Just mentioning the topic swiftly reminds me of the occasional childhood Saturday’s when my dad would call me outside for an exciting chore (note the sarcasm). Neatly spread out on the grass would be our white shower curtain, along with a bucket of warm, soapy water and a scrub brush beside it. My job was to scrub all of the mildew and scum off of the curtain until it was nice and clean again. Yay.
When I finally got married, moved out, and had my own shower curtain to clean, I decided that there must be a better way to clean the thing! To my absolute delight, I found a great method which didn’t include a bucket or scrub brush, and I’ve been doing it for the past 7 years. Here it is:
Place your shower curtain in the washing machine along with two or three white towels. Fill with warm water; add detergent and 1/2 c. baking soda and wash. When it comes to the rinse cycle, add 1 c. white vinegar. Hang dry on curtain rod.
Works wonderfully. No more hand scrubbing for me!
Momala says:
I think I’d buy a new shower curtain before I’d scrub it by hand!
I wash mine in the washer too, it works great. I usually add bleach to the wash, does the baking soda and vinegar work as well as bleach to get rid of the mildew?
June 26th, 2008 at 7:53 am
Sharon says:
I too use bleach…..I wash it all by itself with a good dosing of bleach. I then hang it back up wet… Just be careful that you pull it out from only one end or you could end up with a lot of water on the ground.
June 26th, 2008 at 10:14 am
Kendra says:
Momala-
My shower curtain always comes out beautifully using this method. The vinegar rinse actually helps to keep the mildew from growing as quickly next time. I don’t like using bleach so much because of the fumes and chemicals. This is a great alternative!
June 26th, 2008 at 10:21 am
Gretchen says:
I’ll have to give this a try. To be honest, I usually just get new ones.
June 26th, 2008 at 3:17 pm
Aimee says:
Is this for the plastic liners as well or just cloth curtains? I was our nice cloth curtain in the washer with towels but the liners I tend to buy new.
June 26th, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Kendra says:
Hi Aimee-
Great question. I am talking about washing the plastic curtain liners.
You guys, stop buying new ones! Just toss these in the washer and see how nicely they come out!
June 26th, 2008 at 11:46 pm
jeanne mollie says:
Hi Kendra–
I will try this new washing method this weekend. So the curtain won’t be damaged in any way? I mean with all the cycles. I’ve been giving them up after a season and get new ones. By the way, this store has a very cool collection http://www.justhomedecor.com/estoreusa/home.php?cat=653
June 27th, 2008 at 9:59 am
Aimee says:
Cool! I will give it a whirl tonight-actually DH will as he does our laundry. Yup, I am spoiled! It will save a bundle over time.
June 27th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Heather says:
Thanks! I read this in the same week that I was going to wash my shower curtain - the way that you used to growing up. It was such a blessing to see that there is any easier way. I’d tried in the washer before, but without towels and just ended up ripping the liners. This time it worked like a charm! You saved me so much time!
August 7th, 2008 at 12:56 pm