Your mission, if you choose to accept, is to rid your home of the chemical triclosan and just use regular old soap to avoid the dangers of antibacterial soap.
This topic is the first I ever wrote about here at Kitchen Stewardship, and one rather dear to my heart in a strange, fixated way.
Only I would admit to a love affair with soap. 😉
My Relationship with Soap
I’m passionate about hand soap. Most of my closest friends don’t even know this about me, but it’s been a part of my life for a long time. (My husband is aware of this relationship, by the way. 😉 )
After conducting my own research in college (see below), I became convinced that antibacterial soaps are nothing more than a marketing technique created to exploit consumers’ fears about cleanliness and our general germaphobia. They don’t do anything beneficial, and their naughty side effects are about to alarm you, if I do my job properly.
Since college, I’ve gradually changed the way my family purchases and uses hand soap and other cleaners. The more I learn, the more I filter out, and over time I’ve switched to buying natural and organic options for nearly all my family’s body care products.
The easiest decision to switch concerned antibacterial soaps and their treacherous ingredient, triclosan.
The Soap Research Project
My degree is not in science – not by a long shot – but I’m definitely a science-minded geek, which is why I much preferred teaching elementary school so I could dabble in all subjects in spite of my English degree. I was blessed to take an incredible course teaching teachers basic science and all the skills necessary to “be scientists,” and my independent research project fueled the fire of my soapy passion.
I was curious about all the “antibacterial” hype and whether or not antibacterial soap actually performed any better than its traditional counterpart. Who else would get geeked about this project?
- designing an experiment to test the effectiveness of various soaps
- purchasing antibacterial and standard versions of bar and liquid soaps
- making petri dish gel (seriously cool stuff!!)
- researching how triclosan works
The Science of Washing Your Hands
First, let’s explore what happens when you wash your hands.
Let’s start with water: water has a cohesive property. It likes to “stick” to itself. This explains why water forms droplets, why those water strider insects can walk on water and why water creates a meniscus (the curved shape of the top of the water when you look at it from the side, as if in a measuring glass).
Water also has an adhesive property: it will “stick” to other objects. Just drip water on a vertical surface, like your shower wall, and you’ll see this in action. Droplets stay together as droplets (cohesion), and the water stays on the wall (adhesion).
Water will naturally adhere to the dirt on your hands and wash it away.
Now enter soap: Soap’s job is to get water to increase its adhesive property. Most soap contains “surfactants“, a short word for “surface active agents” which do what they say they’ll do: act on the surface tension of the water. It does this by breaking the cohesion and thereby reducing the surface tension of the water.
We all know oil and water don’t mix. That’s because oil is made up of molecules that are hydrophobic, meaning not that they have a Psycho-style fear of (shower) water, but that they are repelled by water. Surfactants have two different ends, one of which is hydrophobic and the other is hydrophilic, which means it attracts water.
Like objects attract: the hydrophobic end of the soap attracts the hydrophobic oil molecules, while the hydrophilic end of the soap grabs the water. This allows not only your standard issue dirt to be washed away down the drain, but also your grime and oily gunk, too, with soap acting as the middle man. The one drawback is that soap also washes away your skin’s natural oils, which explains why our hands tend to get so dry after frequent handwashing.
Ultimately, we don’t necessarily care if the bad bacteria lives or dies: we just want it away from our food and our family, running down the pipes to the water treatment plant…where they will then kill the bad guys, I suppose.
The Method I Used For My Experiment:
- I touched all sorts of nasty things in my college dorm’s community bathroom, the same things every time. You know that was disgusting and germ-filled!
- I washed my hands with warm water and rubbed hard for 30 seconds and dried with the blow dryer.
- I swiped my fingers onto a clean petri dish for each test and labeled what kind of soap I used.
- I waited for bacteria, mold and fungus to grow in my dorm room. Yes, my poor roommate often references this in her “why I didn’t live with Katie senior year” monologue along with other strange and exotic science experiments I had going that semester. (She’s still my best friend, in spite of the bacteria and even the overflowing bean fiasco!)
