Should the Shower Curtain be Inside the Tub?

It is often tricky to control the shower sprays from splashing over to the bathroom floor from your bathtub. A water-repellent shower curtain can block the water from overflowing and flooding the bathroom floor. But you’re still wondering where to hang your shower curtain that works properly. 

Your shower curtain should be in the tub if your sole purpose is to avoid water rippling out. Conversely, if you have a curtain just to hide your nudity or to decorate the bathroom, you can install it outside the tub. 

Whether you’re using a shower curtain to get elegance, protect or provide privacy for your bath, we’ve come up with a detailed guide on whether a shower curtain should be inside the tub. 

Why Should the Shower Curtain Be Inside the Tub?

If you don’t put the shower curtain inside the bathtub, you will end up flooding your bathroom floor with your bathtub water. You should keep the shower curtain inside the bathtub to avoid this troubling scenario. 

It could not be the case if you have a double-layer shower curtain. You can place one layer inside and the other out of your tub while you bath. In such curtains, one swatch is made up of soft materials for decorative purposes while the other is functional and water-repelling. Do hang the decorative layer outside of the tub. 

Also, if you’re having a curtain liner plus a shower curtain, you can install the shower curtain outside while keeping the liner inside the tub. 

In case you’re hanging a shower curtain liner across your bathtub, you should always keep it inside the tub. Most curtain liners have magnets that attach them to the interior of the tub base.

Be careful: Keeping the shower curtain inside the tub is always risky to get moisture and grow mold while inside the tub. This mold production and bacterial build-up can be a crapshoot to your health. 

Dry the curtain by lifting up from the tub once you end up with your bath. It will help you keep your curtain from looking grossly and producing mildew. 

This was the general overview of whether the shower curtain should be inside the tub or not. It depends on the type of shower curtain you use for your bathtub.

What Kind Of Curtain Should Be Inside The BathTub?

shower curtain inside bathtub

Let’s take a detailed look at which curtains you should keep inside and which outside your bathtub. 

1- Vinyl Shower Curtain

A vinyl shower curtain is a prime option for buyers because of its water-repellent ability that does not absorb moisture at all. 

These curtains do not grow mildew and you can easily dry them with proper cleaning. Their thickness makes them durable and long-lasting. You should hang them inside the tub to deflect the water while you’re bathing. 

2- Polyester Shower Curtain

Likely to vinyl, polyester is also plastic. So ultimately, it won’t allow the water to rush through it and let the bathroom floor wet. Polyester is softer than vinyl as it is often used to manufacture clothes.

Like this, it will also be quite tricky to clean as compared to vinyl which is a little harder. You may need to take them off and put in the washing machine to clean properly. Hang them inside the tub to keep the water flipping onto the floor while you bathe.

3- Microfiber Shower

Microfiber is a waterproof fabric that can be used as a shower curtain to block the water from spilling out of your bathtub. Compared to polyester, it is quite easy to clean.

It can be served as a decorative option while you can use a plastic seal to prevent water from running out of the tub. As it can be used alone, It is a go-to option among all the fiber materials out there. 

You can either hang it outside or inside depending on whether it has a plastic seal or not. 

4- Cotton Shower Curtains

In case you’re planning decorative options, you can opt for cotton to get soft and easy-to-clean shower curtains. Cotton is widely offered for decorative purposes. You can hang a cotton shower curtain across the bathtub to decorate your bathroom. 

Cotton is not water-repellent because it absorbs water and can breed bacteria and mold if it gets wet regularly. The water can also spill through it onto the bathroom floor. 

Making this cotton shower curtain functional is not that much trickier. You just need to bring a shower liner with it to hang the inside of the bathtub. 

How Do I Keep My Shower Curtain in the Bathtub?

The shower curtain can blow around or even on you due to its lightweight and you might feel uncomfortable while bathing. You’ll have to secure it in the bathtub to fix this problematic move. If you’re having a plastic or fiberglass bathtub, use magnets at the bottom of the shower curtain or liner to stick it to the tub. 

Otherwise, you can use a suction cup to the bottom edge of the shower curtains to hold them in the tub. You can detach them once you’ve bathed. 

There are some other ways like using bottom-weighted curtains, replacing or upgrading your lightweight curtain to a heavier one, or installing curved shower curtain rods. 

Conclusion

You should place a single shower curtain inside the tub, while a double swatch curtain can be installed inside and outside with two layers.

A cotton shower curtain is not water-repellant. You can only use it for style and elegance. Many fabric shower curtains are best for deflecting water and helping you get secrecy. 

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