Don’t throw away that old shower curtain! These tips offer easy ways to recycle plastic shower curtains, which are incredibly useful for many purposes!
Ways To Recycle Plastic Shower Curtains
I had to replace my plastic shower curtain liner. You can wash them and I have, but after a certain point you need to break down and get a new one. As much as I hate changing them, it was time for me to do this. I hate to throw away my plastic shower curtains equally as much so I don’t. I thought you might like some ideas on how to use these plastic shower curtains, wonderfully large chunks of plastic for things other than a shower curtain.
Use A Plastic Shower Curtain:
- As a small tarp for over firewood.
- To line your table or floor when your kids are doing a messy project.
- For a bed liner when the grandkids come to visit and they aren’t quite potty trained.
- Under your blanket on a picnic to keep it from getting damp.
- Keep a plastic shower curtain in the trunk of your car to lay down when you haul things or to throw over your head if you are broken down in a rain storm with no umbrella.
- Lay it on the ground when you are pruning rose bushes or pulling weeds. You can drag the whole thing to your compost pile or to toss the clippings.
- Cut a hole in it to use it as a poncho or to make a cover for kids when doing a messy job.
- If you have one of those freak 2 minute summer rain storms, toss it over the clothes on your line to keep them from getting them wet. That way you don’t have to hurry and take everything off of the line.
- Place old shower curtains under tents when camping or throw them over camping gear if it rains.
- Cut into chunks and use for things like under the dog or cat bowl.
- Cut and sew them into bibs or to sew on bibs you already have as a liner.
- Use as a drop cloth when painting. Even buying a new one at the Dollar Tree would cost less then buying a regular drop cloth.
- Use as a tent instead of sheets for the kids in the backyard or on the deck. If it rains it won’t matter because they can still stay out and play.
- Use it as a temporary covering for a broken window or to patch a leaky roof.
- Sew them into beach or swimming bags to carry your wet suits. Some curtains have a perfect “beachy” look to them to make them really cute.
- Place under a rug by the front door for everyone to set their snowy boots on when the walk in.
-Jill
Jill, I love these ideas. I could have really used the suggestion of using it to cover laundry hanging on the clothes line last weekend. It would have really come in handy to put over the clothes on the line, until the rain stopped. You are so clever.
These are great ideas – especially for covering the laundry lines!
Motel tenants tear up shower curtain hook holes and do their best to ruin mattresses. You have made my day with your suggestion to use the (re-hole-punched multiple times) worn-out curtains for bed liners. Those WalMart plastic mattress tear up in a month or two. Shower curtains, even the dollar variety, are constructed of heavier plastic.
I went to the Dollar Store and bought a clear shower curtain so I will be ready the next time it rains. Yepee!
i agree with margaret 2, the dollar store supply of shower curtains are very sturdy … and when it comes time to replace one, just go to the dollar store…
not sure how i managed this, but my shower curtain, is going on 8 yrs! … again, maybe i just got lucky by buying one sturdier than the others and i really wouldnt have thought of it until my daughter said to me just a few days ago “mom when are u going to change ur shower curtain to a different color other than the white one that has been hanging?” and i replied “becky, it still looks ok and no holes in it on the top so i will keep my shower curtain” … and hten she replied “mom do you realize you have had that shower curtain since we left the old house and we got it about a yr or more b4 we had to move!” …
my how time flies and i didnt even realize it…
i asked my sis in law how often does she change her shower curtain and she said she “updates” hers every yr (sooner if needed) and then lets the boys have the old one bc they use hers as a cover when laying on the ground and working on vehicles or their boats or whatever…
does anyone know how long we should wait until we change or shower curtains? … just asking bc to be quite honest, i do wash mine and also spray it down with either water/bleach mixture or another kind of cleaner after each shower and make sure to spread the curtain out as far as possible, so there is no mold…
just curious :D
love the posts … and great idea jill about the laundry on the lines… :D
I find it much more economical to purchase fabric shower curtains and use them without a plastic liner. They cost more to start with but lasts for years. I throw them in the washer about 4 times a year on the heavy cycle with plenty of detergent and bleach alternative. My newest curtain is 12 years old looks almost new. The only down side is that I am a little tired of the pattern. Plastic curtains seem to last 3 years at best.
These are really helpfull!!
My husband changed our shower curtain. Still good, I put it in the washer, and hung it to dry. I folded it and put in the back of the car, incase. That day came sooner than expected! My husbanded used it to fix the car and raved at the chower curtain. We have also used it under a sleeping bag when we went camping and also as a picnic table cover! Dollar store, yes but we can get more years out of it!
I’ve changed to the micro-fiber shower curtains at walmart. They’re more expensive initially, but they wash beautifully and just hang them up right out of the washer. The plastic ones dripped all over the house and if you tried to dry them in the dryer, it was a mess.
Great ideas!! Why didn’t I think of any of them? That’s why I need “Living on a Dime”! :-)
I would keep my shower curtain until it fell off the rod. You can clean them in your washing machine with bleach and then hang them in the sunshire for further antimold treatment. Love the idea of using them as drop clothes.
Brilliant ideas. Thank you so much.
You might… “Use as lining for drawers too.” :)
You could also use them to cover a small gardening tunnel or hoop house. Of course, it’s better to use clear plastic shower curtain liners, rather than opaque ones, for this purpose. I can’t give the link here, but Mother Earth News has a tutorial on their website for making these: “Make an Easy, Inexpensive Mini-Greenhouse With Low Tunnels” (just look for the article with that title).