- Tests included:
- the reference sample without washing
- washing with only water
- waterless hand sanitizer
- 2 Lever 2000 bar soaps: antibacterial and original
- Dial antibacterial liquid
- Dial antibacterial bar
- 2 Softsoap liquids: antibacterial and “moisturizing”
I realize that most people don’t wash their hands for a whole 30 seconds, but that is the recommendation for hand-washing. It’s really quite a long time when you’re counting it out for real! I should have done all the tests with a 7-second handwash, which is about what I probably accomplish on average with the life of a mommy.
The Results
This is a portion of the petri dish before washing my hands (the most disgusting section, of course):
About 25% of the total dish was covered in growing things.
After washing with soap, five of the petri dishes had something growing in them. However, all five had only eight or fewer deposits, most measuring 1mm or less with the largest spot at 2.5 mm. Most of the bacteria, fungus and mold either died or went down the drain, which is all the same to me and my health.
Only Dial antibacterial soap showed no measurable growth. The worst of the six was Softsoap antibacterial liquid, but again let me reiterate that all six did a remarkable job reducing the bacterial growth on the petri dishes.
I concluded that triclosan-laced soaps are no better than their conventional counterparts at cleaning one’s hands.
Although my hypothesis was generally proven true already, I stumbled across some little nuggets that really got me thinking, including:
- How well water alone worked.
- What else was still on my hands after a good wash.
- How well waterless sanitizer worked (or didn’t work).
Water Alone
A good scrubbing with no soap whatsoever resulted in only twice as many spots as the worst performing soap. Yes, some of them were larger, so there were probably four times as many bacteria and other growing things, but I was very impressed that water alone could make such a dent. I maintain to this day that it is the scrubbing and the water that are the keys to good handwashing and that soap is only a lowly assistant that improves the already efficient process. Here’s the photo of water alone:
This is the worst part of the dish, just as with the photo above. It simply doesn’t look that intimidating to me! What do you think?
A Good Scrubbing Will Get You…
…Soap still on your hands. I noted in my report that I continued to make soap suds with my vigorous rubbing while drying my hands under the blow dryer. This is after 10 seconds of scrubbing soap onto my hands and 20 full seconds of scrubbing soap off under running warm water.
Frustrated, I ran a test with no petri dish with a full minute of hand washing, rubbing as hard and fast as I could under water. Still, a soapy film announced itself under the blow dryer. It made me wonder how much soap we walk around with on our hands (and consequently eat, especially for the under five set in our homes).
Alcohol-based Sanitizer
It’s important to note here that I’m not against alcohol-based sanitizers. I think they have their place, and because the active ingredient is alcohol, not triclosan, they don’t participate in germ warfare and bacterial resistance in quite as damaging a way as antibacterial soaps.
On the other hand, sometimes I think about this picture when I rely on waterless hand sanitizer:
My skin crawls just looking at that fuzziness. This petri dish cultured after using a nickel-sized dollop of Purell instant hand sanitizer. I don’t think I ever use that much hand sanitizer after a diaper change on the go, so my hands probably aren’t even getting this clean! There was barely a difference between the “before washing” petri dish and the sanitizer version. Good thing a little dirt (and bacteria) is good for our immune systems!
To Sum It Up
Basically, my results echo other published research that proves that antibacterial soap doesn’t get your hands significantly cleaner than regular soap. Plain water and good scrubbing actually resulted in a Petri dish that was pretty doggone similar to all the others, anti-bac and regular soap included. I was pleasantly surprised.
So use soap. Use plenty of water. And rub those hands together to get the dirt and germs dislodged and ready to be washed away by the magical powers of adhesion and surfactants! “Anti-bacterial” chemicals are unnecessary, ineffective, and harmful to the overall environment we call Earth.
