I was sick of painting my fence to get rid of green algae – £10 bathroom buy transformed it in seconds & took no effort

The Sun

10-05-2025

WE all love a clean and tidy garden, but the work that comes with that isn't as welcome.
So, one savvy gardener who was fed up with painting her fence every single year found an easy way to cover it up without spending hours painting it again.
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Lesley Timby, from the UK, took the time to share her clever gardening hack on social media.
She first showed the fence she was dealing with, which had been painted black.
Unfortunately for Lesley, green algae kept growing all over the structure even after cleaning and painting it.
So, instead of repeating the same job this year, she decided to switch things up and cover the fence with shower curtains.
Lesley wrote: "Job for today.
"After spending lots of cash on black duck back fence paint only for it to keep turning green after winter, I decided to give shower curtains a go.
"Looks amazing."
The shower curtain hack became popular last year and is still going strong.
Take one look at the # showercurtaingarden trend on TikTok and you'll find over 93 million videos with people sharing their take on it.
And it's easy to see why the trend is so popular, if your fence is damaged it can cost an average of £30-40 to replace it, whereas a shower curtain costs just £10.
Lesley used two shower curtains to cover her fence, and both displayed a picture of two blue chairs and a table with large matching vases on either side with giant shrubs inside.
It was finished off with a matching blue window printed on it and two lanterns.
Lesley was pleased with the transformation, which meant she no longer had to worry about the algae lurking underneath.
People were quick to take to the comments on the post shared in the group, Gardening On A Budget Official.
How to get algae off fences
ABS Fencing shared a list of do's and don'ts when it comes to cleaning green algae off your fence.
Don't use household mould or mildew remover sprays as these are generally intended for use on hard surfaces indoor.
Don't use bleach in the garden, it kills a lot more than the mould.
Don't try sanding back the top surface of the wood, as algae will just regrow back.
Don't bother with power hosing – that only opens up the timber grain and allows more water inside, making the problem worse down the line.
Do use white vinegar mixed with hot water in a spray bottle and work it in with a brush, leave for 30 mins or more, then hose down.
Do repaint when dry with good quality fence paint.
They loved the look of Lesley's new garden feature and others were inspired to do the same.
One person wrote: "Love it."
Another commented: "Just done mine as well."
"Looks fab that. We did it with bamboo shower curtains but I love yours more ," penned a third.
Someone else added: 'Just done mine as well."