While many Americans are opting for glass bath and shower enclosures, the past five years have seen more than 2,000 trips to the emergency room for injuries caused when those glass doors shattered — sometimes spontaneously.
Inside Edition took a closer look at a danger most consumers know nothing about.
"It sounded like a bomb went off," one mother, Amy, told Inside Edition. "It burst into smithereens, basically.”
She said the glass door of her shower spontaneously exploded with her 12-year-old son inside.
“It blew up,” her son, Oliver, added.
The boy suffered cuts all over his arms and legs.
It happened to Jean Trott as well. Trott sustained severe cuts while showering in a Newport Beach, California, hotel room.
"I was coming out of the shower and touched the handle when all of a sudden it exploded and the shards of glass came flying out,” Trott said. "I just couldn’t believe it."
As a result, her arm and foot required 30 stitches.
All shower glass doors should be made out of safety glass, says glass expert Mark Meshulam. The most commonly used safety glass is tempered glass.
"This is how tempered safety glass breaks — it breaks in thousands of pieces in an instant," he said.
But even safety glass can be dangerous.
"You can still have large pieces that come down together like a big chunk and if you're naked in the shower and they hit you, they can still cut you," Meshulam added.
Most shower door explosions are due to wear and tear, jumping the track or bad installations.
Meshulam says safety film can stop most accidents from happening. The adhesive safety film keeps it from blowing up.
Following a demonstration Meshulam did for Inside Edition, the glass held together with the help of the safety film.
Only a professional should install the film. It can cost between $100 and $200.
Another professional tip is never let your kids hang or pull on the towel bar or handles, and periodically check the glass for chips and scratches around the frame. The glass should never hit tile or metal.
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