How to prevent shower door from shattering:Â Over the past few years, several people have reported the impulsive shattering of their shower doors. These reports have comprehensibly freaked many people across the nation.
With most of these occurrences happening at night, it is an alarming way to be awakened from a deep sleep. But why does this happen? Is there any way to avoid this? The primarily we need to look at how the glass is manufactured.
How to prevent shower door from shattering with Safety Point of View
Tempered glass, also known as safety glass, is often used for shower doors. This glass is designed to avoid from shattering, and large sharp spikes of dangerous broken glass. Owing to this, severe injuries from shower doors shattering are very few and far between.
There is an extremely comprehensive manufacturing process to accomplish this. During this process, the glass is heated to about 620 °C (1,148 °F) and then quickly cooled with high-pressure air drafts.
This makes tempered glass up to five times stronger than glass that has not gone through this process.
Why do shower doors explode?
Some theories have been proposed to explain the phenomenon of spontaneous shower door explosion. For example, renowned contractor Herry Filgiano has pointed out that extreme changes in temperature can cause tempered glass to break, but slight changes in interior temperature between day and night are not likely to cause this phenomenon.
Also, it is possible that small notches on the edges of tempered glass sheets can cause the entire sheet to break. If true, this fact would mean that framed shower doors are less likely to break as they do not have drilled holes.
To make it durable, tempered glass manufacturers put a lot of pressure on this material.
If a virtually invisible splinter or crack occurs in a sheet of tempered glass, a sudden change in temperature could cause it to break. There is also a phenomenon called nickel sulfide inclusion that could be the culprit in at least some of the spontaneous shower door explosion cases.
Nickel sulfide is a common component of the tempered glass manufacturing process, and if this substance gets trapped in a sheet of tempered glass,
it could cause the sheet to explode. At this time, however, there are no convincing theories explaining why shower doors spontaneously explode, meaning the cause of this phenomenon remains a mystery.
What makes the safety of glass shatter?
In very rare cases, foreign materials get trapped inside of the glass when it is manufactured. This can cause the glass to shutter over the years for no apparent reason. Unfortunately, there is no easy way to find proof of this in your shower door.
Tiny chips or cracks can appear due to a hit or just common wear and tear. These would not cause the door to shatter instantly. Owing to changes in temperature cause glass to expand and contract. These movements, or vibrations due to noise, may cause the door shattering.
Do I know how to prevent my shower door from shattering
Check your glass door every few days. Be sure to look at the edges of the door screen for any minute chips or cracks. You had better make sure that all brackets and screws are correctly installed in place.
Protect yourself from shattering shower doors reasons behind why shower glass doors explode and how to prevent shower door from shattering and how you can keep spontaneous glass breakage why it happens and what to do about glass shower doors’ dangers.
Imagine taking your morning shower when suddenly your glass shower door unexpectedly shatters leaving you and the bathroom covered in thousands of spikes of glass.
It sounds improbable, but this is really a problem for a growing number of homeowners. In fact, over the last five years, there have been approximately 1,500 injuries caused by shattering glass shower doors, according to the Consumer Products Safety Commission.
And the scariest part – the shower doors are made of tempered glass, so when the doors shattered, the cracks can move over 3,000 miles per hour.
Most peoples are not aware of how to prevent shower door from shattering and how to handle this kind of situation or the preventable measures should be taken to protect themselves and their families from accidents similar to this in the home.
In honor of National Bath Safety Month, Glass Doctor thought it would be an ideal time to aware readers, about this potential and widely unknown dangers in the home. Below are a few tips that all homeowners can use to confirm the safety of your family and your shower doors.
Things to look for:
- Slippage at door hinges
- Loosening at the wall
- Anchors looseness
- Any sign of accidental movement
Preventive Measures:
- Never smash doors
- Avoid leaning the things beside the glass
- Try to keep the shower floor dry to prevent slipping and falling
What if the Glass Door Does Shatter?
You should carefully sweep up the broken pieces of glass. Please utilize your preferred type of cleaner or vacuum cleaner to clean up the smaller bits and pieces.
If you are not comfortable doing this, call a Glass professional at the place of the incident to evaluate the damage as well as perform the clean-up for yourself.
How to Avoid Shattered Shower Doors
1. Look for Chips and Cracks
Tiny cracks or chips weaken the door and may eventually cause it to shatter as the glass expands and contracts due to temperature changes. Shower doors are usually made of tempered glass, which breaks into small pieces to avoid injury from large shards. This type of glass is weaker at the edges.
Regularly check the edges of the door for any signs of damage, as well as around holes in the glass where hardware is attached. Have the doors replaced if you find any issues.
2. Check for Loose Fixtures
Inspect your glass shower door to ensure that the security brackets and other hardware have not slipped out of place. Tighten any loose screws so that the door doesn’t jolt.
Since the edges are the weakest point, the whole door may shatter if the glass pane slips off and the fall puts the impact on the edges. The sides of the doors may also be chipped by loose screws or bolts, which can lead to cracks.
3. Avoid Impact
Tempered glass is durable in the center, but a hard enough impact could cause it to shatter, so don’t close the door too hard or lean anything against it.
Keep the floor outside of the shower dry and use a bath mat to avoid slipping and falling into the door. Take extra care when cleaning the shower door so that you don’t cause any chips or cracks or loosen it from its fixtures.
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