Last Updated on October 4, 2026 by Umar Farooq
Take the curtain and liner off the rod, leave the rings in the sink to soak, and put both in the machine with two bath towels. Warm water — never hot — gentle or handwash cycle, normal detergent, slowest spin. Hang the curtain straight back on the rod, wet, and let it drip dry in place. No dryer for anything plastic.
The towels are the part people skip, and they are why the method works. Knowing how to wash a shower curtain is mostly knowing that a machine on its own does very little to a sheet of vinyl — there is nothing in an empty drum for plastic to rub against. Add two towels and the load becomes abrasive, which is how soap scum comes off.
A shower curtain and a window curtain want opposite things
They look like the same job and they are not. A window curtain is dusty, dry and usually fabric, and the risk is shrinkage across a drop you cannot adjust — which is why how to wash curtains is largely about measuring first.
A shower curtain is wet all the time, carries soap scum and body oils rather than dust, and half of it is not fabric at all. The risk here is heat deforming a plastic liner, and mildew growing in the hem. Different material, different enemy, different wash.
The mildew is on the liner, and it is eating it
The spotting is almost always on the inner liner, in the bottom foot, on the side facing the water. That is the only part of the set that stays wet between showers, and where a fold of plastic traps a film of water against itself.
What matters before you choose between washing and replacing is that mildew is not a stain sitting on a surface. The University of Georgia Extension’s stain guide says it in one clause: “Work cautiously as mildew weakens fibers” (remove stains from mildew, mold). It is alive, and feeding on what it grows in.
So: a liner gone black along the hem has been damaged rather than marked, and washing buys months rather than restoring it. A liner is a consumable, not an heirloom. For why the smell survives a wash that cleans everything else in the load, see how to remove mildew smell from clothes.
How to wash a shower curtain so the towels do the scrubbing
Whirlpool covers the scope question first: “Most fabric, plastic and vinyl shower curtains can be cleaned in the washing machine. Curtains with magnets in the bottom are also usually fine to toss in the washer” (how to clean shower curtains and liners). The magnets surprise people. They are small, sewn in, and they stay there.
- Unhook everything and drop the rings in the sink with hot water and detergent. They are clean by the time the cycle ends — the only free step here.
- Put the curtain and liner in together, plus one or two bath towels. Whirlpool is explicit about the purpose: “Add a couple of bath towels, which will help wipe off dirt and soap scum.”
- Warm water, gentle cycle, highest water level. Whirlpool again — “Delicate or handwash cycles with slow spin speeds are safest for plastic curtains.”
- Normal detergent dose. For a grimy one Whirlpool allows “½ cup of bleach or color-safe bleach to the load,” added where your manual says bleach goes. Not vinegar too, and not in the same wash.
- Hang it back up soaking wet, spread full width. Plastic holds almost no water, so it drips dry in an hour and its own weight pulls the creases out.
Hot water is the one setting that ends a liner
A vinyl, PEVA or EVA liner is a thermoplastic sheet. Heat softens it, and a softened sheet spun against a drum wall comes out permanently rippled along one edge. Whirlpool’s instruction is short — “Be mindful to avoid hot water as that may damage your liner” — and the same logic rules out the dryer for anything plastic. Fabric curtains are more forgiving and some tumble on low, but check the label. Line drying costs an hour and removes the question.
Why the spots are back in six weeks
Because the bathroom is still damp, and washing a curtain does nothing about that. The EPA says it plainly: “Places that are often or always damp can be hard to maintain completely free of mold,” and where mould in a shower keeps reappearing, “increasing ventilation (running a fan or opening a window) and cleaning more frequently will usually prevent mold from recurring” (mold cleanup in your home).
One habit, then. A bunched curtain holds water in every fold for hours; a spread one is dry in twenty minutes. Same principle as leaving the washer door open — see mold in washing machine.
FAQ
How often should you wash a shower curtain?
Monthly for the liner, which is the part that stays wet. The outer decorative curtain hangs outside the tub and stays dry, so every three or four months is plenty unless it has been splashed.
Can you put a plastic shower curtain in the washing machine?
Yes. Warm or cool water, gentle cycle, slow spin, towels in with it. Plastic takes the machine far better than it takes heat, and the spin is the only mechanical risk.
Can a shower curtain go in the dryer?
Not if it is plastic or vinyl — the heat deforms it. Some fabric curtains tolerate a low tumble, but the label decides, and hanging it damp on the rod is faster than either.
Will washing remove black mildew spots from a liner?
Sometimes. Fresh spotting usually comes out with detergent and bleach. Black marks months old have grown into the material, and a new liner costs less than the third attempt.
Pull it across the rail on your way out
Washing the curtain fixes today. Spreading it out after every shower is what stops the mildew coming back, and it costs two seconds and no equipment.
