to hate bar soap in primary school toilets?

[debs227]

i'm probably moaning but i really get annoyed that my children's primary school do not have proper soap dispensers in the toilets.
The school recently updated a set of toilets and they have lovely dyson airblade dryers but are still using little tiny, dirty bars of soap!! ggrrrrr.

Hand dryers are far more germy than paper towels. I fail to see why you are getting uptight about soap.

In 2008 a published study was conducted by the University of Westminster, London, to compare the levels of hygiene offered by paper towels, warm air hand dryers and the more modern jet-air hand dryers.[13] The key findings were:

after washing and drying hands with the warm air dryer, the total number of bacteria was found to increase on average on the finger pads by 194% and on the palms by 254%

drying with the jet air dryer resulted in an increase on average of the total number of bacteria on the finger pads by 42% and on the palms by 15%

after washing and drying hands with a paper towel, the total number of bacteria was reduced on average on the finger pads by up to 76% and on the palms by up to 77%.

Yes hand dryers harbour loads of germs. I never use them in toilets and use paper towels.

Re: the soap, yanbu. Black bars of soap are just disgusting! No wonder I was always ill in school.

so should i be more worried about the hand dryers then? don't give me more to worry about!!!

I have just come across the 'infection control guidelines for schools' and that recommends liquid soap and paper towels!!

bars of soap are cheap - and much better for the skin than liquid soap.

but agree that black slimy bars are disgusting...

Check out the bog standard campaign: www.bog-standard.org/adults_hand_hygiene.aspx

Lots to say on soap and hand hygiene.

Ophelia, the study you've quoted from was commissioned and paid for by companies who make paper towels. Othere, independent, research has shwn absolutely no difference in the number of bacteria on your hands after drying with paper towels, hot air dryers or cold air dryers (air blade type).

bars of soap are cheap - and much better for the skin than liquid soap.

Liquid soap has a lower ph (nearer to skin alkalinity) and is therefore considered better for skin.

kids never use hot water to wash their hands anyway so it's pretty pointless

Would you really trust children that age with liquid soap

but liquid soaps have many additives (or it would split or go mouldy) which is why many eczema sufferers try to avoid it.

anya - liquid soap/foam in dispensers and yes we have liquid soap at home, no problem with my kids. I also work in a children's charity for 0 to 5's and only have liquid soap ourselves in the children's toilets.

mouse - i have to disagree, having had severe hand eczema myself for years i have found liquid soaps to be far better than bar soaps. My hands are well managed now thanks to careful use of certain liquid soaps and certain shower gels. I find all types of bar soap strip my skin and some shampoos do this aswell. Soap is very drying as are some very harsh soaps in hospitals etc.

loving all the answers and thanks for the link urban

I would be delighted if my DD(5) actually flushed the toilet and washed her hands after doing a poo . The bar vs. liquid soap debate is the least of my worries when I consider she's a one-person cholera factory.

When visiting public loos, I'm also delighted if they have loo roll, soap, warm water and something to dry my hands on. It's amazing how rarely that happens. Or maybe I just frequent dodgy public toilets.

My goodness - what do you think would happen to the soap dispenser? Given the appalling way many primary age boys behave in the school toilets I've seen, they'd be permanently empty anyway! My classroom was very near the toilets and so it would fall to me to investigate suspicious noises or when kids came back and reported a flood or worse. It used to make me feel ill. I guess it is one of the only places in a primary school where I child can be alone and take out any frustration on the fittings! And there is no point at all saying your kids don't abuse your facilities at home because once they get together at school it is a whole different ball game.

I don't know what the solution is apart from having a toilet attendant! And can you imagine that ever happening?

I doubt it sees much action,either way.

DD can't use liquid soap - most types set off her eczema. I have no idea why but for her bars of soap are much better.

the toilets are the least of things you should worry about in a prmary school! Can you imagine all the cross infecting of toys and resources, unwashed hands, sneezing and coughing all over each other.....yuk... I expect the soap bar seems fairly clean after all that LOL

Gentle - I teach at an international school and we do have toilet attendants - there are three women employed to help kids go to the toilet, wash hands, and restock supplies.
the kids still use an insane amount of liquid soap though.

I remember reading a study in the TES when I was at Uni.

There is more faecal matter in a primary school carpet than a public toilet.

Most little uns don't wash their hands effectively!

Alligator - that sounds amazing! I can't imagine the money ever being made available for that in uk state schools sadly.

I'm a mid day supervisor- we already have flooded or blocked toilets every lunchtime - liquid soap would just give them something else to put on the floor.... for some reason some kids seem to think it is ok to behave badly in school toilets - do they do it at home???

yanbu. I won't use bar soap that has been touched by other people, even at home I have bar soap just for me and out of reach of the dc's.

I wish kids toilets were better designed so the little urchins would be more willing to wash their hands.

I'm having real problems with liquid soap - many types are causing nasty ezcema or similar patches on my hands. I have no problems at all with bar soap.

Can anyone suggest what the liquid soap additives I should avoid might be? My colleagues at work are happy to buy a specific brand if only I can tell them what ingredients they need to look for.

grendels not quite sure which additives. many contain sls, which is always bad for skin.
I refill the dipenser at home with ecover wul which doesn't aggravate my eczema. I also have it in a small dispenser bottle to use in the office. but I usually use the bar of soap at home.