Assertion Open AI assessment confidence: 80% certainty 4/5 debate potential 3/5

Young: Fabric shower liners are coated with toxic PFAS forever chemicals

Luke Barkley Young · "VCs Debate: Is This Recyclable Shower Curtain the Future of Circular Economy Home Products?" · Nov 1, 2023 · at 7:23

Outlines founder Luke Barkley Young challenges investor Al Beshara's claim that washable fabric shower liners are a safer, eco-friendly alternative to plastic liners.

0:00 / 0:17exact quote · 17.8s

▶ Watch the full episode on YouTube → 720p mp4 · rendered on demand · StarZero watermark

“The material you're talking about it isn't, it's not cloth. It's a polyester. It's covered in what's called a DWR, durable water resistant, which is made of a PFA, which is a highly carcinogenic forever chemical. And when you stand next to it in the shower, the hot water encourages those PFAs to go into your bathroom air and you breathe them in.”

quote is from the automated transcript, cleaned for reading: filler sounds and stutters are removed, nothing is rephrased. names can be misheard (the analysis reads context, assessments check outside sources). how →

The claim, plainly

Fabric shower liners are made of polyester coated with PFAS-based durable water repellents that are released into the bathroom air by hot shower water.

a quote alone can be ambiguous, so this restates it with the references and context of the conversation around it resolved. AI-written; the tape below the player is the source.

Assessment

Luke Barkley Young claimed on November 1, 2023, that fabric shower liners are polyester coated with PFAS-based durable water repellent (DWR) and that hot shower water aerosolizes or volatilizes these PFAS chemicals into breathable bathroom air. While polyester fabric shower curtains are commonly treated for water repellency, textile manufacturers utilize diverse chemistries (including non-fluorinated silicones, waxes, polyurethanes, and mechanical weaves) alongside fluorinated treatments, and no systematic testing has established that standard commercial fabric liners predominantly contain PFAS. Furthermore, physical chemistry indicates that DWR fluoropolymers have high molecular weights and minimal vapor pressure at domestic shower temperatures (38–45°C), and as of September 2026, no published peer-reviewed studies or independent laboratory testing have demonstrated that PFAS from fabric shower curtains transfer into breathable indoor air during showers. Because empirical testing resolving these specific mechanisms has not yet been published, the claim cannot be definitively resolved.

Product specifications and textile industry data show water-repellent polyester fabrics use various non-PFAS chemistries (silicones, polyurethanes, tight weaves) alongside fluorinated DWR, with no systematic testing confirming universal or predominant PFAS use on commercial fabric shower liners.
Textile DWR PFAS polymers have high molecular weights and extremely low vapor pressures at domestic shower temperatures (38°C–45°C), hindering gas-phase volatilization.
As of September 2026, no peer-reviewed indoor air quality study or consumer testing has verified that hot shower conditions cause measurable aerosolization or volatilization of PFAS from fabric liners into breathable bathroom air.

Checked against

[1] youtube.com [2] youtube.com [3] thecompanystore.com [4] interiormedicine.com [5] nontoxiclab.com [6] norden.org [7] epa.gov [8] healthytomorrow.org

"shower" "PFAS" inhalation aerosol water air study PFAS shower curtain testing consumer reports polyester Luke Barkley Young Outlines shower liner PFAS fabric shower liner PFAS durable water repellent polyester PFAS shower liner hot water aerosolize air bathroom study "shower curtain" OR "shower liner" PFAS "durable water repellent" "aerosol" OR "volatilize"

assessed as of 2026-09-03

This assessment is an AI reading of a public statement, made against the cited references with the confidence shown. It can be wrong. The quote, the tape and the references are all on this page; if something is off, use report an error below. full disclaimer →

⏳ next review: 2024-11-01; checked again automatically on the next resolution wave

Mentioned

Al Beshara Luke Barkley Young PFAS

⚑ Spot an error? Report it

More from Luke Barkley Young

Assertion Partly supported

Luke Barkley Young: Fabric shower liners release carcinogenic PFAS in showers

“The material you're talking about it isn't, it's not cloth. It's a polyester. It's covered in what's called a DWR, durable water resistant, which is made of a PFA, which is a highly carcinogenic forever chemical. And when you stand next to it in the shower, th…”

Luke Barkley Young Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 7:32 #123 Outlines: A Venture-Backed Shower Curtain?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Luke Barkley Young: Outlines CAC dropped post-iOS update and remains profitable

“Post the iOS update, our CAC actually reduced, and it's continued to stay stable this year. So we're still first purchase profitable.”

Luke Barkley Young Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 8:50 #123 Outlines: A Venture-Backed Shower Curtain?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Young: Outlines' customer acquisition cost actually dropped post-iOS 14 update

“In fact, post the iOS update, our CAC actually reduced, and it's continued to stay stable this year. So we're still first purchase profitable.”

Luke Barkley Young Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 8:40 "VCs Debate: Is This Recyclable Shower Curtain the Future of Circular Economy Home Products?"

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Young: 75% of Outlines buyers opt for a shower curtain subscription

“75% of our users subscribe to recurring deliveries at the point of purchase.”

Luke Barkley Young Nov 1, 2023 ▶ 2:56 "VCs Debate: Is This Recyclable Shower Curtain the Future of Circular Economy Home Products?"

Assertion Contradicted

Luke Barkley Young: Only 6% of recyclables in US bins are recycled

“And many people know that recyclables in America, of everything we put into our recycling bins, only around six percent of them are actually recycled.”

Luke Barkley Young Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 2:26 #123 Outlines: A Venture-Backed Shower Curtain?

Assertion Not checkable as stated

Luke Barkley Young: Outlines has a 75% point-of-purchase subscription rate

“75% of our users subscribe to recurring deliveries at the point of purchase. That's five times an industry standard.”

Luke Barkley Young Mar 4, 2025 ▶ 3:06 #123 Outlines: A Venture-Backed Shower Curtain?

Young: Fabric shower liners are coated with toxic PFAS forever chemicals

More from Luke Barkley Young

Turn any episode into a week of clips.