I tell my kids that soap, water, AND friction are on a team. Water is the most valuable player, then the rubbing, then the soap as the assistant coach. Your real goal in washing your hands is to get the germs and dirt OFF your hands and down the drain.
What is Triclosan, Anyway?
Triclosan is the chemical added to anti-bacterial soaps (or triclocarbon for bar soaps) with the aim of killing bacteria. It is non-discriminatory in that it won’t only kill the bacteria you’re mad at, but also any good bacteria you have hanging around your house (or inside your body). It is a specialized killer, however, in that its effectiveness lies in coaxing bacteria not to reproduce.
How Does Using Triclosan Cause Harm?
Because of the handful of bacteria that manage to survive their encounter with triclosan, it contributes to what is commonly known as “bacterial resistance“, which basically means that the more we fight bacteria, the more the bacteria who can survive reproduce and the stronger the bacteria pool becomes.
The bacteria who are naturally selected to continue their gene pool will result in (more and more) overall resistance to triclosan, and possibly other antibiotics, especially those that work in the same way, creating the “super-bugs” no one wants to come home with after touching a shopping cart handle.
Every time you wash your hands/dishes/etc with a soap containing triclosan, you’re sending unknown amounts of the chemical into our collective ecosystem, and bacteria becoming stronger against us, the human race.
The Biology of Antibiotic Resistance
Here is some interesting information about antibiotic resistance from SnoWhite of Finding Joy in My Kitchen.
How does our use of antibacterial soaps contribute to super-bugs?
1) Not all bacteria are genetically identical. Even though on the surface bacteria (for example, E. coli) seem identical, there is a lot of variation in the population. Some E. coli bacteria have different genes than others. Some have a gene that makes them resistant to antibiotics, some don’t.
2) The bacteria’s environment matters. When E. coli bacteria are not exposed to antibiotics, these genetic differences in their resistance to antibiotics really does not matter. In this environment, all bacteria have a similar chance of surviving and reproducing offspring (read: our normal hand soap is an equal opportunity bacteria killer). However, when E. coli are exposed to an antibiotic, say triclosan in our hand soap, the variation in the population of E. coli creates a difference.
Exposure to antibiotic (e.g., Tricolsan) Case #1: When E. coli are exposed to triclosan, those that do not have the gene for being able to tolerate triclosan will die. These bacteria will no longer be able to reproduce more bacteria.
Exposure to antibiotic (e.g., Tricolsan) Case #2: When E. coli are exposed to triclosan those that DO have the gene for antibiotic resistance will survive. These bacteria pass on their genes to their offspring and their offspring then are resistant to our antibiotic.
3) The result: A “Super Bug” Population of Bacteria. Antibiotic resistant bacteria are often termed “super bugs” because they are unable to be killed off by our antibiotics. This “super bug” population of bacteria is now resistant to triclosan, because all the bacteria that were not resistant were killed off and unable to reproduce.
In both Case #1 and Case #2 above, it is important to realize that bacteria are not learning to fight back. Just like you and I have no control over our genetic make-up, bacteria cannot change their genetic make-up in response to a change in their environment. Bacteria reproduce so quickly that those without the gene for resistance die and the non-resistant gene quickly disappears from the population and the result is what appears to be a population of bacteria that are fighting back against our antibiotics.
By cutting down on our antibacterial soap use, we can help prevent these changes in the bacterial population. When we stop using soaps with Triclosan, we are no longer just killing bacteria that can be killed by the antibiotic, we have an equal chance of killing any bacteria in the population! This helps because bacteria without the resistance gene can remain in the population and reproduce offspring so that this gene remains in the population.
Triclosan’s Other Transgressions
- Is a probable hormone disruptor
- Creates chloroform when mixed with chlorinated water. (Almost all city water is chlorinated, and washing your dishes is an ideal environment for you to inhale toxic chloroform: hot water, chlorine, and antibacterial soap containing triclosan.)
- Stays on hands up to 4 hours after washing – anyone want an appetizer that may damage your liver or disrupt thyroid function?
