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How High Do You Hang a Shower Curtain? (Quick Answers)

Many of us take personal hygiene very seriously and for that, our bathrooms are one of the most frequently visited parts of our house daily. Which is why we need to pay extra care and attention when we are setting up different components of the bathroom. 

The shower curtain is one such important part of our bathroom and you will learn about setting it up in the extract below.  

How high do you hang a shower curtain?

The shower rod should be placed at such a height that prevents the shower curtain from touching the floor and is a few inches above the floor. The standard length of shower curtains is typically 72 inches, which means you should hang your shower curtain between 75 to 77 inches above the floor. 

Shower curtains are an essential part of your bathroom as they are used to prevent water spillage from your shower area or the bathtub onto the floor or the rest of the bathroom. 

Shower curtains of various designs now only enhance the beauty of your bathroom but also provide an additional layer of privacy while showering. Which is why it is important to choose the right type and size of shower curtain for your bathroom.

But before purchasing and setting up a new shower rod and curtain, you need to consider a few things such as the material of the shower curtain, the length and the size of it as well. 

Most standard shower curtains are usually 72 inches long vertically which means the curtain rod needs to be placed between 75 to 77 inches above the floor.

Another thing to note is that your shower curtain needs to be long enough to be properly tucked inside your bathtub or else the water splashes may spread to the floor and other parts of the bathroom. 

You should also note that the shower curtain is placed above the showerhead to make sure that no water gets splashed from above. 

Curved shower curtain: 

Curved shower curtain is yet another type of shower curtain that, unlike a straight shower curtain, has curved edges around the shower area. However, they work just like the straight ones and have to be hung high enough to prevent touching the floor. 

A curved shower should be placed at least 74 inches above the floor level of your bathroom. 

Should shower curtain be higher than shower head?

The main purpose of a shower curtain is to prevent water spillages out of the shower onto the floor or rest of the bathroom. The shower curtain achieves this purpose by enclosing the shower area and preventing water from reaching out through its waterproof surface. 

But if the shower curtain is placed lower than the showerhead, it will prevent water spillages that are caused by water bouncing off the showerer’s body – not from the showerhead itself.

Since the source of water spillage is directly from the showerhead, the shower curtain cannot stop the spillage if it is hung below the showerhead. 

Which is why, when you are setting up the shower curtain you need to make sure the shower curtain is hung several inches above the showerhead. The shower curtain also needs to be far away enough from the showerhead to prevent water from bouncing off the curtain.

What is the standard height for a shower curtain rod?

The height at which a shower curtain rod should be placed depends heavily on the height of your bathroom. The height of the shower curtain rod should take the height of shower curtain into account as well since the shower curtain should never touch the floor of the bathroom.

 Which is why it is important to carefully note how high you are placing your shower curtain rod.

The standard height of a shower curtain is usually 72 inches, that means the shower curtain cannot be 72 inches or any less. 

The shower curtain must hang at least a few inches above the bathroom floor and therefore, the standard height for a shower curtain rod is somewhere between 75 to 77 inches from the floor. But you need to also make sure that the curtain rod is above the showerhead as well.

Where should a shower curtain rod be placed?

Shower curtains serve the purpose of preventing water from spilling out of the bathing area to the rest of the bathroom. 

And for that reason, the shower curtain needs to be placed in front of the showering area such that any water bouncing off the showerer’s body remains within the shower area and does not spill any further.

However, it is easy to make a mistake while installing where you placed the shower curtain rod so close that the showerer does not have enough space to bathe properly. 

Or in another case, you might have placed the shower curtain so far away that the shower area occupies too much of your bathroom space.

If your shower area is on one side of the bathroom, you can place the shower curtain rod symmetrically away from the showerhead. Or you can also place a curved shower curtain of a diameter that fits your comfort.

How to hang a shower curtain? 

Hanging a shower curtain is simple and easy to do as long as you follow the steps below:

Attach shower rings into you shower curtain:

There are shower rings available that allow you to attach the shower curtain to the shower curtain rod. Usually there are 12 shower rings for a shower curtain, so you should attach the shower rings into the shower curtain according to the designated hooking spots. 

After doing so, you should gather the curtain and line up the rings to hang them on the rod. 

Hang the shower curtain by hooking the curtain rings:

Take each of the curtain rings attached to the shower curtain one by one and hang them into the shower curtain rod. Make sure the rings are properly fastened to prevent them getting loose and falling off. 

In the case of a removable shower curtain rod, you can unhook the shower curtain rod and insert all the rings into the rod and hook it back into the wall.

Tuck the shower curtain inside the shower area:

Once you are done with hanging all the curtain rings and your shower curtain is finally hanging from the shower curtain rod, you should properly tuck the shower curtain into the bathing area or the bathtub. 

If there are two layers of the shower curtain, you should tuck the inner layer into the bathtub while the outer layer stays suspended outside the tub.

How far into the tub should a shower curtain hang?

The shower curtain should be tucked into the bathtub but not too much that it covers up a significant portion of the bathtub. 

In order to make sure a proper length of the shower curtain is into the tub, you first need to measure the distance from the top of the showerhead to the bottom of the bathtub. The height should be around 70-80 inches with the tub being around 12-14 inches.

Now you would want a portion of the shower curtain to hang inside the bathtub. But in case of dual layered shower curtains, you need to hang the inner portion into the tub while the outer portion remains outside. 

The ideal length to keep in the tub for a 72 inch long shower curtain is about 6 inches.

Should a shower curtain ever hit the floor?

Whether a shower curtain should or should not hit the floor is left to the personal preference of many people

Many people find it decorative and aesthetic to leave the shower curtain touching the floor but they pose a threat of getting moldy and be the cause of people tripping on it.

Which is why it is recommended to not let the shower curtain touch the floor but in case of dual layered curtains, you can choose to keep the inner layer inside the tub while the outer layer can hang outside into the floor. 

But to do so, you need to properly maintain the hygiene of the curtain to prevent it from getting moldy.

Final Thoughts

The shower rod should be positioned such that the shower curtain does not reach the floor and is at least a few inches above the floor. Shower curtains are normally 72 inches long, which means you should hang your shower curtain at a height of 75 to 77 inches above the floor.