What is the Shower Curtain Effect, and How Does It Work?

After turning on the shower, you will notice this phenomenon. You stand there, and the shower curtain moves toward you. Sometimes, it sticks to you.

Bernoulli's Principle is a fun trivia. Swiss mathematician Daniel Bernoulli explained that pressure decreases with increased airflow in his 1738 book Hydrodynamica. The shower spray increases airflow and reduces pressure. This causes the curtain to blow in.

What is the Shower Curtain Effect?

The shower curtain effect can be explained in three ways.

Air density difference

Warm water from a showerhead produces warm air. The hot water rises to its top, and the warm air spills over the shower curtain rod. This lowers the pressure in the showering area. At higher pressure, outside air moves toward the low-pressure area at the bottom of the curtain, pushing it with. This works best with warm water, but the shower curtains effect can also be created using cold water.

Bernoulli's Principle

Because increasing velocity means decreasing pressure, the showerhead spray pushes air through the curtain's inner surface. This increases the curtain's velocity and decreases the pressure. The curtain will move inward because of the pressure differential between outside and within.

Bernoulli's principle also helps to explain how an aircraft can lift. Its wings bend so that air flows more quickly over the top, which lowers pressure. And it flows slower under the roof, which raises pressure.

Horizontal vortex

Shower spray can create a horizontal vortex. This is a mass of fluid that revolves around a central axis line. A vortex can be seen in a tornado. The vortex's eye is a low-pressure area, which is why objects and people can become sucked into it.

The shower curtain is perpendicular to its axis. The vortex eye pulls the shower curtain in due to the low pressure.

Ways To Overcome The Shower Curtain Effect

Do not shower

• Relax and unwind with a soothing bath. No shower = no shower curtain effect.

Consider switching to a heavier curtain

• The shower vortex's suction pressure is often too weak for heavier curtains to be moved. You can also leave a gap on one end of the curtain instead of closing it completely.

You can use magnets or suction cups in a curtain

• Some shower curtains come with suction cups along the bottom edges that you place on the sides of the shower. Others curtains are equipped with magnets at their bottom. These do not work well on fiberglass or acrylic tubs.

Replace the showerhead

• Choose a showerhead that doesn't atomize water as often. The showerhead will run at a slower speed if it has a gentler water spray.

Install a bathroom door

• Install a glass door for your shower to avoid the annoying shower curtain effect. Create a wet-room bathroom without shower curtains or doors.

Install a low curtain rod

• You can use a telescopic rod to stop the curtain's lower end from sucking in.

Use a string and weight

• Attach a weight on a string to tie it to the curtain rod. You should place the weight so that it is low against the curtain but not above the rim of your tub or shower pan. This will stop the weight from billowing and won't cause any damage to the tub or pan.