- Is not completely removed by wastewater treatment processes, so it ends up in both our lakes and drinking water. As a result, it has been found in human breastmilk, and its toxicity to aquatic life puts our lake and stream ecosystems in grave danger.
Government Agencies Have Spoken out Against Triclosan:
- AMA (American Medical Association) recommended no antibacterial soap for household use back in 2002!
- CDC (Center for Disease Control) recommends plain soap and water for handwashing.
- EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also recommends simple soap and good old-fashioned scrubbing.
- FDA (Federal Department of Agriculture) ruled that “19 active ingredients, including triclosan and triclocarban, are not GRAS/GRAE and consumer antiseptic wash products containing these ingredients are misbranded for use in consumer antiseptic washes.”
With all those letters of the alphabet weighing in on the topic, why haven’t you heard about the AMA’s and CDC’s recommendations on ABC, CBS, or CNN? It’s not good marketing.
Before the FDA came to a conclusion, they even agreed that triclosan isn’t proven to be more effective than just soap and water.
Let’s see here: In products that babies, children and other humans may ingest or absorb through their skin, a compound is added for the sole purpose of killing bacteria, and there’s no evidence that it does what it is there for? Does anyone else notice how ridiculous that sounds?
- If triclosan was a medicine: “Take this pill, and it won’t do anything, but take it anyway.”
- If it was a babysitter: “I don’t actually watch children, but you can pay me to sit at your house for three hours.”
- If it was an educational strategy: “There’s no evidence that this helps children read, but we use it anyway.”
If it probably doesn’t do anything, why bother with it? I’m reaffirmed in my decision to get the triclosan out of my house and keep it out.
Something to Think About…
- Effectiveness: Triclosan must be left on a surface for 2 minutes in order to work properly. Who washes their hands that long? It’s killing bacteria everywhere but our hands instead.
- Limitations: Most diseases that we’re worried about catching are viral, anyway, and triclosan doesn’t touch viruses.
- Side Effects: Even the bacteria that we’re afraid of (E. coli is one example) are only getting stronger because of our overuse of triclosan.
Take Action: Get the Antibacterials Out
72% of the soap purchased for household use is antibacterial. Gaaaaah! Let’s get that number down closer to zero, which is how many households need antibacterial soap.
Level One, Baby Step: Increase your consciousness about where triclosan and bleach are hiding.
Take a walk around your house, or just read a bottle or two as you brush your teeth or do dishes. Look for “triclosan” on your household products (aka triclocarbon in bar soaps and microban in products). You’ll find it in almost every soap or commercial cleaner that claims to be “antibacterial”, unless you already have some natural soaps in your house.
You’ll also find it in some sneaky places, like toothpaste, antiperspirant, mouthwash, some waterless hand sanitizers, shoe inserts, dishtowels and washcloths, sponges, shower curtains, and cutting boards.
Understanding how pervasive these chemicals are is the first step to eradicating them from your house.
Level Two, Making Strides: Commit to finding product alternatives without antibacterials and avoid buying any more products with the chemical.
I have a pretty extensive list of possible triclosan hiding spots and easy alternatives here. For handsoap, you can simply buy regular soap, often labeled “moisturizing” or some such name so they don’t look less important than the bottles touting the “antibacterial” label. *raspberries!* Be more frugal by using a foaming pump and even more green by just using a few Tablespoons of castille soap in your pump (directions to fill the pumps here).
Once you know where the anti-bacterials are, you can start to replace them one by one with safer alternatives.
Level Three, Leap of Faith: Get rid of all bleach and triclosan by using natural cleaners or making your own.
I use three simple products to clean just about everything in my house, and here’s an easy chart of all green cleaning alternatives featured at KS.
Take it one step at a time, and decide for yourself whether it’s wise to just use up what you have first and slowly switch over to natural products or jump in with both feet and Freecycle your conventional cleaners. Keep in mind, the CDC has admitted that there are natural alternatives that are just as effective as bleach.
