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The problem: While a shower is in use, the shower curtain will tend to billow inwards and stick to the body of the person who is showering. This tends to be a rather uncomfortable and annoying sensation for the showerer, who finds themself fending off vinyl whist trying to bathe.
The solution:
shower curtains are redesigned such that there is a curtain rod at both the upper and lower edges of the curtain, thus holding the curtain taut and minimizing the billowing effect. This of course leads to the problem that each shower curtain would need to be designed to the specific vertical dimension of the particular shower wall for which it is to be used (ie the distance between the curtain rods), however this may be overcome by incorporating a device for folding/overlapping a portion of the curtain and thereby reducing its vertical length. The result - a larger than normal anti-stick one-size-fits-all shower curtain.
This seems like a simple solution to a simple problem, and as such I would not be surprised if it is already baked somewhere out there, however I've never seen something like this. Then again, most showers have glass doors nowadays...
Fluent news
http://www.fluent.c...ters/01v10i2/a8.htm
A scientific explanation of why shower curtains billow [BenII, Apr 22 2002]
[link]
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When my other made a dress, she would often stitch lead shot into the hem so it would hang properly. You may wish to try a similar idea. |
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If you're not going to install a shower door, then go out and buy yourself a shower curtain liner with magnets in the bottom. They weigh the curtain down, and stick to your tub... the conventional solution to this problem. |
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Glad that link isn't for "Effluent news" |
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I had considered hanging weights on the base edge of the curtain, but I imagine you would need several quite substantial weights to counter the force of the billowing when the shower is in use. This would perhaps make the curtain heavy and difficult to slide across the curtain rod, and may also place undue stress on the curtain material. |
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As for the magnet solution, this will not work if the outer surface of the tub is not metallic (or able to be magnetically polarized), such as my tub (which is tiled on the outside). Also, these magnets may tend to slide upwards while you are in the shower, which reduces the tension on the curtain and allows it to billow. On the other hand, a second curtain rod would not allow any release of tension on the curtain - it would only oppose the billowing upward effect by providing the necessary force to keep it taut. |
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"As for the magnet solution, this will not work if the outer surface of the tub is not metallic (or able to be magnetically polarized), such as my tub (which is tiled on the outside)."
You leave the bottom of your shower curtain on the outside of your tub? Um, that's a good way of ruining a floor. And floor joists. And any room below the bathroom. Excellent for inspiring fungi as well.
If that's your habit, then billowing curtains are the least of your problems. |
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install two shower curtains. One is the regular type, which is prone to billowage. The other is a bead string curtain, hung on the inside. This should be flexible enough to ensure ease of entry and exit to the shower, but heavy enough to counteract billowage.
Or get a shower door, concertina type if space is a problem (much easier to clean too). Or get a bath. Or go feral. |
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Or just stop messing about with weights and special shower curtains and install your shower curtain correctly. If you have a shower over your bath, the rail the curtain hangs from should be approx 6" outside the line of the edge of the bath. This ensures that the curtain drapes nicely against the inside of the bath and doesn't billow, and because it slopes into the bath, you have a little more elbow room. |
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Another way to avoid this problem is to leave a small gap at one end or the other of the shower curtain, between the curtain and the wall. |
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I couldn't explain the physics of it, but the wind on the outside of the shower curtain always seems to blow it inward when the shower is on. I guess I got lucky, because my apartment has a coconut-sized hole in the ceiling above the shower where cold air blows in on you when you shower. So the air pressure somehow balances out, and the curtain doesn't intrude on your shower. Now we only have to worry about frigid gusts of wind, cockroaches, people from upstairs... |
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