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Best Products: Rolling Shower Hooks

3-20-rolling.jpgA quick post to say how much we love these little things. Since we discovered them, we've installed them in every apartment we have lived in.

Particularly if you liked Aaron's wax paper tip yesterday but are willing to spend more...

2005_9_13_showerhooks.jpgRolling shower curtain hooks (@ $11 for 12) can be found at most hardware and home stores and have the dubious distinction of making it incredibly easy (almost luxurious) to open and close your shower curtain.

They also add a little sparkle of chrome to any drab little bathroom.

We found them at Real Goods for $15, at Bed Bath and Beyond for $11, and at Clawfoot Supply in brass for $15.

(ReEdited from 2005-09-13 - MGR)

Comments (28)

I love these. The last time I bought a shower curtain, these shower hooks were all the fab store had and I thought they were pricey, but the sales person insisted that they were so great, so I got them. I'll never get the cheap, cruddy kind again. Also, these probably wouldn't need replacing very often, if ever.

posted by Pixie on 2005-09-13 14:04:34

I just purchased a st of these, and my only gripe is that they get hung up on the "bump" in the tension rod that holds the shower curtain.

posted by Jeff on 2005-09-13 14:18:06

I love these! I got mine at Restoration Hardware last year, and I'll never go back to the plastic rings. I really like the sound these make when you pull back the shower curtain.

posted by AR on 2005-09-13 15:29:21

I was going to say that they solve the problem of the bump in tension rods, buy I see Jeff will not agree! They are the easiest to use, and yes, they will last forever.

As for the bump, get rid of the tension rod, or get one of those plastic tubes that cover the rod and smooths out the seam. My partner has one of the tension rods (and solid steel rings, but not with rollers . . . ) and just this past weekend we reversed the rod so the bump is away from where the majority of curtain motion occurs -- helped out a lot!!!

posted by Frank on 2005-09-13 15:40:09

I got them for $5 at Macy's. They work really well.

posted by Jinxy on 2005-09-13 16:02:13

these simple, mundane little things are one of the best products designed, ever. they do what they are supposed to do with little effort, look good and don't fall apart.

posted by kat on 2005-09-13 16:21:29

if downtown is more convenient, check century 21 for low cost hooks. got mine there for $5.

posted by zengy on 2005-09-13 17:45:29

I can't wait to get some now! I've always only seen them for $12 a pack, and couldn't bring myself to pay a dollar apiece. Cheapskate. I do have metal ones, because I prefer the way they look, but the rollers will be just the ticket.

posted by Joan on 2005-09-13 18:20:46

Frank--
More details please about "where the majority of curtain motion occurs". :)

posted by patrick (the other one) on 2005-09-13 18:45:45

i bought some of these at target, and they were perhaps not of the best quality. after a few months, some of them would unhook sporadically. i tried to bend them back into shape so this wouldn't happen, but to no avail.

instead i've gone the route of ball chain which i purchased at the local hardware store. a couple of yards is enough to make 10-12 curtain rings which roll nicely! problem solved.

posted by nello on 2005-09-14 10:06:47

For uptowners, Laytner's Linen also has these. (Can't remember how much I paid but it was a few years ago anyway.)

posted by srk1 on 2005-09-14 10:16:55

Patrick -- since the "bump" is about 2/3 to 3/4 of the way along the length of the tension pole curtain rod, by switching the pole so the bump is closest to the wall near the shower head (and assuming one enters a typical bath/shower from the far end of the tub), it places the bump away from the half of the curtain one usually opens and closes upon entering/exiting the tub.

