Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, “washing hands” is a task that’s gotten a lot more popular over the last 18 months, and what we wash with and how we wash has been given a lot more thought and “lip service” than ever before (what was that song we were supposed to hum in our heads to make sure we scrubbed long enough–“Bohemian Rhapsody”? or was it “Rapper’s Delight?” 🙂 ). The questions of “Bar soap or liquid?” and “Anti-bacterial or regular?” may have crossed your mind a time or two when shopping for household bath and body items, and business owners/managers have been thinking more about soap, too– “hands free” liquid soap dispensers are now seen in more public restrooms than a year ago. The additional question of “Which type of soap is more environmentally friendly and associated with less needless waste?” probably hasn’t been a big concern amidst so much worry, sickness and death, understandably– but now that hospitalization rates are plummeting, it’s time to step back and look at the answers to all these questions.
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First, research shows that antibacterial soap is not more effective than getting rid of disease-causing germs than regular soap and can actually encourage infection with frequent use, as it can dry and crack the skin, giving entry points to germs (and note that the word describing the soap is antibacterial, not antivirus). There’s also the concern than it kills beneficial bacteria that needs to be on our skin, and makes the bad bacteria more resistant to antibiotics. So it makes no sense to buy, and pay more for, antibacterial soap products– any kind of good ‘ol regular soap, along with water and friction, does the job.
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But– should you be on “team bar” or “team liquid”? While bar soaps have been much maligned, especially during the pandemic, as a “host for germs,” research shows that proper hand washing precludes transferring any germs that may be present. Other things to consider about both bar and liquid soaps are what’s inside and what’s outside (i.e. the packaging). Some soap bars are all natural and packaged in paper tied with cotton string, both compostable items, and others are pretty far away from “natural” and dump a ton of needless chemicals into our water system. Liquid soap can be the same– more natural vs. laden with chemicals, and, most liquid soap, if bought commercially each time it runs out, carries the “extra” of being housed in a pump dispenser, either glass or plastic. Though the bottle may be recyclable, the pump top is generally not, and belongs in the trash (and by the way, it should be separated from its bottle before the bottle heads to the recycling bin or the whole thing could get trashed). There is a British company called Raepak that has been working on making recycled pump tops for global distribution– kudos to them!
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I use both kinds of soap. I LOVE all the handmade soap displays at artisan markets, gift shops, and natural grocery stores and love to support local makers that have an eco-friendly product– and so a natural soap bar is my go-to in the shower, where I can house it in a woven “soap bag” and hang it, so soap crud doesn’t build up on a shower shelf or soap tray (soap bags are also great for housing tiny soap scraps that might otherwise get thrown away). For bathroom sinks, I’m on team liquid, just because it’s less messy and I’m all about fast cleaning, but I reuse the dispensers and fill them back up with liquid soap from refill sizes to cut down on throwing away so many pump mechanisms (the large refill containers are usually recyclable, with just a cap on top, and are more economical as well!) Sometimes for our “guest” bathroom sink I use a refillable, decorative ceramic dispenser that was once part of a matching “bath vanity set” from Bed Bath and Beyond– as you probably already know, many colors and designs of refillable dispensers in ceramic as well as glass and plastic are widely available at places like Target, Walmart, Pottery Barn and Kohl’s.
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For a look at some ways I’ve transformed “disposable” plastic soap dispensers into something a lot more fun, be sure to follow untrash.blog on Instagram!