Sheets, towels, iron
How to Wash a Shower Curtain (and When to Bin the Liner)
Fabric curtain 180 × 180 cm: 40C every 2–4 weeks, often with towels. PEVA liner: wipe weekly, wash or replace at 6–12 months. Mildew at the hem is a ventilation problem first.
Updated 27 Aug 2026 · 6 min read · how to wash a shower curtain
Two objects, two clocks
The outer curtain is cloth: polyester 90–150 GSM or a cotton blend, decorative, washable. The liner is the wet wall: PEVA, EVA, or vinyl, 0.08–0.12 mm, hem weights if you are lucky. Wash the cloth. Wipe or replace the liner. Treating them as one plastic sheet is how bathrooms smell.
180 × 180 cm is the UK/EU stall default; US stall 70 × 72 in is close. A bath that needs 180 × 200 cm will drag a too-short curtain into the water — that is a length problem, not a wash problem.
| Piece | Interval | Method |
|---|---|---|
| Fabric curtain 180 × 180 cm | Every 2–4 weeks | 40C with towels, hang dry |
| PEVA liner | Wipe weekly; wash or replace 6–12 months | Cold gentle or bin |
| Vinyl heavy liner | Wipe; rarely machine | Check the label; heat warps |
| Mildew at hem only | Now, plus a fan | Oxygen bleach on white; replace if black through |
| Rings / grommets | When they grind | 12 rings; rusted metal goes |
The wash that does not wreck grommets
Unhook, shake in the tub. 40C, a drop of detergent, two bath towels for scrub. No softener — it coats polyester the same way it coats terry. Pull promptly so the grommet tape does not crease into a crack. Hang on the rail to finish; a hot dryer on PEVA is a shrink-wrap experiment.
Mildew is air, then chemistry
A fan that runs 20 minutes after a shower does more than a scented spray. Spread the curtain. Do not bunch it against a wet bath rug on the floor. If the liner is spotted through, replace it. If the fabric curtain is stained through the hem, a 40C wash plus sun may lift it; black that survives two washes is a rag. Outdoor cousins of this job — a soggy mat — live in how to wash a doormat.
Questions, answered
- Can I bleach a white curtain?
- Oxygen bleach on white polyester or cotton, occasionally. Chlorine on a printed curtain and on many PEVA liners is discolour and warp. Ventilation first.
- Inner liner, or a single fabric curtain?
- A single water-repellent fabric curtain is less laundry if you have a glass screen. Over a bath with no screen, keep a sacrificial liner.
- Why does it still smell after a wash?
- The liner, the hem weights, or the wall behind the rail. Wash the cloth, replace the liner, wipe the wall. Perfume is not a fourth step that fixes the first three.
