Designing and Installing Doors

Posted on: 19 July 2017

Does taking a quick shower seem to flood your entire bathroom? If so, there's a good chance that your shower screen is leaking. This is a common problem that's easy to solve once you get to the bottom of the issue.

Don't delay in fixing your shower screen problem as regular flooding can damage your flooring, often causes mold and damp to develop, and poses a slip hazard. Check out the three common problems and solutions below, and you'll soon be enjoying a safe, dry bathroom floor.

Check the seal is strong enough

Whether they're fixed or hinged, shower screens feature a plastic seal at the point where the screen glass meets the edge of your bathtub. This long piece of plastic should create a strong seal which doesn't allow a single drop of water through, as long as the screen is properly in place. However, seals can degrade over time, causing gaps to appear, or causing the entire seal to drop off the edge of the screen. Luckily, replacement seals are widely available and easy to install yourself. Simply buy a new seal, cut to size, then slide firmly onto the bottom of your screen. 

Choose the right shape of screen

Your shower screen should match the shape of your bath perfectly, and extend far enough to prevent water escaping, without making it hard for you to get in and out of the bathtub. In most cases, you'll need a straight screen which covers about 1/3 of your bathtub edge. However, if your bathtub is rounded, you'll need to choose a screen that's made from curved glass. This ensures that a strong seal can be created between the screen and edge of the tub. Screens can be fixed rather than hinged, which means there's no risk of water escaping when the screen swings out of position.

Reposition your shower head

If you've got a power shower or very high water pressure you might find that water escapes more easily than you'd expect. You may need a new screen, but sometimes the solution can be as simple as repositioning your shower head. Look at where the water is escaping from, then experiment with different configurations. If water seems to be escaping from above the screen, try moving the shower head lower. If water is moving past the screen to splash the floor, a simple change to the angle of the shower head could be all it takes to fix. Be sure to secure your shower in place once you've found the optimal position. 

Sick of your bathroom floor getting soaked every time you shower? Take a good look at your shower screen to fix the problem.