How do mold/mildew resistant shower curtains work?

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tldr; how are some plastics (like the ones in mildew resistant shower curtains) resistant to mild &mildew but others are not??

I’m a college student who lives with 2 other girls in an old one bed/bath apartment. Everything in our bathroom is always damp after one of us showers because our bathroom doesn’t have a fan and we don’t like to open the window too wide because theres a room on the second story of the apartment building next to us that can look directly in. Anyways, we had a normal shower curtain for the first couple months we lived here and it became disgustingly moldy/mildewy super quickly. Then we got a “mildew resistant” shower curtain from target and it still looks fairly clean even now, like half a year later. What makes this shower curtain special so that it doesn’t grow mold at all even though it looks just like a normal plastic curtain??

In: Chemistry

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Probably the smoothness of the surface and some chemical treatment (that repels water) that discourages mildew growth.

Also not sure if you’re already doing it: pulling the curtain straight after shower will not let water get trapped in the folds preventing mold/mildew from forming sooner.

Also consider Leave the bathroom door open (after the shower of course :)) to let it dry out quicker. This will prevent mold from forming on the walls as well.

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