http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vinyl-shower-curtains-are-oh-so-toxic.html
Vinyl Shower Curtains are Oh, So Toxic
I will never forget the scene in the movie “Psycho” when a woman is showering in her motel room and Norman Bates sneaks in, rips open the shower curtain and stabs the woman to death–the scene was and is pure terror. I hate to admit this but every now and again when I am showering I am certain someone is standing just outside the shower ready to kill me and the only thing protecting me is the thin shower curtain.
As it turns out, I should have been afraid of the very thing I felt made me safe from my imagination–the shower curtain. New vinyl shower curtains containing PVC (polyvinyl chloride) can emit over 100 toxic chemicals for as long as 28 days according to a new report from the Center for Health, Environment & Justice in the U.S. and the Environmental Defense and the Canadian Environmental Law Association in Canada.
This report titled “Volatile Vinyl: The New Shower Curtain’s Chemical Smell” tested five shower curtains that can be bought at any major retailer like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target and Wal-Mart. The purpose of the study was to determine what gives vinyl shower curtains their new smell.
The study concluded that the new shower curtain smell is a toxic soup of phthalates, organotins, toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, methyl isobutyl ketone and a bunch of other chemicals that can cause headaches, nausea, and liver, central nervous system, respiratory and reproductive system damage.
If you are in the market for a shower curtain–avoid vinyl ones. If you have a new vinyl shower curtain, get rid of it or take it outside and let it air out for a month.
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10 comments
add your comment »I found a great polyester hotel fabric shower curtain on the Linen Chest website for under 10$ canadian (about 7$ US).
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I found a great alternative to the plastic shower curtian. I purchased a frabic one made from polyester,like the ones the motels use. They're great because the don't mold and repel water. They're very inexpensive also. I paid only $6.00 dollars for mine at our local Family Dollar Store. Happy Safe Showering!
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IKEA sells a non-PVC shower curtain that is under $2. I don't remember what it's made of. IKEA has said that they will not carry PVC anymore.
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Unfortunately, I just purchased a new plastic/vinyl liner. What alternatives are out there?
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I thought I saw a plastic PVC free liner at Target. Would that be better? Makes me wonder if it would just off-gass other chemicals.
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I LOVE my fabric shower curtain. Being single, I only wash it once a year. The vinyl ones were always creating a mold issue and the new fabric one doesn't. The curtain I found is a polyester fabric but it is just like what you find in motels so water doesn't get out. (Even if there's a long showering person or more than one person consecutively). $25 was worth it! I don't see me buying another curtain for about a decade! :)
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We got some FABULOUS fabric shower curtains & I love them!! In fact I wish I would have found them sooner You can actually take them down & throw them in the washer its great!! My old Vinyl one actually used to grow mold where they tend to bunch up....the thought makes me shiver! I never knew they were actually TOXIC though! WOw
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I don't know of any safer options than vinal on the market. I rent so I can't put in glass. Any ideas?? I would surely appreciate any input.
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Shower curtains are also made out of fabric. The vinyl curtains are used most often as liners. So, the fabric shower curtain hangs on the outside of the shower to decorate the bathroom while the vinyl shower curtain stays inside the shower to keep the water inside. However, there are decorative vinyl curtains that are meant to decorate as well as keep water from escaping the shower.
If you get rid of the vinyl liner, you still have to deal with the issue of keeping water contained during your shower. A slightly less toxic solution is to treat a fabric shower curtain with ScotchGuard, though you would have to re-treat periodically after washing.
Ultimately the least toxic solution is to have a shower with glass doors.
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What other materials are shower curtains made of?
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