The bathroom is one room that we must work hard to keep clean. The shower is literally the place where we wash our dirt away so it only makes sense that it will get dirty. The toilet too for obvious reasons is a dirt magnet and a sink is a place where issues can raise their ugly head time and time again. Most of us clean these three (what I would hereby like to be known as ‘The Big Three’) every week and feel like we have a pretty good hold on the bathroom hygiene. However, we may be missing out on one culprit that is even bigger than the big three. It is the shower curtain.
There are some of you reading this now who are pretty smug as you don’t have a shower curtain. You may have a glass door instead. To all of you, I encourage you to give a sigh of relief because you have been saved from a really tricky item. At the same time though, the shower door itself is something you should not ignore. For the best results for your shower, you should keep a squeegee in your shower at all times and give it a run down the door and walls after every shower.
If you do have a shower curtain then it is time to consider when you last cleaned it. If the answer is never then you should be ashamed of yourself. If you are cleaning your shower curtain every month then you are doing good and deserve a little pat on the back.
A recent study actually found that there are more germs on the average shower curtain than there are on your toilet seat. Just let that sink in for a moment. While not everyone will bother to wash their shower curtain every month you must take care of it at least every three months or you will start to notice how dirty it is becoming. Washing it every three months means just four times a year. Surely that it is not too much of a task for any of us.
If you don’t wash your curtain regularly then you are allowing germs and mold to thrive. If you have seen some black spots appearing on the base of the curtain it may already be too late but don’t let it continue any longer. The shower curtain is a large piece of real estate in the bathroom and left unchecked it can turn your bathroom for a place of hygiene into a germ nightmare.
Once you get around to washing it you should check the curtain after drying. If the material is still soiled with germs then it is time to throw it out and swear you will do better with the next curtain.
The amount of times you should wash your curtain in a year and how often you should have it replaced depends on what it is made with. If you have a plastic or vinyl curtain then you can wash it every month and it should be easy but you likely only need to replace it every year or so. If you have a cotton shower curtain then you must wash it at least every month. Cotton shower curtains are the most prone to mold and mildew build up so don’t let it get a head start.
Keeping your bathroom clean is really about cleaning everything. While you may give the shower, sink and toilet a wipe and think the place looks great, a visitor will see through this straight away and be immediately turned off your home. Take the extra care and effort and look after your shower curtian.
