Covering your tracks: pool noodle to shower door track cover

When we first moved in to our 1978 rental home in El Paso, I was charmed by its many quirks and design features, such as the lovely shell sinks and matching toilet seats in all of the bathrooms.  However, I quickly grew to hate the original sliding glass shower doors that were located in the guest bathroom (aka Sammy's bathroom as it houses the only tub in the joint).  Have you ever tried to bathe a mobile toddler when only half of the tub can be accessed at any one time?  Yeah, not so fun, especially when said toddler thinks its hilarious to go to the end that is just out of your reach and sit there laughing hysterically as you struggle to get to him.

Our initial solution to our bath-time dilemma was to remove the sliding glass doors, which was simple enough to do--they are currently leaning against the wall in our garage, collecting dust and waiting for the day that we move out so that they can be reinstalled.  While Captain Husband and I were now able to reach Sammy no matter where he might be in the tub, we were also faced with the rather unpleasant reality of just how uncomfortable it is to have to lean over those door tracks in order to play with and bathe Sammy during his tub time.  We tried placing towels on top of the tracks, but those usually slid off into the tub (or a certain toddler would pull them into to the tub, ahem), which left us not only uncomfortable but wet, too.

We had pretty much consigned ourselves to suffering with a painful midsection for the rest of Sammy's bath times until I had an "eureka" moment as I was strolling the aisles at Target--a pool noodle!  It was soft and water-resistant and just about the perfect size to totally cover up the tracks once it was split down the middle, which incidentally was the hardest part--I recommend taking a yardstick and then tracing along it with a sharpie to ensure a straight line from which to cut with an exacto knife or scissors.  I figured if the whole thing didn't work, I'd only be out the $1.50 it cost for the pool noodle.

My mom and Sammy tested out my new contraption last night and it was a rousing success; my mom was able to lean over the side of the tub comfortably (and stay dry) and the noodle is such a tight fit in the existing track that not even Sammy was able to budge it loose while he played.  Now if you excuse me, I'm off to go pat myself on the back a bit more for coming up with this ingenious (and cheap) solution.  Have a great weekend everyone!