Thread: Bar Soap and Germs

The title is for bar soaps but I read PUCKs.

The article basically says if you are in good health you have nothing to fear. But, to be on the safe side, rinsing your puck before lathering would not hurt.

Does Bar Soap Really Hold Onto Germs?

I keep mine in a Pyrex after it has dried about 5 hours later.

John
Do you mean a sealed Pyrex dish or an open top Pyrex dish like a mug?

This brings up a good question. I salvage unused lather and put it back in the bowl, container, cup, whatever the soap stays in. Some are sealed (TOBS, MDC, etc) and some are open to the air.

I did not think creams were to be left exposed to the air. OTOH, some of my pucks stay in closed containers. Now, I am not sure about salvaging unused lather. It might not be a good thing but I have never had a problem.

I have always been of the belief that this whole germ thing is vastly overexaggerated. Particularly with people in good health. Our immune systems need to be exposed to germs so that they can make antibodies.

OTOH, you'll never catch me on a cruise boat!

I always thought soap was self cleaning, sort of like our cat.

I am not afraid of germs. I have never really worried about any on my soap. I however don't shave my bar soap with three or four thousand of my closest friends. For the average person their bar soap does not get much exposure to many people. I don't think I have ever thought, I must have caught something from that soap. I would expect that most of us are healthy enough it should not bother us. If you just got out of open heart surgery than you might want to be a little more careful, or going through Chemo or radiation. I think many people over think these things.

I seem to recall this coming up once or twice before. No way I'm going to wash my soap own soap. That being said, I avoid public bar soap like the plague.

Originally Posted by dinnermint

I have always been of the belief that this whole germ thing is vastly overexaggerated. Particularly with people in good health. Our immune systems need to be exposed to germs so that they can make antibodies.

+1, I haven't worried very much about this.

Creams are closed immediately. I used to leave the unused soap lather in the bowl years ago, but stopped. No reason to do this as I have so many options.

I try to put my risk assessment in perspective. I worry most about things with the higher risk.

I leave my soap damp in an open mug in my basement. It is my soap and most of the germs if any are left there by myself. If they are deposited from the air of the house they are landing on my body anyway. Maybe my neighbor has MRSA and a mouse runs over his soap and then across the yard to my house and across my soap and if I cut myself while shaving the next day I might get infected.... Put it in perspective. I have more of a chance of many other things happening. I would fill up the server if I listed them all.

Concerning publicly shared soap even with liquid you usually have to put your hand on the pump to get the soap. That is pushed by the previous person with their "dirty" hands. What difference if they touch the pump or the bar?

At lest the people that use the soap are trying to keep clean. Then you go out with clean hands and touch the door knobs etc. that the people that didn't use soap touched.

Where is my bubble to live in? What if the bubble gets a leak and something leaks in that I have developed no immunity to gets in?

Where do I stop?

I work maintenance in a hospital and part of my job is unplugging toilets and drains. The stuff in the drains and any of the equipment I use are considered not hazardous!