The danger of... shower curtains?
Categories: Health & safety, In the news, Environment
If you've spent even a few minutes reading the news over the last few months, then you've probably become familiar with the oddly-spelled and hard to pronounce word phthalates. Phthalates (pronounced thal-late)are used to make hard plastics flexible and are common in products containing PVC. Phthalates also may pose a health risk, however, and have been linked to everything from hormonal changes to allergies to cancer. They also are present in many common household products, including your shower curtain. You know that chemical-y odor you smell when you first put up a new vinyl curtain? That's an indicator that the curtain you bought contains phthalates.
Consumers have reported nausea, headaches, and even breathing difficulty after putting a new shower curtain into place. Because children spend a lot of time in the tub, not only getting clean but also playing, this can be a concern for parents.
Of course, it's easy enough to get around this problem -- don't buy shower curtains that say "PVC," "vinyl," or have the number 3 in the recycling symbol. Also, avoid shower curtains that are unlabeled. Instead, stick to fabric shower curtains and liners instead. (For those of you that think fabric shower curtains are more work, we bought a fabric liner last year and not only is it far less likely to mildew, it's simple to clean.)
Now if they could only invent a (phthalate-free) shower curtain that cleans itself....
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Jamie 6-16-2008 @ 2:00AM
I recently switched my kids to expensive shampoo b/c I read that most shampoos have phtalates in them (and I wasn't comfortable with the hot water, open pores, and daily application scenario)
Any insights into that?
Reply
ninainindia 6-16-2008 @ 7:23AM
A shower curtain won't kill your children or you. Can we please stop scaring people over nothing?
Reply
Leslie 6-16-2008 @ 9:20AM
I tend to agree. I can sort of see how BPA in bottles that are used to feed a baby many times a day and are washed in the dishwasher might pose a threat. It is more of a stretch to think that shampoo and soap rubbed on the skin and then rinsed might pose a slight threat (even though some of these same soaps have been used for generations). But a shower curtain? Yes, it does have a funky smell for a few days, but eventually it airs out and smells fine. And hopefully your kid isn't eating the curtain, drinking significant amounts of the bathwater, or rubbing their skin with the curtain.
ThatHollie 6-16-2008 @ 8:42AM
Does this mean that shower curtains will be less stinky in the future? Hasn't some lawsuit-happy consumer caused the production of PVC shower curtains to stop by now (especially if PVC is a petroleum-derived product)?
Reply
Michael 6-18-2008 @ 12:57PM
According to the Consumer Products Safety Commission, vinyl shower curtains do not pose a health hazard, and the report saying so was bad science!
http://greeninstore.blogspot.com/2008/06/bad-science-behind-new-fears-on-vinyl.html
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jean 6-23-2008 @ 10:44AM
I personally don't like to odor from plastic curtain and have switched to fabric shower curtain. Check out this on-line store http://www.justhomedecor.com/estoreusa/home.php?cat=653 My friends love these items.
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