your house!

We got a shower screen when our family bathroom was refitted five years ago - never again. Waste of money as it broke within a few months and was a nuisance. Had a shower curtain up within the month with a cheap telescopic rod from Amazon. As others have said, cheap to replace a curtain and easy to clean. I wash my shower curtain once a week with the towels.

I have a glass screen (which swivels) and I live in a hard water area. I don't know if it's special glass - I doubt it, it came from Victoria Plumb - but after a decade it's still like new and I'm not particularly fastidious with my housewifery.

I can't bear a clingy shower curtain. The horror!

I had a Harvey water softner installed, nano seconds before I lost the fucking plot with trying to get rid of the limescale. 🤣

This was before I did the bathroom & put the glass shower screen in. It drive me mad on all the taps, kitchen sink & drainer & in the toilet.

it was expensive, but worth it

i grumble when I have to buy the salt blocks as they've really gone up in price, but then I think about what it was like before the softner & still think it's worth every penny.

i have a contract on it & I think it cover everything so i shoukd never need to replace it. But if i had to I would. Even at today's prices.

if I ever miss the salt block running out, I can see the limescale in just a day or two & so am in no doubt how well it's doing its job. I replace the salt blocks & the limescale is gone in a couple more days.

[There's a guy who sells the salt blocks cheaper locally, but I'm unable to carry them into my house (he's collection only) ]

I live in a very hard water area and have no issue with my glass screen ! I use lidl or method after shower spray and it dissolves all the marks. I used to have a squeegee but I've lost it so just use a cloth when I can. I'm really lazy but it's seriously no bother!

I also hate shower curtains. Think they're gross and hate them touching me. Cba replacing them

Shower curtains give me the heebie-jeebies. They look bloody awful too. Like something from the 60s.

If privacy is a concern, surely you can get a frosted screen?

🤣🤣🤣yes MUCH easier to put a shower curtain in the washing machine than a glass panel. But I don't put my glass panel in the WM. 🤣🤣

If you like cold wet shower curtains clinging to your naked body go for it.
I absolutely hate them for that very reason, plus they do end up with mould just like your silicone.
A glass screen is much more hygienic and easier to clean!

I wanted to ditch the bath & have a walk in large shower. It was my plan when I bought my house. Unfortunately the concrete floor put an end to that plan as due to the height required for the fall off to the soak pipe the step into the shower would have been high & ugly, so I got a very wide bath & put the shower over it.

its fine, not my first choice but preferable (to me) over a huge shower step & when I had an accident & needed help in the shower it was actually much easier than a walk in shower would have been. In fact they wouldn't have been able to help & id have had to have had bed baths for much much longer.

I hate and despise shower curtains. They stick to your arse and always have dubious hair on them 🤮🤮🤮 Shower screens or fully walk in shower is my choice every time.

My shower curtain doesn’t cling to me, go mouldy etc! Never has in the 29 years we’ve lived here.
I simply bung it in the washing machine with the bath towels.
I like the fact that I can change it whenever I like too.
Our bathroom is tiny, a screen would be completely impractical and we also have very hard water so it would be a nightmare to keep clean.

poor bloke, that's awful.

You'd need to check but all the ones I looked at were a type of safety glass when I bought mine (2014). I can't see how it would break even if I fell on it (I'm soft! 🤣) but if it did it's designed to 'crumble' not splinter. But if yours is pre safety glass I'd look at getting it replaced (if it's too expensive or rented (& tge LL won't replace it) I'd even remove it & put up with a shower curtain)

when I had my accident & needed help in the shower the care team wouldn't enable me to shower until I got a bath mat, so I chose a lovely aqua coloured one (not a 1970's beige one! 🤣) and it reflects off the bath & adds a nice light to the bathroom. It's very easy to keep clean & I wouldn't be without it niw.

Agreed. It's hardly a faff if you are already bunging towels in anyway to washing machine. No big deal. Shower curtain goes in and hang up when cycle is finished. No problem. No mould either as it's getting washed regularly.

Isn’t the faffy bit having to detach and reattach all the clips? Or are there ones that detach and reattach more easily now.