Shower curtains are an essential part of your bathroom, providing you with an enclosed space while taking a bath. Having shower curtains matching the theme of your bathroom gives an excellent feel, but there’s more to it. Equally crucial is finding the correct shower curtain sizes.
Without having an appropriate size curtain, you may encounter moisture build-up issues. The good news is finding the correct shower curtain sizes is not difficult any more. Today, we’ll talk about shower curtain sizes measurement, their importance, the best place to hang them, and much more.
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Why Are Shower Curtains Important?
Your bathroom is possibly the smallest space in your house, but there’s no denying that it’s also an important one. Therefore, like any other room, it deserves its share of attention. Shower curtains work best to decorate the bathroom if you manage to find the right color matching the overall theme.
Furthermore, they also offer protection. When taking a shower, water can come out onto the bathroom floor and cause hazards such as falling and slipping. A shower curtain can prevent this by acting as a foldable wall you can draw whenever taking a bath. Moreover, it also protects the floor from water damage.
Finding suitable shower curtain sizes is essential to obtain all these benefits. Having a curtain that’s either too short or long can overshadow its benefits. So, how you can find the correct shower curtain sizes. Let’s find out:
Do You Need A Standard Sized Shower Curtain?
Shower curtains come in different sizes, and if you’re lucky, one of these would fit in your bathroom. It heavily depends on your tub or shower design if it supports the standard curtain size.
It is wise not to assume that a standard-sized shower curtain would fit perfectly well over your tub or around the shower. A standard shower curtain usually covers a 60” tub completely and has room for an additional 12” so that it doesn’t pull tight when drawn. Instead, the shower curtain should give a folding appearance when drawn. The most popular standard shower curtain size includes the following measurements:
1. 70” x 70”
2. 70” x 72”
3. 72” x 72”
Out of these three, the 72″ x 72″ curtain is the most popular one. A key factor to note here is that these measurements work best when you have a set bath tab with a wall or other covering at one side. For free-standing tubs, you’d need curtains of bigger size to cover all the tub’s sides.
If you just have a shower with no tub, then you need a different curtain size. A long-sized shower curtain that’s around 78” in length would be ideal in this case.
What’s the Best Shower Curtain Size for You?
To determine the shower curtain sizes that’d fit perfectly in your bathrooms, you ought to measure the size of your tubs or showers. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the length of your curtain would exactly match the dimensions of your tub or shower.
Different kinds of tubs and showers may require varying adjustments in the shower curtain sizes. To make the measurement easy for you, next, we’ll teach you how to calculate the best shower curtain size for your tub or shower.
How to Measure Shower Curtain?
Knowing an accurate shower curtain size beforehand can save you from sizing issues. To make the process easy, we have divided it into simple steps to follow in sequence to arrive at appropriate shower curtain sizes.
1. Measure the Width
The first step is to grab a measurement tape, run it across the space you’d like to cover with shower curtains and note the width. This space would typically be from wall to wall, and we recommend adding another 12″ to the width to ensure the curtain gives a folding appearance when drawn.
Now that you have the width see if the size is compatible with any of the three standard shower curtain sizes we discussed above.
2. Install the Rod
The rod’s positioning can influence the shower curtain sizes. Mostly you’d have a rod already installed, but if you’re doing it the first time, you need to determine the place where the rod would mount. You have the option to either install it outside or inside the shower.
Outside mounts can exceed the width between wall to wall if your bathroom has space. However, inside mounts fit exactly above the area between wall to wall.
Another factor to keep in mind is whether you have a rod that fixes permanently or temporarily on the wall. You’d want to purchase the shower curtain beforehand if you have a permanent mount rod. It will allow you to adjust the size before setting it up.
If you don’t have the rod at the time of measurement, here is a helpful tip. Hold a temporary object that takes the place of the rod and measure the width accordingly.
3. Determine the Height
The next step to determine shower curtain sizes is to figure out the height. It’s the distance you want your curtain to hang from the rod. Again, use your measuring tape to determine the measurement from the rod to the floor. Once you’ve measured the height, be sure to subtract an inch for the hooks.
Generally, we suggest leaving the curtain to hang up to 2″ off the floor. It will ensure that the curtain doesn’t bunch on the floor and avoid mold or mildew. Worst-case scenario, it can cause you to trip over when getting in or out of the bath. On the other hand, if you cut the shower curtain excessively from the bottom, it’ll cause the water to come out from the tub and pool on the floor.
4 Special Shower Curtains
After measuring the size of your shower and rod, you can make out whether the standard shower curtain sizes would fit perfectly in your bathroom or not. If they do, get one of the standard-sized curtains, and you’re good to go.
However, if the standard sizes do not cover your shower and rod measurements, it means your shower build is different. You need unique curtains. Showers can take many forms, and we’ve compiled a list of the top 10 world’s strangest showers you can have.
Following are three common showers. We will explain how you can measure your shower curtain sizes.
1 . Stall Showers
Stall showers are narrower and taller than normal ones and require a different way of measurement. Mostly, stall showers have 50″ x 78″ or 54″ x 78″ shower curtains, as they are shorter in width and more prolonged in height.
Measuring the width of a stall shower is similar to a normal one – grab a measurement tape and run it from one side to the other. Allow an additional 12″ for proper folding. Measure the height similarly and remember to subtract up to 2″ from the measurement to ensure the curtain doesn’t drag on the floor. An optimum height would be where the curtain helps the water stay inside the shower and doesn’t cause a pool outside.
2. Custom Sized Showers
Like any other item in your house, showers and tubs come in a variety of sizes. You might also have a shower or tub you’ve had custom-made according to your liking. If your tub exceeds the 60″ length, a designer shower curtain might fit it.
Similarly, you could buy two shower curtains and hang them together. However, it runs the risk of having an abundance of shower curtains in terms of width, and you might need tiebacks for a tidy look.
3. Bent Curtain Rods
If you have a curtain rod that’s curved and different from a normal one, the standard shower curtain would not fit it. The reason is the curve adds more width to the measurement, generally up to 6 inches.
Therefore, with bent curtain rods, you must take special consideration to measure the size. Like any other shower curtain size, it should not be too short or lengthy. It should be about the size that gives a folding appearance when drawn.
While the cost of installing standard showers is uniform, it can be more expensive for unique showers. Check out shower installation cost if you’re interested in knowing the budget you should have for shower fixing.
What’s The Best Place for Shower Curtain Rod?
Until now, we explained the way you can use it to measure the shower curtain liner sizes with the rod installed already. However, if you don’t have it mounted yet, you might be looking for the best place.
If you have the shower curtain purchased beforehand, you should mount the rod at such a height that would hang the shower curtain perfectly over the floor. Remember, the rod’s position is crucial to avoid the shower curtain hanging too short or drooping on the floor.
The best way to determine the rod’s height is to add:
1. The shower curtain’s size
2. Hooks’ size of which the shower curtain would hang
3. Another 2” to avoid the shower curtain hitting the floor.
Conclusion
Like any other room in your house, the bathroom deserves your attention. Shower curtains are a fantastic way to add character to your bathroom while also offering some protective features. However, you can end up purchasing shower curtains too big or small for your shower if you don’t know the exact size. Therefore, it’s vital to understand the shower curtain sizes to make an accurate purchase.
