Shower your bathroom with eco-love *

You know how there are some people (usually women) who love to take baths?  They run a deep, hot, steamy tub full of water; light some candles; pour a glass of wine; and then settle in for a long soak.  Well, Recycla is not one of those people.  Instead, she loves showers.  Give her 10 minutes in a steamy shower any day and she’s a happy Eco Woman.

But whether you are a bath or a shower person, one thing every Eco Warrior needs to do is make to make your bathroom Earth-friendly.  And one of the first places you need to start is with your shower curtain.

Do you have a plastic or vinyl liner or curtain in your bathroom?  Yuck!  You know that strong smell when you buy a new vinyl shower curtain and open it? That’s the off-gassing of chemicals from polyvinyl chloride plastic (PVC).  One of the chemicals used is a phthalate and is a suspected carcinogen that has been linked to hormonal disruption in humans.  So, don’t waste your money on something that is environmentally UN-friendly, especially since plastic vinyl shower curtains and liners are also pretty much disposable, as they eventually rip to the point of no longer being useful.

What’s an Eco Warrior to do?

Buy a fabric shower curtain.   If you are truly worried about leaks, get a second one to use as a liner.  However, Recycla and her family have been using fabric shower curtains with no liner whatsoever for years and they’ve never had a problem with water escaping the shower.  (Unless, of course, a very messy child is involved…)

You’re probably thinking, “But what about maintenance?” Upkeep is easy — Recycla washes her family’s cotton shower curtains every 4-6 weeks.  She adds a little non-chlorine bleach to the load, just for extra insurance that she’s gotten rid of any mold or mildew that might have started brewing.

Whether you choose to use organic or conventional cotton is up to you.  Recycla will admit that she did not go the organic route when she bought her family’s shower curtains.  Yes, she knows that organic cotton is preferable to conventional, but she lives in a small town with limited shopping options and she was not about to order only one or two shower curtains online and then have them shipped.

So the next time you need to replace your shower curtain or liner, remember this post.  Buy a cloth curtain and use your old vinyl or plastic one as a drop cloth for painting or messy projects.  This is one of those easy-peasy things that you can do that will have a direct impact on Planet Earth.

Tell the Eco Women:  Are you a bath or shower person and what kind of curtain do you have?

Both shower curtains shown are from Gaiam.

* “Shower the people you love with love…”  James Taylor, get it?