Is bar soap unsanitary?

[Jemima]

I've been wondering this....  Trying to get away from using anti-bacterial soap all the time, so I put bar soap in the bathroom. But, man, that slimy soap bar sitting there, usually in a little puddle under in it in the dish, just doesn't seem very sanitary to me.

About every day I rub the soap bar all over under running water, and rinse out the soap dish, but I don't know that it does anything for all the germs that seem like they must be sitting on that soap bar.

Anyone have input on this? Can you even buy non anti-bacterial liquid soap? I've looked for it, at  Wal-mart and such, but everything is a.b.

[boysmama]

I've wondered the same thing. Rubbing my hands over the same bar of soak as the last person grosses me out at times. I've tried to teach my children to rinse the soap before they lay it back down and a good soap dish that drains the water away helps.

You could look for handmade liquid soaps (maybe even a goat milk one  ) or a liquid castile. Some liquid soap sold as handmade may be a base that includes some chemicals, watch it, but there are some out there that are just saponified oils and maybe an essential oil scent.

[herbalmom]

Dr Bronners is a good, basic, natural liquid soap you can get at HFS & some grocery stores. 

Here's some threads with info about liquid soaps:

What kind of soap do you keep by your sink?

Castile Soap: How, When, Why & How Much?

Homemade Dish Washing Soap

[miamama]

Anyone have input on this? Can you even buy non anti-bacterial liquid soap? I've looked for it, at  Wal-mart and such, but everything is a.b.

We've been using the Wal-Mart brand Milk and Honey liquid handsoap b/c it's cheap and does not claim to be antibacterial.

[tonysgirl]

Answers in Genesis website has articles on "Super Germs" and why you don't want to kill off all the "good little dirt germs" with antibacterial soaps, etc. What that does is kill all the somewhat ok germs and leaves the "super germs" which are really only mutants missing info to wreak havoc. That's why those bad staph etc. are in hospitals, it really is a too antiseptic environment. The one AIG speaker has an interesting testimony of being in the hospital for awhile with a hospital-aquired infection, and they told him he needs to go play in the dirt for awhile, and some real germs will kill off that nasty mutant, and he'll be good to go!
All that said to say, Yeah, touching soap that someone else touched can get under my skin too. But not to repeat miamama's advice- I also tell my children to rub the soap on their washcloth when they take a bath, and not themselves, then rinse it.

[hi_itsgwen]

I like the foaming soap pumps...I just dumped out the antibacterial soap in them, and use the Dr. Bronners castile liquid, (or Dr. Woods...a similar brand of castile soap I get from Lucky Vitamins).  I use about 2T-1/4 c. of soap, and fill the rest of the way with water...gives a nice foamy shot of soap.

[Gigi]

I agree that the thought of using a bar of soap after someone else (who may have been grubby - like with chicken poo, for instance) can give me the heebeejeebies.

I also remember reading that germs do, in fact live on a bar of soap. 

But, this link talks of a study that reveals that even if soap is inoculated with scadzooks of ecoli (and other nasties), those who wash their hands with that soap don't have any detectable levels of those germs on their hands after washing. 

So, basically, washing with soap that has cooties is still removing your cooties.  And the cooties of the previous soap user.  And the cooties of the user before that one.


http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/10/science/10qna.html?_r=1

[mommyM]

This is a frugal tip for your bar of soap.   Tired of the soap bar getting "gummy" or falling apart in lumps?   When the bar soap is on sale, buy it and take it out of the box and put it where it can dry for 6 weeks, then it is ready to use.   It is supposed to last twice as long  and not get that liquidy and gummy stuff on it.

[Gigi]

This reminds me that many handmade soap-makers are making "salt soap" in which they put a ton of sea salt or table salt into their cold process soap recipes. It makes the soap hard as a rock (the salt does not remain scratchy, instead it melts as you use it and makes the soap more like a polished stone).

These bars do not accumulate nearly the amount of slimy/gummy stuff that is typical of cold-process soaps and they last forever.  So, if slimy bar soap is unbearable, this is something to try.

One downside to this soap is that it tends to sting any cuts and scratches.

[a11an49]

I think the best answer would be to avoid any soap and get back to using natural stuff as far as possible!! I believe that all soaps contain chemicals and so truly try to avoid them as far as possible!! I've seen a lot of people having bad rashes due the allergy to the soap they use. With companies just concerned about making money at the risk of their customers, it is now up to us to take care of our interests by being careful!!

[Leat]

My father-in-law solved the slimy soap dish problem by putting 3 rubber bands over the dish.  The soap sits on top of the bands. Since most dishes have a curve air gets under to keep it dry.

Just an idea. 

Leat

[tonysgirl]

allen49- I'm curious what you mean by all  soap containing chemicals? Like lye, which is made by soaking hardwood ashes and water, and mixing it with organic oils... into a lovely bar of homemade soap?! Maybe you're thinking about all that cheap stuff the stores sell.... just curious about what the  "natural way" is? No soap?

[Gigi]

All soap contains chemicals, yes.  Even old-fashioned handmade soap.  But that's because everything is made of chemicals. Essential oils contain chemicals.  Water is a chemical.  Table salt is a chemical.  Chemicals, in and of themselves, are not the enemy.  The whole marketing thing of  "our products don't contain chemicals" is just that.  Marketing.  Just thought I'd throw that in there.

<I think the allan post is a spammy one, but I may be wrong.  Seems like an effort to get folks to click on the "alert one" link, in the signature.>

Leat, that's a great idea with the rubber bands on the soap dish! 

[petrimama]

I can offer two solutions to this problem:
1.  Put a few drops of Shaklee Basic-H concentrate into a foaming pump w/ water
2.  Use a potato peeler to make thin, single-use portions of a bar soap and set them out in a pretty dish.  It's so lovely to see it all curled and fluffy like that, and it stays clean and dry.  I do the same in the shower, except I use an old plastic tupperware with a lid to keep it dry.  Bar soap is so much cheaper, except for the waste, so that's another plus.