Not rocket science, but I must confess it took us a couple of months of tugging the curtain before we said 'hey, let's try reversing that thing!'

posted by Frank on 2005-09-14 11:27:39

It's funny that this turned up on AT this week... I have just moved to a new apartment of my very own and the new place has come with an acceptable shower curtain along with the old plastic ring things. The apartment I am leaving has a fine set of the metal hooks that I got for Christmas several years ago that were being used with a dingy shower curtain that the roommate likes for some reason. (The roommate is staying on and taking over the old apartment)

I was actually considering leaving the metal hooks... for about 5 minutes. I simply can't part with them. Today I am going to exchange the plastic hooks from the new place with my treasured metal ones from the old. Luckily the old roommate is out of town and can't stop me. I wonder how long she'll last before she goes out and buys her own set?

posted by Michelle on 2005-09-14 13:40:19

Picked mine up on discount at a closing Ames store, I believe. I always considered them a luxury splurge before making the purchase -- now I can't imagine going back to anything else.

posted by m0nstermike on 2005-09-19 14:16:03

I miss P2s humour.....

posted by Angie in Montreal on 2008-03-20 16:41:49
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Got mine at Target. And paid the $12 for the set. I am at a point in my life where I've decided to eliminate small vexations and willing to pay the extra $$ for it. These are so easy to use I actually wash/clean my shower curtain more often now that it's so easy to hang it back on.

posted by deepa on 2008-03-20 16:47:12
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I have to agree that perhaps the Target version of these is not so great. I had a roommate who had the good ones, and when I moved to my own place, I found these at Target. They continually popped open and flipped upside down, making the curtain difficult to open. (This did not happen with the ones my old roommate had - hers must have been the real thing!) I replaced the bad ones with simple chrome hooks which work great!

posted by laura c on 2008-03-20 16:47:59
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I bought a set from Target and a set from Bloomingdales and the ones from Bloomies are better.

posted by madaket on 2008-03-20 16:56:48
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I had been a devout buyer of the chrome hooks pictured above until I picked up a set of clear plastic ones as a purchase of convenience when I was stocking up for the new place and was too exhausted to stop elsewhere...The plastic ones are sooo quiet! I've always lived in places with metal rods, perhaps I'm an aggressive opener and closer and a little cranky in the morning but I don't miss the screeching sound. The plastic ones aren't attractive but aren't unattractive either.

posted by sweetheart on 2008-03-20 17:07:49
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Does anyone else have any problem with rusting? Mine (not these ones, but similar ones) rust up. Not terribly, but just in splotches...

posted by siongchinchan on 2008-03-20 17:08:35
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I bought these a while back as a "splurge" and got the $12 ones from Bed Bath Beyond. Within a year they lost their shine, and upon closer inspection the metal had deteriorated. It looked like it all had a splotchy white film all over, but it wasn't anything i could clean off -- the metal had gone bad. Even worse, it had the effect of rust, where the pieces became rusted together, no longer rolled (just scraped across the rode) and it made opening and closing them to remove the shower curtain difficult. Despite loving the look, i've resolved never to buy these again because they had such a short usable life -- i'm surprised no one else here has had a back experience...

posted by mh330 on 2008-03-20 17:14:05
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Bought mine long ago -- was simply going by "Frank" up therr a bit -- victim of PToo's witty humour -- but they are still goign strong ($12 from BB&B) -- since time have turned my mother on to them, and she was jsut blown away by how easy they are to use.

Miss PToo's humor, too. Maybe he couldn't comment for a while -- I haven't been able to post for many months -- until very recently. Glad AT servers are bug-free again.

posted by Mid-C Frank on 2008-03-20 18:01:54
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bought some this weekend from Crate & Barrel outlet...love 'em!

posted by 335ktt on 2008-03-20 18:10:17
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I got mine at Target, on clearance!!!, so I got a few packs. To solve the snag problem, I bought a plastic rod cover. Problem solved. Love these!

posted by mereach on 2008-03-20 18:39:01
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$5 at century 21...works great!!

posted by joesky on 2008-03-20 23:52:46
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Some shower curtains come with their own adorable little motif in a set of little sculpted hooks. No matter how cute or pretty they are, they're just never as functional as these, so it tends to render them some flavor of cheesily ugly.

posted by Curtis on 2008-03-21 00:22:23
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All the windows in my new apartment have cubicle tracks. These also work wonderfully (for tabbed curtains) in the tracks.

posted by KelleyR on 2008-03-21 05:49:42
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I'm a college student and every expense I can avoid I do. I needed some ball chain for something else and I used the rest of the ball chain to hang my curtais. It lets me hang them at the length that I want them and it is very cheap with the same look.

posted by lluckiecharm on 2008-03-21 11:26:56
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