Author Topic: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains  (Read 9925 times)

rogerzilla

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Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #50 on: 04 January, 2017, 03:52:57 pm »
The problem with really thin shower curtains is that in the right conditions the convection current from the warm air in the shower rising pulls the curtain inwards and it sticks to you.  Some bathrooms are more afflicted than others.
I always thought it was the Bernouilli effect from the water entraining air and causing a fast downward airflow.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #51 on: 04 January, 2017, 03:58:14 pm »
The problem with really thin shower curtains is that in the right conditions the convection current from the warm air in the shower rising pulls the curtain inwards and it sticks to you.  Some bathrooms are more afflicted than others.
I always thought it was the Bernouilli effect from the water entraining air and causing a fast downward airflow.
I didn't want to say anything cos Kim does SCIENCE whereas I merely dabble.
But my impression that the vinyl-stuck-to-bum effect wasn't on account of convection, and that Bernoulli did have a hand in it, as it were.
See also wings & lift.

Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #52 on: 04 January, 2017, 04:00:12 pm »
MMm why can't they be fitted with weights as are net curtains? Obviously not sticking to the right bums.
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Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #53 on: 04 January, 2017, 04:48:51 pm »
The cheapo (99p) curtain we have doesn't stick to my bum. It may stick to Woolly's. Our bathroom is cold so I find the full length curtain helps keep the air and me warmer during a shower than a screen would. It's a leccy shower so during a shower I find various bits of me, usually legs and bum, are still cold if not under the water flow.

Kim

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Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #54 on: 04 January, 2017, 05:21:43 pm »
The problem with really thin shower curtains is that in the right conditions the convection current from the warm air in the shower rising pulls the curtain inwards and it sticks to you.  Some bathrooms are more afflicted than others.
I always thought it was the Bernouilli effect from the water entraining air and causing a fast downward airflow.
I didn't want to say anything cos Kim does SCIENCE whereas I merely dabble.
But my impression that the vinyl-stuck-to-bum effect wasn't on account of convection, and that Bernoulli did have a hand in it, as it were.
See also wings & lift.

Ah, hadn't considered that (the bathroom I've used that was worst afflicted was particularly cold, so I just assumed it was convection at play).  We need a volunteer to stand in a really cold shower and see if the curtain sticks to their bum.  For SCIENCE.

Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #55 on: 04 January, 2017, 05:24:43 pm »
 ;D
I'm sure that in some of the crappier places I've lived, this experiment has already been conducted, with conclusive results.....

rogerzilla

  • When n+1 gets out of hand
Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #56 on: 04 January, 2017, 05:38:17 pm »
When I had a power shower I suffered from curtain cling, but not with the current gravity shower.
Hard work sometimes pays off in the end, but laziness ALWAYS pays off NOW.

ian

Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #57 on: 04 January, 2017, 06:22:05 pm »
Maybe some people have statically charged buttocks, like two little Van de Graaff generators. Jiggle them together enough and you can zap someone with a bolt of lightning at 10 paces. KA-zam schheeerrrrrZING!

Probably already part of the Marvel Extended Character Universe, of course. Movie due 2021.

contango

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Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #58 on: 05 January, 2017, 05:06:25 am »
Advantages of screens: can be quickly wiped dry so the bathroom doesn't stay humid for hours.  Theoretically better at stopping spray from overexuberant showers, although I've never had an issue with curtains and power showers.  May look better.

Advantages of curtains: much, much bigger so the floor doesn't get wet.  Easy to wash so you don't get a build up of mould where they touch the bath.  Cheap and easy to fit.

What do you prefer?  Currently have a curtain but leaving the window ajar for 3 hours after a shower is annoying and wasteful in winter.  It's a gravity shower btw (more flow than an electric shower, less than a power shower).

As long as there's enough space to let a curtain hang without sticking to you in all sorts of awkward and embarrassing ways I'd say they work fine. Personally I'd rather have a curtain than a screen with a bath, simply because I've found a few times (when visiting people) the screen can be awkward to use, too short to stop overspray and sometimes doesn't have to shift very far before water runs down it and down the outside of the bath, which kind of defeats the point of it.

The durability of shower doors doesn't have to be a problem. Where I live now we have a shower cubicle with a door that I've adjusted a couple of times because it dropped slightly and stuck and needed more and more force to open and close. I have no idea how old this thing is, it dates back to at least 2000 and probably a fair bit before that, but hasn't caused any problems. I don't particularly like it but it does the job.

Curtains also give you a bit more scope for choosing a design in keeping with your bathroom. At my last house we had a curtain with tropical fish on it. It's harder to do that with a screen. They are also a lot cheaper to replace if you decide you don't like them any more.
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Aunt Maud

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Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #59 on: 05 January, 2017, 01:24:26 pm »
I quite like it when the curtain clings.

Kim

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Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #60 on: 05 January, 2017, 01:43:37 pm »
The durability of shower doors doesn't have to be a problem.

The landlord-quality shower screen here died of brittle plastic failure a couple of years ago.  Not sure how old it actually was (I'm guessing 1990s by the contemporary shower and wiring), but its demise may have been exacerbated by my blacking out in the shower due to long itch lurgy the week before.

When it was replaced I stressed the importance of fitting the widest screen available:  The shower is at the wrong end of the bath, which means that it has to be pitched outwards for the spray to reach the head of a person standing on the flat part of the bath.  The new screen is a few inches wider than the old one, which means that elbow run-off from hair-rinsing activities no longer trickles directly onto the bathroom floor.

Re: Talk to me about shower screens vs curtains
« Reply #61 on: 05 January, 2017, 07:09:07 pm »

Double-up your shower curtains, so that they are heavy enough not to cling to your body whilst showering,
and buy a circular shower rail.