How to Keep Your Shower Curtain From Falling Down
Learn how to hang your shower curtain so it actually stays up and doesn’t keep falling down.
I’ve had a huge problem for the past few months – my shower curtain kept falling down at the most inconvenient times.
Ok, it may not actually be a huge problem, but if you’ve ever had a shower curtain rod fall on you as you’re shampooing your hair, you know how frustrating it can be!
The problem all started a few months ago when I retiled our shower.
I decided to tile all the way to the ceiling and it looked really great.
But the very first time someone showered in the pretty new shower, the shower curtain rod came crashing down.
I adjusted the tension and rehung the rod, but then it happened again. And again. And again.
So frustrating! I assumed there was an easy solution to the problem and did a bit of googling.
There was a lot of advice about making sure you are using a tension rod (check, I’m not an idiot) and being sure to insert the rod at an angle to get a tight fit.
I tried all the tricks and it made absolutely no difference.
A few times it immediately started sliding back down the tiles, other times it seemed like it might actually work only to crash to the ground a few hours later.
I found other solutions that suggested adding screws or brackets to the tile walls – not exactly what I wanted to do to the beautiful subway tile I had just spent weeks installing.
I kept researching and finally, I found an awesome idea that seems to be the perfect solution to the falling shower curtain problem.
Even better, this is a five-minute, $1 solution. You really can’t beat that!
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How to Keep your Shower Curtain from Falling Down
So what was the magic solution? Felt furniture pads. You know, the little felt circles you put on chair legs to keep them from scratching the floor.
I found two felt furniture pads in our junk drawer and stuck one on each end of the shower curtain.
Then I hung the rod back up using all of the tricks I had learned during my previous attempts to solve the problem.
First, adjust your shower curtain to be a few inches longer than the shower.
Hang the shower curtain rod at an angle, with one end several inches higher than you want it.
Slowly slide that end down until the rod is hanging straight.
The felt pads keep it from sliding further down the tile wall. And by putting the felt pads on the curtain rod itself rather than the tile, you don’t have to fuss so much to get things lined up correctly.
I wondered at first if the black felt pads I used would be visible but once they are compressed, you can’t see them at all.
So far so good!
It’s only been a couple of days so far, but luckily I have some quality control testers who were happy to put the shower curtain to the test without me even asking them to.
If this thing can survive these two, it’s a winner.
Want to remember this trick? Pin it to Pinterest so you don’t forget!
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How to Keep Your Shower Curtain From Falling Down
Sharing easy solutions to keep your shower curtain from continually falling down.
Materials
- Felt Furniture Pads
Instructions
- Place one felt furniture pad on each end of the shower curtain rod.
- Extend the shower curtain so it is a couple inches wider than the shower. Insert it in the shower at an angle so one end is a few inches higher.
- Slide it into place, parallel to the ceiling.
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Pinning this solution! Thanks for sharing it.
Thanks Linda – this was really driving me crazy so I was so happy to find a solution!
Thanks for the especially angling the rod. As well I tried alcohol wipes didn’t work but hair spray also works.
Thanks for the hairspray tip!
Great idea. My shower curtain doesn’t fall down, but it does do a little creep each day until the curtain is joining me in the tub!
Your boys are getting so big.
Thanks! I really like shower curtains but they can be a pain sometimes! And my boys really are getting big – having little ones really shows how quickly time passes!
I am trying your suggested trick. I’ll see if it works
Good luck Debbi! I hope it works as well for you as for me!
Can’t wait to try this!! next is a more expensive way on Amazon!! ( I hope this cheap trick works, once and for ALL!!)
I hope it works for you Katrina!
The Mojo website has the felt pads stuck to the wall, but you stuck them to the rod. I would think in your version, the pads would just slide down the tiles. We just finished tiling our shower and are about to face this problem. Help!
Hi Jennifer, I did stick mine to the rod instead of the wall and it worked well. Since doing this almost a year ago, my shower curtain has slid down a couple of times. Each time, the felt pads had become compressed over time so I simply replaced them with fresh ones and they did great.
What a great idea it’s 11p.m. and I am dealing with this issue. I decided to Google my problem. Off to the dollar store in the morning. Thanks I like your idea much better than screws in my tile.
Thanks Sharon! I hope this solves your problem!
Thank you so much! We had been fighting with this problem and finally gave up. I was thinking we were going to have to invest in a tile crestant add on for both sides. You save me money!
Yay, I am so glad to help! It’s such a silly thing but it can drive you crazy!
Yeah! After years of ‘crazy’ with my kids’ shower curtain (including hanging it above the tile and chipping the drywall, only to have the curtain leak anyway) I found and tried your hack. So far, so good! Thank you for posting. It’s a serious game changer!
Yay, I am glad it is working for you Catherine. When our shower curtain kept falling, it was making me crazy!
Pretty sure it’s the rods that won’t stay tightened because the rods fell down with the felt when I put the liner up.
Oh no! So sorry it didn’t work for you – sounds like it might be the rod in your case.
Does this trick still work for you? We are experiencing the freshly new tiles bathroom and the curtain falling down with in minutes.
