Comments on: Monday Mission: Handwashing and Antibacterial Soap

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 28 Jun 2010 07:34:36 +0000

Elizabeth,
Thank you so much for chiming in! Your perspective as a health care provider is an important one. Katie

By: Elizabeth

Elizabeth — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 19:37:51 +0000

I am a nurse practitioner and I see patients at home. Even though the push is for the use of alcohol hand gels and super-antibacterial soaps/foams, I still prefer to use plain old soap and water. I do use alcohol had gels as long as they don’t have triclosan as sometimes my patients don’t have clean sinks to wash at. And sometimes I would have to wash 10 times in one visit! I have banned triclosan at my home sinks and I don’t use toothpaste with triclosan (although my husband does). I truly feel that all of this antibacterial stuff along with abuse of antibiotics has backfired on us and now we are at the mercy of superbugs. I now treat minor infections with tea tree oil and burns with lavender oil. Put down the antibacterial soap and step away from the neosporin! Give the good bugs a chance!

By: Come here and let me dose you up…chasing a cold away! | A Moderate Life

Sun, 30 May 2010 20:46:04 +0000

[...] soap and water as soon as they enter the home (we do NOT used antibacterial products! Katie over at Kitchen Stewardship goes deeply into the reasons why, so please check out her great article. Frequent hand washing [...]

By: oystergirl

oystergirl — Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:30:17 +0000

Hi Katie, linking to this great information of yours as support for my latest blog article on treating colds with natural remedies–thanks for doing all the research!

Chasing away a cold
oystergirl´s last blog ..Come here and let me dose you up…chasing a cold away!

By: Katie

Katie — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 04:53:31 +0000

Rachel,
You are definitely right, BBW has been improving. There was a time, though, that they seriously had zero.
Good for you to make the change! Katie

By: Rachel

Rachel — Sat, 10 Apr 2010 17:24:33 +0000

Just as a side note (since you mentioned the store!), Bath and Body Works does carry non antibacterial soaps that don’t have triclosan. Typically they are the aromatherapy ones (which do smell great). If you’re like me and slowly weaning yourself to plain old soap they are a good option and usually are on sale during the August soap sale.
Rachel´s last blog ..Customs

By: 'Becca

'Becca — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 20:33:16 +0000

Great article! I especially appreciate the tips for what to do with leftover products, and the explanation of how to refill a soap foamer without clogging it–I gave up after ruining two of them; now I can try again.

My favorite natural liquid soap is Dr. Bronner’s. It seems expensive, but it’s so concentrated that it lasts a long time. For handwashing, we mix it 1:7 with water in a small trigger spray bottle. (That doesn’t foam it much, but it gives you the right amount and doesn’t clog.) In the shower, we just sprinkle a few drops on wet hands and rub together to get enough lather for several body parts.

We also make bar soap last and stay neat by hanging it in a mesh bag–instructions here.

For cleaning situations where I’m really concerned about bacteria, I use white vinegar, hydrogen peroxide, or rubbing alcohol.
‘Becca´s last blog ..Steel Kitchen Cabinets!

By: Taylor at Household Management 101

Taylor at Household Management 101 — Mon, 21 Dec 2009 16:53:56 +0000

I agree that we should defintely stop using antibacterial soap, and instead just employ proper hand washing techniques. The problem I encounter is actually finding any soap that is not antibacterial. Hopefully as this becomes more well known of a problem we will have more choices at the store for buying soap without the antibiotics in it.
Taylor at Household Management 101´s last blog ..Hi Ho Cherry-O – Cute Video Showing Why Kids Love This Game

By: Mary

Mary — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 20:26:04 +0000

When making your own foaming soap refill, I suspect that hot water is important. I used cold water and my soap solution doesn’t stay mixed. It only takes a hard shaking to re-mix it, but that’s needed almost daily. I really like the feel and action of the homemade foaming soap. Thanks.

By: Katie

Katie — Sat, 28 Feb 2009 02:35:57 +0000

Triclosan is actually in the “pesticide” category, so maybe it would be better to make a spray for your plants than use it on your hands! Seriously, I’m not sure. For now I’m just trying to slowly rid the household of it and not buy any more. This is the best information on triclosan that I found — after I wrote the article: http://www.beyondpesticides.org/pesticides/factsheets/Triclosan%20cited.pdf.

Here’s some important new information to help you be on the lookout:
“It is marketed under the trade name Microban® when used in plastics and clothing, and Biofresh® when used in acrylic fibers.” Also at the above website, there is a list of products containing triclosan, some of which shocked me: Merrell shoes and Revlon lipstick, to name two that happen to be in my household! Grrr….