Find safe products for personal health at EWG’s Skin Deep database.
Disclosure: There may be affiliate links in this post. See my full disclosure statement here.
Need More Baby Steps?
Here at Kitchen Stewardship, we’ve always been all about the baby steps. But if you’re just starting your real food and natural living journey, sifting through all that we’ve shared here over the years can be totally overwhelming.
That’s why we took the best 10 rookie “Monday Missions” that used to post once a week and made a printable checklist so you can track your progress.
Sign up to get the checklist and weekly challenges and teaching on key topics like meal planning, homemade foods that save the budget (and don’t take too much time), what to cut out of your pantry, and more.
Betsy says
That’s good to know about the water-only results. I HATE to use soap in public restrooms because I just never know if I’m going to be overcome with the fumes for the next 30 minutes. That happened to me at work once after they changed the soap, and I started using my own (diluted Dr. Bonners). It’s a nuisance, but my resolve was strengthened when I found out the new soap was also antibacterial. Yuck!
Kelly E. says
Katie, what are your thoughts on using a homemade sanitizer for times when you are exposed to lots of germs in public, like after shopping at the grocery store or when your kids leave Sunday school?? Smile- I suspect those times are when my kids pick up most of the colds and bugs in our home. I only use Dr. Bronner’s at home and have been using this recipe for home made sanitizer:
http://pepperpaints.com/2009/03/23/natural-hand-sanitizer/
.-= Kelly E.´s last blog ..January 2010 update =-.
jason says
I’m curious about sort of dispenser you use for your Dr. Bronner’s soap (in regards to hand washing). I haven’t figured out the best way to do it, so we still use soft soap in our bathrooms.
I do have one dispenser that makes homemade foaming soap, so that works really well with Dr. Bronner’s and I have it in the kitchen. But, I haven’t found any more like this, and I’d rather not buy 2 or 3 bottles of foaming soap from the store and then dump them down the drain, just so I can put Dr. Bronner’s in.
Kelly E. says
I bought the Soft Soap foaming dispensers. I used the icky soap that came in it because my thrifty side wouldn’t let me dump it out. LOL They work better than Pampered Chef for me- still going strong almost three years later. I put 2/3 water and the rest Dr. Bronners soap. I use Peppermint scent for my kids and they love to wash their
hands. I too, have read that hand sanitizers need to be 60-80% alcohol to be effective, but I believe that a combo of GSE, tea tree oil and lavender should work well enough. Love to hear if someone knows otherwise. I’m fine with my kids playing in the dirt and regular colds don’t bother me, but we have a terminally ill daughter so I have to be careful with some of the really nasty germs out there.
.-= Kelly E.´s last blog ..January 2010 update =-.
Katie says
Jason,
I had enough old Bath and Body Works foaming pumps (eek) from my previous life that I can supply all my bathrooms with one. Agreed – don’t just dump soap! You can buy empty foamers, like this list of options at Amazon. Looks like they run about $5-15 there.
🙂 Katie
Katie says
Kelly,
That’s a lot of ingredients, but if you have/can get them all, it sounds like an awesome alternative to alcohol-based sanis. I should probably use more wet wipes, but I rely on sanitizer A LOT. Thanks for sharing this! 🙂 Katie
SnoWhite says
Awesome post — I’m looking forward to tomorrow too. As a biologist, I cringe when folks use antibacterial soap… not good! Plain ‘ol soap and water works wonders.
.-= SnoWhite´s last blog ..Menu Plan – March 21 =-.
Kristen says
This was a great post! I found the petri dish tests to be amazing. I stopped buying antibacterial soaps years ago. Now, if I could just get my sons to wash more 🙂
.-= Kristen´s last blog ..Homemade Yogurt: Make Your Own Monday #12 =-.
karen says
The very first time I read KS was last spring–the Monday Mission about triclosan! You have inspired me to toss many bottles of unpronounceable chemicals, make my own stock, and embrace vinegar. I still have a big ‘to do’ list, keep up the good work.