Hi Judy, I’m sorry you are having this problem – it’s the worst! Yes, I have been using this trick for two years now and it is still working great. There was one period during this time when it started falling down every few hours again. I couldn’t figure out why but I replaced the felt pads with new ones and it has been great ever since.
Thanx! I’ll give this a try!
I hope it works for you!
Thanks for the tip!! Girl power.
You’re welcome! And I am all about girl power – it’s how I get pretty much everything done in our house. lol.
Tried this and it did not work!!!!
Vernell, I am so sorry it didn’t work for you! My shower curtain is still going strong but I know different bathrooms might have different challenges. I hope you find another simple solution that solves the problem.
I use outdoor velcro.
Good idea!
What is outdoor velcro & how do you use it to stabilize the rod?
I’m having the same problem and thankfully stumbled across your Pinterest page! Next time my shower rod slides and crashes down – which it will any day now – I will implement this strategy! Many thanks!
Good luck! A falling shower curtain may be a small thing but it is extremely annoying!
I tried this over the weekend and it does not work – my shower curtain has fallen 10 times over 2 days after adding the chair pads. I was so disappointed.
Ah man, that is so disappointing. It has worked great for us and I’m sorry it didn’t work for you! I would double check that your shower curtain is extended as much as possible while still fitting in place. If that doesn’t help, this method may just not work for you. Sorry!
Carrie, THANK YOU! I have chosen a zillion options other than what I truly desired only because what I tried kept disappointing me…for about 20+ years. Wasted time, money, and lost patience while I sat in the tub instead of showering because I couldn’t get the rod to stay put. Though some people have time to luxuriate regularly, I’m usually not one of them. I finally decided to peruse the web to see if anyone else was having a similar debacle. I was also trying to figure out how not to damage the wall as well as make it possible to remove the curtain if it was uneven or needed to be washed. In addition to that, my shoulder has been paining me enough to make me not even want to reach high for long. There is no greater frustration than when things that should be simple become difficult in the tiniest ways. Perplexity becomes an opponent and you find yourself at odds with inanimate things which makes you think about them constantly and the next thing you know you’re losing your temper or crying. A shower rod should come with easy installation and removal fixtures that are perfect for homeowners and apartment dwellers alike. To assume that the rubber attached to the ends would stay in place just from a tight twist on various surfaces proved to be quite naive. Then here appears Ms. Carrie’s awesome advice when I’ve just about lost my entire cool and makes me wonder why oh why did I not think of this before. It was such a simple, inexpensive fix that the satisfaction derived from it made me feel like the world was a better place and I was blessed beyond measure. Weird how something so seemingly unblog-worthy helped to soothe my soul. THANK YOU for keeping hope alive, CARRIE!
Ha, love your comment and yes I agree – keeping your shower curtain up should not be so hard! It’s one of those tiny things that just drives you crazy! I’m glad I could help!
Hey Carrie,
Thanks for sharing your tip! I’m a new homeowner & didn’t want to mar the walls, but I am determined to get that rod fixed! I’m writing because I LOVE your shower curtain! Will you tell me where you found it?
Hi Patti – my shower curtain is from TJMaxx so it may be hard to find the exact same one since their stock changes all the time. But I can say that I often find really great shower curtains at TJMaxx, Marshalls, and HomeGoods for a steal. Those are definitely my favorite places to find them.
Good morning Carrie just this morning got out the shower and the shower curtain decide to come down I was so frustrated and I’m trying to get ready for work that I left it laying on the floor in the bathroom but as soon as I get home I am going to try the furniture pads like you suggested it sounds like a great idea and I am really going to try it will let you know my results
Yes, I hope you have as good of results as we have!
Hoping this works for our tent trailer with the tension rods going vertical and holding shelves! Will be camping this week and will report back! Thanks for the awesome idea!
Yes I hope it helps!
Ok so we just moved into a house with tile up the walls in the shower. We didn’t want to drill into it so we got a tension rod. Shower is almost the max for the rod and just would not stay!!!! Cue frustration. So I googled what to do. Then your blog came up and so far so good. I actually had a box of the pads in a cabinet for our dining set so it wouldn’t scratch the floors.
We shall see how long it works!
Awesome – I am so glad it worked for you too!
Has anyone tried this solution but used the 3M adhesive pads / tabs that are made to affix hooks or picture frames to the wall and to be removed later? Logic says these pads/tabs would not compress as much as felt AND that the adhesive on both sides would be additional insurance against slippage. I plan to try this tonight.
I just tried this after doing an internet search for this annoying issue. Doing it on the pole alone did not work, in fact it slipped immediately. Then I decided to also put the felt on the wall. This looks like it did the trick! Thanks for the suggestion! Am hoping it will stay. :)
Yay, I hope it works well for you! Ours is still going strong!
My shower curtain rod fell so many times and after much swearing and a Google search I stumbled on your site. Thank you for the best tip ever! I happened to have felt tips – it worked!! It’s been up for days!!
I am so glad it worked! Ours has been holding strong for a few years now and it is such a relief not having to deal with it falling down all the time!
Exactly the same problem here! Just tried your fix as I already had the pads and it seems tight, so we will see!
I hope it works for you!