What Does a Shower Curtain Really Say About Accessible Housing?
Imagine waking up every day in a home designed to support your independence and dignity. Your home should feel safe, secure, and welcoming. Yet, too often, even in homes adapted using Disabled Facilities Grants (DFGs), people face mouldy, clingy shower curtains. These curtains stick to your skin, allow water to flood the bathroom floor, and quietly suggest that your comfort and safety came second to cost savings or outdated practices.
Shower Curtains: An Outdated and Impractical Choice
Shower curtains first appeared in homes nearly a century ago, initially designed as an inexpensive alternative to fixed shower screens. They became popular in mid-20th-century homes because of their low cost and ease of installation. However, what was acceptable in the 1950s shouldn’t be the standard today, especially in accessible housing. Shower curtains are simply old-fashioned—products of a bygone era that fail modern expectations of safety, dignity, and accessibility.
Are Shower Curtains Really Acceptable in DFG Adaptations?
Falls at home remain a leading cause of injury among older and disabled people in the UK. NHS England confirms that around one in three adults over 65, and half of those over 80, experience at least one fall each year. Bathrooms are common sites for these accidents due to wet and slippery surfaces. So why, in adaptations funded specifically to improve safety and independence, are we still tolerating shower curtains that frequently fail to contain water and actively increase risks?
Dignity and Independence—Or Lack Thereof
A shower curtain is not only ineffective at containing water—it’s undignified. Imagine expecting a disabled person to regularly remove, wash, dry, and rehang a shower curtain. For someone with limited mobility, strength, or dexterity, this task is impractical and unfair. A curtain quickly becomes mouldy and unhygienic, compromising health and sending a message that disabled individuals deserve less comfort and care.
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Glazed Screens: A Practical and Necessary Alternative
Glazed shower screens should not be considered optional upgrades in DFG-funded adaptations—they should be the default. Modern safety glass screens effectively contain water, significantly reducing slip hazards. They are easy to clean, quick to maintain, and hygienically superior. Unlike curtains, glazed screens do not become mouldy breeding grounds for bacteria.
Addressing Outdated Fears
Some still argue that glazed screens pose a risk if someone falls against them. But today's safety standards require toughened or laminated glass specifically designed to minimise injury. Properly installed screens even provide a stable surface to brace against—something a shower curtain never can. For those requiring carer support, stable-door screens (split-level doors) provide excellent access without compromising on safety or hygiene.
Challenging Short-Term Thinking in DFGs
Choosing glazed screens demonstrates a commitment to the true intention of Disabled Facilities Grants—enabling independence and safety at home. Shower curtains signal short-term, budget-driven decisions, undermining the very purpose of the grant.
Accessible homes, funded by DFGs, should never compromise on safety, dignity, or independence. It’s not just about improving design; it’s about respecting the rights and wellbeing of disabled people.
Isn't it time we ended this outdated practice? Shower curtains simply have no place in modern, well-designed, grant-funded home adaptations.
What do you think? Isn't it time we finally said goodbye to shower curtains in accessible housing?
Disability and Equalities Trainer Equalities and human rights campaigner ? #FoRB #AccessForAll #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
5 天å‰Nah, I use a shower chair and most of the screens require a raised lip. It creates a barrier which is unnecessary. Get people with lived experience to come up with the best solutions. I've seen too many 'accessible' hotel rooms with screens that have lipped trays that make it difficult or even impossible for me to use. They've all been done by non-disabled people making assumptions about what disabled people need.
Proprietor
1 周Depends how well you design then and install them
Commercial Director at Easa Group
1 周Tend to agree and disagree with this, to purely provide accessibility to facilitate independence I do not see a place for just installing a shower curtains, it fails to contain water and is far from practical for anyone who relies on the support of a chair to be able to remove for cleaning. Glass screens without profiles can provide ease of access when installed with a barrier free tray and stable door designs will facilitate someone to assist if required but they can produce glare and cause confusion and discomfort for those living with neurological challenges. Aesthetically designed half-height carer screens manufactured in materials that reduce glare will contain water and allow access with the addition of a curtain to prevent splash are sometimes the most effective solution when assisted showering is required and assistance means there is someone who can support in the removal of curtains for cleaning, a weighted curtain in a breathable material will help prevent it moving during showering. There are many different and certainly better solutions that offer a much safer environment for not only the person in the shower but also anyone who maybe offering assistance than simply putting up a curtain and rail.
ShowerSpaah - 'Safer and easier showers' | Product Designer | Mechanical Engineer | Inventor & Innovator
1 周One of the surest signs of the shortcomings of shower curtains is that the NHS buy hundreds of thousands of disposable ones every year.
Full Professor at University of Calgary
1 周It seems the right modified one assumes one goes in standing or on a device. As I crawl into it and sit on the ground most of the parts would be unreachable as to high.