PVC curtains & mold

[ttweed@wildrockies.org (Tony Tweedale)]

I keep the 2 ends of my PVC shower curtain (I'd never buy one from the
industry's reps; I got it 2nd hand) folded in an "out" manner (ie the flap
created faces the outside of the tub), as a simple way to reduce mildew
(actually, originally motivated to save cleaning time!), because the mold
builds up where the wet curtain dries in contact w/ the enamel, and folding
it out reduces the contact area (including sticking to itself), puts the
end seam (where mold also builds) on the dry side, and lets the water on
the curtain drain better.

Anyway, PVC curtains are far, far heavier than other ones--at least the
common super plasticized (for super flexibility) ones are.  Even with my
"no-mold-fold", I've noticed this curtain clings to significantly more
surface area than my old, lighter one (not sure what plastic it was, one of
those that get brittle w/ age).

In short, soft PVC shower curtains are another strike against PVC in the
mold/allergy/immune disfunction area.  Such as the finding that PVC wall
coverings grow more mold than other ones, and the possible correlation
between PVC crib matresses and sudden crib death syndrome (mold activates
the immune's inflamation Rx in the airways, possibly resulting in acute
respiratory, asthma-like, symptoms that contribute to crib death.