This shower leaking set-up. I cannot!

[Biscuitlady1]

Hello,
I'm dealing with several personal issues and this shower set up has gotten the better of me right now. I'd appreciate any advice.

I moved into a house with a shower screen but it was too short along the bath so water was getting out. I replaced it with a shower pole and due to finances needed a cheap solution. But water was leaking out by the corner and sometimes middle. I tried magnets at the bottom but these kept coming off. I tried a stick on corner guard and that came off too.

Due to sink being next to bath, I can't get a shower screen where the first 500-600mm opens out.

I bought a 5 panel screen which was installed last week. The guys installing it lost a part and broke a bit of the cheap seal so the screen is still leaking between hinges. My son is also struggling to get the panels lined up.

So I am back to square one. I've had to replace the flooring twice due to how wet the floor has been... so this has ended up unbelievably complicated. I will be moving house in 1-2 years otherwise I'd have just replaced the bathroom.

I'm a single parent so looking for a solution that will stop leaks, be safe and easy for my son to use independently.

Chatgpt suggested a rail with 2 curtains or various different types of screen but the inability to swing the door out because of the sink, is limiting options. I've gone down a rabbit hole. I don't want to order and install another screen that doesn't work given the cost of installation.

I'd welcome suggestions please!

I don’t understand why the standard pole and shower curtain arrangement would lead to leaks - I’ve had these in several homes through my life and never had an issue with the water coming out at the tap end. Is your son aiming the shower head weirdly? If you angle it towards the foot of the bath and slightly towards the tiled wall then you’ll only get what splashes off your body hitting the curtain side, and since you’re not on top of the taps, it should be further along the curtain and away from the gap.

If the installers have broken the seal on your folding door then get them back to replace it - that’s their fault. Is it just this one joint leaking? Or do they all? If it’s all of them then it’s not fit for purpose.

Regardless, every one, even small children, can learn to wipe up water they’ve splashed on the floor after they shower, so there’s no reason your floor should be ruined from that - it’s just a matter of doing it every time.

Not sure whether I'm missing something obvious, but why not just get a normal bath shower screen and instead of opening the screen outwards, walk down the bath past the screen before exiting the shower? If necessary for extra room, then swing the screen in a bit (over the bath) before climbing out.

When we had a shower over the bath we always swung the shower in over the bath anyway when getting out so that it didn't drip on the floor.

Assuming the hole in the wall is where the pole is it's because it's way too far out from the bath. If it was fitted on the tiles it would be fine.

I'm confused as to how water is leaking out with a curtain and pole? And agree with pl the pole was too far out last time (and the shower curtain needs to be in the bath)

Thank you. The pole before was a telescopic tension pole, not screwed in, so it wouldn't sit on the tiles as it kept slipping off. From your points, I think that was the issue since it was then further from the bath.

I'll try the curtain setup again. Thanks

I know people don't like shower curtains but they are cheap and much more effective than an ill fitting screen. You just need to make sure it's long enough and always sits inside the shower enclosure.

You might want to try a curved rail, it can then screw to the tiles so that the edges keep the water in, but you have a bit more “wiggle room” in the middle so you don’t end up with a wet curtain plastered to your leg?

I used to use a big bottle of conditioner to make sure it was wedge against the wall once I was in. Was more effective than magnets etc

If it's because the shower head projects water out, try a change to the shower head, you can get ones that look like the rain fall shower heads and it directs downwards rather than diagonal