I just picked up a new shower curtain at an estate sale, it was sold new back in the 70’s for $40, I paid $2 for it. It is 50% cotton, 50% polyester. Neither the package or the tag on the curtain state if a liner is required. The tag on my old 100% polyester shower curtain states that a liner is not required. The old shower curtain has the texture of a rain jacket and appears to be made to shed water. The new curtain has more of a cotton fabric feel. I was wondering if I should use a liner with the new shower curtain.
I’ve gone both ways with shower curtains. I like using a liner but it’s just aesthetics. My current curtain is transparent fabric and the liner is kinda like a rain jacket, with a waffle weave that sheds water nicely. I still have to wash the liner in hot water and bleach. If I don’t pay attention, it gets mildewy. Your call, I think!
You need a liner. What you don’t need is the shower curtain.
ditto Chronos. You need something WATERPROOF. Cloth shower curtains are not waterproof, therefore you need a liner. Liner falls INSIDE the tub, cloth curtain falls OUTSIDE the tub.
And why run the risk of messing up a pristine, 1970’s shower curtain??
Did 70’s shower curtains even have liners? I can’t remember.
I don’t understand why people don’t use shower curtain liners by default. Yeah, they do kinda suck when you get all stuck to them in the shower…but how do you keep your cloth curtain from getting wet? How do you keep the water in the tub? How do you get mold off the cloth shower curtain?
I buy liners 4 or 5 at a time at the dollar store (for a dollar) and keep them in the linen closet. The minute I see any mold on the liner, I throw it away and put on a new one. Or, after I’ve lost a few liner holes to tears, I replace it then too.
Get a liner! It’s a good thing 
letting the wet part (liner if you use it) dry quicker will retard mold. when done with shower leave it extended mostly with a foot of opening on each side, let it dry before bunching it together.
My shower curtain is vinyl and has yellow rubber duckies on it. I never used to sing in the shower; now I can’t help myself.
Yup. Though I’ll spend the extra buck or two to get the liners with the magnets at the bottom to keep it anchored down. Totally worth it.
Absolutely, shower liners are disposable, when they get moldy, throw them away.
Shower curtains are decorative
You can also throw them in the washing machine with some mildew remover and hang them back up. I do this not because I’m cheap but because I picture shower curtain liners piling up in a landfill, never ever deteriorating. I suppose they do break down over time, but it doesn’t seem very “green” to throw them away when they become moldy.
I buy the industrial heavy duty liners that have a built in mildew resistance. Eventually they will mildew, but I can take it down, toss it in the washer with some bleach, rinse and hang back up. I get about a year out of a $6 liner. Shower curtains are decorative and do nothing else. Shower curtain liners are absolutely necessary unless you have a glass door. Liners keep the water from ending up all over your bathroom.
Now as to the question of whether or not your purchase is a curtain or a decorative liner, I don’t know. If it’s cloth, just be safe and pick up a cheap liner. You can hang them on the same hooks.