Now you can save money and discover more options in curtain colours and patterns because of the extra length these adjustable length rings can provide. Longer shower rings and hooks are now available on the web.

Imagine that you need your existing shower curtain to be a few inches longer in order to properly control the shower water trying to escape your shower. Do you go out and buy a new longer curtain which can be very difficult to find and usually more expensive?

Or you find yourself in a situation where you move into a new home to find the shower rod has been installed above the fibreglass surround, so you start to look for an extra long curtain that can fit the shower stall. We often see this situation in hospitals and universities where the shower rod is placed very high thus putting pressure on the operators to have custom length shower curtain made for their specific shower units.

With these longer rings that can be made to provide you extra length from anywhere between 4.5 inches to 8.5 inches, will give you the extra length so you do not have to rely on having custom shower curtain made.

Imagine the incredible savings that are now available to you if you can now go out and purchase a standard size shower curtain. Along with your savings you also now have more choices of colours and patterns just due to the fact of the market are so much larger for standard size shower curtains vs. longer shower curtains.

How do I measure the length of curtain ring I need?

Most standard shower rings provide approx one and half to two inches of length when connected to a shower curtain. This measurement is the distance from the inside of the top of the ring to the inside of the bottom of the ring. So let’s imagine that your rings provides you two inches in length, however with your current curtain, you are another three inches short to proper fall behind the shower lip in you stall. In this case you would order a set of five inch extendable shower rings which would provide you the length that you need plus the length of the original rings.

Are you looking for an option other than adding expensive solid shower doors to help keep the shower water inside the shower unit? As a father of two active teenage girls, I knew I needed to find something because our bathroom floor and walls were starting to show signs of water damage. My wife did not support the idea of having shower doors because someone has to clean them and she also did not like having of all the hardware framing involved with a shower door, if all you were doing was having a bath. It was time to look for another option to deal with this home improvement challenge.

First came the Curtains
That’s when I came up with the idea of designing the StayDry shower curtain that would work like a shower door and actually seal against the walls of the shower unit. For approx 10 years now, our StayDry shower curtain has been working well in our home and many others across North America and Europe.

It seemed that there was a lot of other folks were having similar shower spray problems due to situations such as forgetful visiting guests to some adults that still behaved like teenagers. We also noted that there were other markets looking for a re sealable shower curtain. Interest came first from the hotels and motels then followed by RV’s and Marine industry that were always challenged with very small spaces for their shower stalls.

The next groups looking for solutions were the senior housing complexes, universities and hospitals. They were also looking for an improved shower curtain to stop water from escaping from their shower units to increase safety for both the patients and for staff.

Then came the Dam
Working with my business partner, Roger Comartin, with numerous installations, we were exposed to an increasing number of non lip shower stalls especially in senior housing complexes and the hospitals. It became apparent that there was a real need for a collapsible water dam product. Our water dam is approximately one and a quarter inches high and is made of very flexible rubber. This is ideal when a wheel chair or walker goes over the dam, because the dam collapses to approximately one quarter of an inch in height, making it very easy to transfer in and out of the shower unit. The dam controls both the water and holds the base of a curtain inside the shower unit.

With Roger’s input, the StayDry dam is designed with two adhesive strips on the base of the dam which adheres solidly to either tile, cement or a fiberglass finish. This design provides double protection to repel any shower water trying to get under the dam. Currently StayDry dams are used by Housing Authorities, hospitals, senior homes and universities for their non lip shower stalls.

StayDry continues to develop solutions for showering problem and has recently developed extra long shower rings which allow an individual to use an inexpensive standard size shower curtain in situation where the shower rod was installed too high. Currently the StayDry team is working on a new inexpensive biodegradable “PEVA” plastic shower curtain that will work on the same bases as the current polyester fabric StayDry curtains that creates a water tight seal to any shower wall.

There will be an increase in the number of non-lip shower stall all over the world as both our population ages and we continue to make accessibility a priority. There is demand for the dam for individual home, senior housing, hospitals, universities, housing authorities and community living organizations. Most of the new water dams are collapsible, which allow for wheelchairs and walker to easily go over them and then they return to their upright position.

The shower dams on the market today work very well on tile or fibreglass.

The best time to add a shower water dam is when there is new construction and a planned renovation.

A person would want to consider adding a shower water dam if they have an ADA or non lip shower stall and wanted to prevent shower water from escaping out and toward other floor surfaces. These dams help not only control the shower curtain, the stop water from flooding out of these types of unit. They also provide increased safety to any one that could be around the shower unit.

There are several different types of shower dams on the market today. Most are made of rubber and some come with an adhesive already on the base where you would peel and stick. Installation usually requires very basic tools such as scissors, knife and perhaps a putty knife. With some others you have to put down some adhesive and then place the dam base into the glue. Others could have a metal track that is first screwed into the basin of the shower stall and the rubber dam is connected to the metal. This last one, you will need more tools and equipment. You want to look for a product that meets your needs and that you have the skill to install.

Regardless, with all installations you want the surface that you are placing the dam to be clean and dry. Most installation also requires some time to allow the adhesive to dry before you get it wet. Over time some adhesive my let go and required to be re glued. A simple construct adhesive which is designed to work in moist conditions can be purchased at your local hardware store. Another options is an adhesive that is used for attaching tube surround

I would definitely encourage a home owner or property manager to consider installing a shower water dam where ever there is or could be a potential water flooding problem.

Tom Bryce is the President of StayDry Systems. StayDry Systems holds the patents and manufactures StayDry Shower Curtains kits and other products like their collapsible water dam and extra long shower rings. (Please visit https://staydrysystems.com for more information)