Green Bathroom Tip
Posted
Friday, February 08, 2008 8:54 PM
One of the essential moves in creating a green home is to eliminate as much PVC plastic (aka vinyl) from it as you can. During its entire lifecycle, from the time it’s produced to when it enters your home to when it winds up in a landfill (since PVC isn’t easily recyclable), PVC releases toxic chemicals like mercury, phthalates and dioxin into the environment (you can find more info here).
And the most easily replaceable piece of PVC lurking in many of our homes is a vinyl shower curtain liner. I’d long known that these vinyl liners were an environmental sin, but until recently I’d had no idea that there were easy alternatives. I’d heard that truly devoted treehuggers used hemp fabric shower curtains without liners, but that never sounded like it would truly work and I knew there was no way my husband would go for it. So I just dreamt of one day remodeling or buying a home with a glass shower door so the whole thing would cease to be an issue.
But I recently discovered (while interviewing a scientist who studies hazardous chemicals in the home) that shower curtain liners made of either nylon or polyester work just as well as the vinyl ones and are almost as easy to find. Check out this nylon one from Bed Bath and Beyond or this polyester one from Target. If you have a vinyl shower curtain now then with just about $10 and a few clicks of the mouse you can make a major improvement to the eco-friendly factor of your home. Rarely is it so easy to be green.