Cleaning expert shares major money-saving hack for keeping grime out of your shower: 'I didn't know you could wash those'

A popular expert cleaner shared an easy way to take care of your dirty shower liner using a non-toxic, and very familiar, substance.    

This hack easily gets rid of the grime and muck often found on our shower curtains, and it's a great way to save money in the long run, as well. 

The scoop

The narrator of the Reel, shown on the Instagram channel Problem Solved Show (@problemsolvedshow), which now has over half of a million followers, tells viewers he has "an easy method to clean a shower liner." 

In the video, the cleaning expert begins by telling us how growing up his "job was to clean the bathroom, and the liner was the worst part." 

The cleaning expert goes on to throw the shower curtain into the washing machine. "Toss it in and you can use a regular laundry detergent. I also like to add about a quarter cup of vinegar." 

He then recommends placing a towel into the washer if you are washing a plastic liner, which would also go with detergent and "a splash of vinegar." He claims that the towel will help prevent the liner from bunching up and will help clean it. (If that sounds gross, you could always set aside one old towel for this job and not use it for anything else.)

In between washes he uses a solution that consists of nothing more than water and vinegar, which he says helps fight mold and mildew. 

Just don't put a plastic liner in a dryer, at least not on a high setting, to avoid risk of melting, along with the energy savings. The liner is designed to get wet in the first place! 

How it's helping

Many people just throw out their dirty shower liners and go buy new ones. Instead of spending that money, just throw it in the wash and extend the life of your curtain.

Using solutions like vinegar with water are not only effective in keeping your shower curtains clean, they also provide a lot more longevity, which will save you money in the long run. It will also save time and energy since you won't have to make extra trips to the store.   

The benefits also go beyond our wallets and even our showers. 

Typical household cleaning solutions from the store are usually toxic and harmful to our health and the planet. These solutions are composed of harmful chemical compounds that often end up in our waterways and can find their way into the ocean, harming aquatic animals and even affecting our drinking water. 

Also, they typically come in plastic containers, and plastic can be a huge problem for our planet, like polluting our waterways and oceans. 

Although vinegar often comes in a plastic container, the hack in question also requires water, meaning much less vinegar is used, slowing the demand for plastic. If you can buy your vinegar in a large glass bottle, though, all the better. 

The toxic cleaning solutions from the store, meanwhile, do not encourage users to dilute them in water, since the profit-driven goal is for consumers to continue buying as much of the solution as possible, leading to more plastic waste. 

What everyone's saying

Viewers of the popular Reel were at no lack of words. 

"I didn't know you could wash those plastic ones," a commenter admitted. 

"Thank you for letting people know you can wash/reuse your plastic liner!" another person added. 

This person provided some additional advice by adding how they are "astonished how many just throw it away. Mine is 5 years old and still looks brand new. I wash it every once in a while with a little bleach and baking powder, iron it, done."

Join our free newsletter for easy tips to save more, waste less, and help yourself while helping the planet.