Three Ways To Reduce The Chances Of Your Shower Door Breaking

If you have a glass shower door, you need to start paying attention to how you treat it. Glass shower doors have been known to shatter suddenly -- it's rare but not unheard of -- and the more you can do to keep the door in good shape, the better. Sometimes these shattering incidents are due to microscopic faults in the glass itself, but other times the treatment of the door can be subtly damaging. Here are three things you can do to reduce the risk of the door suddenly breaking and falling.

Watch What's Behind the Door

If you have a shower door that swings out, you know you shouldn't have anything sitting behind the door that would obviously poke into the glass, like a giant towel hook. But even something like a window ledge that the door might hit against is a risk. Smaller bathrooms, such as guest bathrooms, often have this problem. If this is the case in your bathroom, have the door's hinges modified so that the door will not open up wider than a certain angle.

Add Safety Film

You can add safety film that will hold the glass together if the glass breaks. In these odd shattering situations, the glass often ends up in jagged sections even though it's tempered. Tempered glass is supposed to break into tiny pieces that aren't as harmful as giant, jagged pieces, but ABC News reported in 2012 that sometimes that separation doesn't happen quickly enough, resulting in some nasty gashes. In the same article, ABC News interviewed a glass specialist who suggested adding the safety film. It might change how your bathroom looks slightly, but that's a small price to pay for safety.

Don't Lean Against or Push Down on the Door When You Open It

Another problem is the stress you and other shower users can place on the door when you open it. Whether you're pressing down on the door as you open a swinging door or pressing out as you slide a door along a track -- both of which you can do very subtly without really noticing -- you can damage the edges of the glass. This can lead to the glass weakening and suddenly falling into pieces.

If you're concerned about the state of your shower door, have it inspected by a glass repair company for signs of damage. You may have to replace the door if the edges look very damaged, but each case is individual. You can also ask the company to add safety film to your door. To learn more, contact someone like Griggs & Son Glass & Mirror.