Katie says
Karen,
Awww, it’s hard to believe anyone’s been reading me that long! I am so touched…how did you ever find me at that time?
🙂 Katie
Wendy says
When I visited Uganda last fall I stayed with a lovely couple. The wife was a public health practitioner and before we left their house for the villages they gave us some handwashing tips. First, they demonstrated how North Americans usually wash their hands. It was hysterical – they said they can’t figure out why we only wash the tips of our fingers. So yeah, we have to wash the whole hand – top, bottom, between the fingers. Secondly, they said that sanitizers shouldn’t be used alone, or you will “kill the germs but eat the dirt.” Which is probably better than eating germs but definitely made me realize that sanitizers aren’t a substitute for washing.
.-= Wendy´s last blog ..Roasted Hazelnuts =-.
Katie says
Wendy,
LOVE “kill the germs but eat the dirt!” So true!
🙂 Katie
Kacie says
Thank you for this post. I’m new to your blog and I’m a pretty new participant to the full-force “go green/go whole foods” movement.
I have accepted your challenge today! I knew anti-bacterial soap was bad and I wasn’t planning on buying more, but your post inspired me to just get rid of it now. I’d rather be out a few dollars than keep on using that stuff, ya know?
Please email me if you have any ideas on how I can get rid of it beyond just chucking it in the trash can.
I have a bar of natural glycerin soap that’s biodegradable and I set it out just now. It smells lovely and it’s good to know it works and won’t breed superbugs!
.-= Kacie´s last blog ..Homemade peanut butter =-.
Katie says
Way to go, Kacie! (And welcome!)
I always say that since triclosan is classified as a pesticide, the only way I can think of to get rid of it is to treat your garden (but then it wouldn’t be organic – maybe for flowers?). I still have a huge jug, and I keep thinking maybe I’ll donate it to a school where they’re using it anyway… Tough solutions!
🙂 Katie
jason says
Some brands of deodorant also contain triclosan.
Katie says
Yes, LOTS of them!
Lindsey says
Your pictures drive this message home. I’ve been great about switching out sugars, etc. but it’s been SO HARD for me to switch out cleaning products. It’s hard to deny the proof of pictures and your good blog! 🙂
Kate says
My mother has a pet peeve about hand sanitizers and anything antibacterial. Which is funny to me because she’s really mainstream with most things! She happens to be allergic to some ingredient in cheap, chemical soap though, but she doesn’t know which yet.
Now, I despise any and all chemicals and I’m generally suspicious of anything I don’t recognize. I’d love to see you compare plain Dial soap, for example, with Dr. Bronner’s. But the truth is, I don’t tend to mind bacteria. I like bacteria. I’m sitting here drinking kombucha, which has plenty of it! There are times I don’t wash my hands (like after touching food, or a plant) that maybe I should. But…so what? It’s not making me sick and it’s helping all of us to have stronger immune systems.
I read a study awhile back that kids who grow up on farms tend to get sick less often than kids who don’t, because they’re around dirt and microbes so often. Hmm…maybe a little dirt IS good for you!
.-= Kate´s last blog ..Average Grocery Spending and Ways to Save on Real Food =-.
Simple in France says
I don’t think I’ll have time to write on this topic before the carnival, but I’ve been looking into the hand sanitizers with alcohol. It turns out that at the correct levels of alcohol concentration, they are as effective as soap and good scrubbing, which is why they are increasingly used in hospitals–my husband was just in intensive care and was at very high risk for infection and all they had was the hand sanitizer outside. I was freaking out, which is why I researched it.
But the trick is to have 60-80% alcohol in there. I don’t specifically remember reading up on Purrel, but I doubt it qualifies. Still the WHO has it’s own ‘recipe. . .’
If I have time, I’ll post, if not, just something to consider.
.-= Simple in France´s last blog ..On time or chronically late: a cultural connection? =-.
