Vinyl Shower Curtains Can Release Up To 100 Toxic Chemicals.

June 16th, 2008 • Related • Filed Under

And in a hot shower when your pores are wide open is NOT where you want to be when your vinyl shower curtain starts emitting these toxic gases…

As many as 100 toxic chemicals associated with adverse health effects are released into the air from polyvinyl chloride (PVC) shower curtains. These chemicals make up that “new shower curtain smell” unique to PVC vinyl shower curtains.

“Combined exposure to the multiple chemicals released from vinyl shower curtains is cause for concern,” said Aaron Freeman, Policy Director, Environmental Defence, “especially for children as they are more sensitive to toxic chemicals.” The five PVC shower curtains tested in the United State by CHEJ were purchased from Bed Bath & Beyond, Kmart, Sears, Target and Wal-Mart.

We replaced ours a long time ago with a cotton one, and since we are moving and this one is on it’s last legs, I will be picking up either a 100% organic cotton or hemp new one when we get to our new house. If you still have a PVC shower curtain liner, do your body a favor and get rid of it before it starts to poison you!


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There Are 9 Responses So Far. »

  1. Comment by livepaths on 16 June 2008:

    Very interesting.

    But if the economics don’t work, recycling and sustainable efforts won’t either.

  2. Comment by Chase on 16 June 2008:

    The fact of the matter is, PVC happens to be an easily worked plastic, so it tends to be used everywhere. Which means we’re all going to be poisoned to death. Gods save us from PVC, and may it be we find an alternative!

  3. Comment by phil on 16 June 2008:

    That is a bit disturbing

  4. Comment by Rene on 16 June 2008:

    Gah! That is so scary! I didn’t know that. Thanks, Good Human.

    We used to work with PVC plastics all the time in our graphics business, and we never gave the smell a second thought, until a friend came over and was overwhelmed by the fumes. He said “don’t you guys smell that?” and we were like “what smell?” We had gotten so used to being poisoned!

    I’m glad we don’t work with plastics anymore, and I’ll certainly avoid PVC shower curtains now.

  5. Comment by Reina on 24 June 2008:

    I just bought an “eco-friendly” shower curtain liner made from 100% EVA Vinyl. All I can find about it is that it’s less harmful than PVC and it doesn’t have that plastic smell. Have you heard about this type of vinyl?

  6. Comment by david on 24 June 2008:

    Hi Reina

    EVA is short for “Ethylene Vinyl Acetate”, a form of plastic made without chlorine. According to some research on the web, “EVA is a type of plastic that does not require a plasticizer and is bisphenol-a free, so it is considered to be non-toxic.” Although I would never say that any plastic is non-toxic, it seems a better alternative to regular old PVC/Vinyl.

  7. Comment by George on 15 July 2008:

    I bought an EVA shower curtain liner, and the lack of PVC-type odor IS noticeable. If you need a truly waterproof curtain, try an EVA type.

  8. Comment by Justin on 16 August 2008:

    How about 100% Polyester? I’ve seen those at Target and wonder how they stack up.

  9. Comment by David on 16 August 2008:

    Polyester is certainly better than vinyl, yes. Cotton and bamboo are the best, but if poly is the only alternative, it is fine.

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