How can I prevent a shower curtain from drifting into the shower's occupant?

Question

The problem to be resolved

When taking a shower, the curtain sneaks closer and closer to my body and finally, it bites my butt, which is immensely unpleasant. One person in the household lacks balance due to medical issues and can fall to the floor on occasion.

Special restriction

Due to medical considerations, it's not possible to mount a rail on the floor. Whatever solution there is, it has to be above-floor concept. If absolutely nothing else works, it might be something that doesn't create a threshold or significant elevation.

Solutions that won't work

Installing a rail on the floor will stop someone in the household from accessing the shower. Fixed wall over a part of the access way and/or partial rail will create a too narrow access path heavily impacting on the ease of use.

Schematics of the facility

The bathroom has the shower part by the far-end wall, across the whole wall, not in the corner. The person stands/sits with the back to the wall opposite to the wall with the faucet. On the right side, there's a wall with a window then. On the left, open space with toilet and sink.

Ideas for solution

I was thinking about a much heavier curtain but I fear that it will still sneak up my donkey. Another idea would be a magnet in the wall that the curtain connects to. I suspect that the middle part would still "baloon inwards".

The request/question

What would be a nifty way to approach this matter? Can any of my ideas be set up in a functioning way? Anything else that I should consider? I'm trusting that there's a nice way to resolve it because people generally have butts and most of them shower.

Answer 1

This is at least easy to try: Go to a place that makes vertical blinds. Buy a handful of the steel plates they use to keep them hanging straight. Pick up some 3/4" diameter disk magnets. Put plate on one side of curtain, and a magnet on the other.

If this works, then buy a can of that vinyl goop that you dip tool handles in. Dip the plates into the goup. This will keep them from rusting, and if they swing against the wall tile they won't leave a mark.

The weights are easily transferred when you install a new curtain.

If you have a delicate finish on your tub, you may want to change the style of your weights to reduce the chance of scratching:

Weights have beads of silicon seal on them. Or use rubber drawer bumpers (See Lee Valley Tools)

Answer 2

Curved curtain rods virtually eliminate this problem. I installed one in each of my last two homes and consider them a standard thing now.

To prevent the curtain from falling out and leaving you with a wet mess:

• Horizontally align the brackets roughly with the inner face of the tub
• Vertically position the brackets so that, with your choice of curtain rings, the bottom edge of the curtain falls just above the tub floor

Note that you need good backing due to the potential for significant torque on the brackets. I wouldn't trust a mounting with just hollow wall anchors on both ends. One, maybe.

Answer 3

Shower curtain weights

The weights for your shower curtain can help prevent from billowing on and keep it in place to get more shower space for you. You can position them on bottom or further up depending on what works best for you. Features & details • Shower Curtain Magnets: The magnet is glued on the crystal glass, total 3 pairs (6 packs) • N40 Super Strong Magnets: Stick into each other to keep curtain in place by added weights, no sliding down even if used for double curtains • Fit in all Tubs: Place one on each other side of curtain and provide a strong grip to hold well, fitted in any tubs no matter what is metal or not(e.g. porcelain) • Portable & Reusable: Cary easily to use in hotel, home and others outside • No Sticking Together: Don't need to place them at different heights, no sticking together when closing or opening the curtain/liner

Answer 4

As another suggestion, you might look at converting the entire bathroom into a shower, in essence (aka doorless shower or walk-in shower). This would involve a couple of things: you'd need to make sure that water coming from the shower would go down the drain, so you'd need a very slight incline towards the drain. You'd also need to make sure that everything in the bathroom could handle getting wet. You'd also probably need to heat the area more. There's also a lack of privacy, potentially. But you remove the need for a curtain, and make it more accessible.