Katie says
SiF,
You are totally right, and Purell (and all others I’ve seen) have at least 62% alcohol. I have no idea why this didn’t work in my experiment, but remember it was just one trial by a total amateur! 😉
🙂 Katie
Kelli M says
Interesting. I did a similar experiment in my microbiology class in college. The soaps without triclosan perfomed just as well, and get this – we tested Bath and Body works hand sanitizer and it did NOTHING!!!! I haven’t used it since!
.-= Kelli M´s last blog ..I’m (almost) back! =-.
Katie says
Kelli,
Wow, thanks for sharing – it’s almost like I was peer-reviewed and replicated. Ha. Not quite, but it’s fascinating to hear of failure of the sanitizer from another source.
🙂 Katie
Kelli M says
No problem! I’m a closet science-nerd too :).
.-= Kelli M´s last blog ..I’m (almost) back! =-.
johanna says
With a dog, gardening and cloth diapers, we wash our hands so often we go through 2 KMF foaming pumps a month in the bathroom and one per month in the kitchen.
I refill 1:6 with Dr Bronners:water. The 32oz bottles last a long time! I haven’t done the math, but I imagine the $ savings are immense, not to mention all the bottles we don’t need to trash or downcycle.
Both KMF pumps are going strong 2 years later [not sure if it’s the old model or new style-they are wide and easy for 2yearold to manipulate]. I haven’t had to replace either with the Babyganics foaming soap I bought as a backup!
My hands never feel slimy afterward, nor do they get all cracked like from the soap at work.
Jenna says
Just a note: I did a similar experiment in a microbiology class. We swabbed our hands with a q-tip, and rubbed that q-tip on the petri dish surface. Then, we washed with regular soap, and reswabbed.
The unwashed results were grody.
ALL the washed results had light spots as shown on your “clean” petri dishes. That is because handwashing only removes TRANSIENT flora & fauna. In other words, what’s left on those petri dishes where you washed your hands is your own natural bugs – they will never, ever go away, no matter how much you hand wash. Everyone has their own set of natural flora & fauna: the main thing is to limit the amount of transient bugs, because our system is unused to them. We want to control their integration into our bodies to make them part of us, not overwhelm us with illness.
All of those cleaners that had only the little white spots on their petri dishes worked exactly the same: they left only your natural flora & fauna on board.
I have to wonder if the fuzzy thing on the purell dish wasn’t an accidental contamination. Maybe try that one again!
Last, on hand sanitizers, one must be careful not to put them on things which babies will suck – the alcohol content has been known to give babies alcohol poisoning.
.-= Jenna´s last blog ..Sunday dinner, 3/21/10 =-.
Katie says
Jenna,
What excellent additional information!!! I wonder where my other transient flora and fauna went on the soap dishes since there wasn’t as much. I’ve wondered about contamination with the Purell, too, although that spot wasn’t the only, just the worst. It helps me use less alcohol sanis, though, so I’m still glad to have that in my memory! 😉 Katie
Sonia says
Triclosan and the other toxins in soaps was the reason I started making my own soap! I’m happy to say all our hand soap and body soap is triclosan free! Not sure where else we have that ingredient hiding though! >_< I'm on a mission now… 🙂
Liz says
Dr. Mercola told about a university study (Cornell, Purdue? – can’t remember) where they were trying to find a safe sanitizer for use around food. They found that vinegar and hydrogen peroxide worked as well as if not better than anything else. You can’t mix them. They have to be applied separately but order doesn’t matter. I keep on hand 32-0z. spray bottles of each and even use this method on my fresh produce.
HJW says
I found this post using the search terms “stuff growing in antibacterial soap”… Because I filled 2 pump bottles half & half with Dollar General brand orange antibacterial dish soap & water around my apartment – & I discovered both had stringy white things & goopy black things growing in them. Visually multiplying before my eyes as the days went by. Any idea what it might be??
I washed out both bottles & pumps out with Dawn Oxy, & let them set in the Oxy soapy water for a day. Then I refilled them again with fresh half water/half DG antibacterial soap. I ensured the soap was crystal clear before I did.
