How I Made My Own Double Shower Curtain Rod

Once upon a time, several years ago, I discovered a very clever thing: a double shower curtain rod. One rod holds up your shower curtain, and the other runs parallel to it, outside the shower.

Then I got home and tried to install it. It was one of the most difficult pieces of hardware I’ve ever dealt with. So I decided to make my own version.

What a Double Curtain Rod Does

Having two rods instead of one gives you surprisingly useful bathroom storage options. You can use the second rod as a towel rack, or to dry laundry, or hang a shoe organizer filled with cotton balls and other items if you have a small bathroom and not enough room to store things

I had paid close to $50 for this double rod, thinking it would be terrifically handy. But I extended one of the rods a bit too far, and there was no way to get it back in (the directions had a solution, but I couldn’t get it to work).

As I wrestled with it, a worrying question started to form in my mind: if I did finally get it installed, how would I get it back down when the time came to move? I was living in an apartment I really didn’t like, so I wanted to be able to take it with me.

The $25 solution

That’s when it hit me: all I needed were two inexpensive tension rods. Bingo!

I just installed two shower curtain tension rods, putting one a couple of inches in front of the other. You can buy single shower curtain rods for under $10, or you can go for prettier ones and still spend about half the cost of a double rod.

And you also get more flexibility in where and how you want to install it. It was the simplest thing in the world, and a trick I could repeat in future homes easily, just by taking the rods down and bringing them with me.

One of the handiest uses for the extra rod is when you have guests sharing a bathroom and not enough towel racks for everyone to hang their towels.

The second rod does the job – everything gets dry like it should, and there’s room for all. Here it is, in use with a towel hanging over the outer rod.

You can also set up something like this if you have a glass shower/tub enclosure: just run a single tension rod alongside the glass enclosure, at the same height.

The How To?

How you do this depends on the rods you buy. With most, you twist the two ends to loosen the springs inside and then pull them out to the width you need and put them against the wall. The tension mechanism keeps them in place. Then you do it again with the second one.

So just follow the instructions for your curtain rods and install them where you want. It’s so easy.