After 1 week – the pump bottle which had been washed out & left to set empty & dry for 2 weeks is fine. And the bottle that was washed out in oxy & put back to use after just a day has experienced a re-growth of the white stringy goop. How creepy is that…………….!!! I can’t believe it came back.
Has anyone else seen “junk” growing in orange antibacterial soap? Any suggestions on what it might be – & how to get rid of it? I am highly sensitive to bleach, & I cannot use it to clean.
After this – I will NEVER look at antibacterial dish soaps again……. : &
Katie says
Wow, the things that grow in moist places always amaze me. That is pretty gross – I think you probably hit the nail on the head with realizing that when you left one to dry completely, the problem was gone. Moisture is a great place for bacteria and mold to grow! I wouldn’t use bleach either – maybe tea tree oil (mildly antiseptic) or vinegar? A good vinegar soak cures many ills. But air drying seemed to make a big difference, too! Good luck! 😉 Katie
HJW says
Hi Katie – thank you for the follow up response.
Sadly, 1 week after my post – the bottle I let dry out for 2 weeks suddenly began to grow more of that stringy white goop in the DG soap. To which I cried out, “E Tu, Brute??!” LOL
All I can think is… Perhaps the pump mechanisms could not fully dry out, & still harbored the bacteria/fungus (or whatever it is) despite Dawn Oxy rinsing, & with enough time…it began to backwash into the soap, gain ground, & visibly grow. Once the tipping point occurred, it became really obvious, & sludge grew by the day.
Any thoughts on what it might be?? Antibacterial soap seems like a very bad place to live for a microbe, but whatever it was is very sturdy, fought for its slimy life tooth & nail, & really ran amok.
I wish I’d tried vinegar like you suggested. Perhaps it would be more powerful than Dawn Oxy was in killing residual stuff. Because despite the Oxy soaking & flushing, what regrew in the 2nd pump bottle actually stained the insides a filmy white that even rubbing alcohol did not destroy.
When I realized that both bottles had regrown the creeping crudd…I was so creeped out, I took both bottles & pumps to the dumpster…& just started over. It reminded me of something straight out of Stephen King’s, “From A Buick 8″….. LOL
2 weeks ago, I put a new bottle of DG Antibacterial Soap out at the kitchen sink, but this one has no pump, just a snap cap. I scrubbed out the sink, & I’m trying to be really careful not to slop anything into the bottle, in case that stuff is still festering somewhere. So far, so good.
But all this makes me wonder…… What sorts of things get back-washed into or around the pump mechanisms of other bottles we commonly use…like shampoos & lotion bottles…& grows like weeds in this same way…& we never even know that we’re lathering up with it, because the solution is opaque & we never really see it. I’m thinking if stuff can grow in antibacterial soap, it can grow in a lot of other things we use too.
Thanks again for your input. 🙂 If additional suggestions occur to you & your readers, I hope you’ll post them.
Katie says
yep, that is pretty scary and gross. I guess I’m glad I currently use a lotion bar and can see what might be growing on it (nothing). Sometimes, you just get the goobers I guess. 🙁 Katie
HJW says
What about dish soap? Oxy soaps bother my skin, asthma, & sinuses, & I am wondering if there are any you’d recommend that would stay cootie-free? Although I have used orange antibacterial soaps for years, & this is the first problem I’ve ever had like this, so maybe it won’t be back soon. Perhaps it is even related to moving to the Southwestern US 18 months ago…
Also, what is a lotion bar? So far as I know, hand & body lotions only come in bottles, tubes, & jars…? Thanks! 🙂
Katie says
Humidity probably makes a difference, you’re right. Dish soap is one area that I don’t even have a favorite myself as of now…I tend to default to Meijer brand naturals. ???
As for lotion bars, I’m in love with MadeOn brand – here: https://www.e-junkie.com/ecom/gb.php?cl=116115&c=ib&aff=114298
🙂 Katie