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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Public toilets

20 replies

Letstryagainshallwe · 26/08/2017 22:04

I was in the park today and in the toilets were bars of soap. Is it just me who finds this vile! I couldn't touch them at all and wouldn't! But they were obviously used so maybe it's just me but yuck! Would you use it?? First time I've ever seen bars of soap in a public toilet.

OP posts:
PeaFaceMcgee · 26/08/2017 22:05

Ergh. Yanbu.

treaclesoda · 26/08/2017 22:06

I don't really get the angst. Soap lathers up and you rinse it off. It is a cleaning agent. It's not dirty even if someone else's hands have touched it.

treaclesoda · 26/08/2017 22:07

Although having said that, I don't like it in public toilets because it goes all mushy. But that's not a hygiene issue, it's just that it doesn't feel nice.

CanIBuffalo · 26/08/2017 22:07

We had bars or nothing when I was little. T'is a wonder we survived.

But now, no I wouldn't.

19lottie82 · 26/08/2017 22:07

Meh. If that's the main worry you've had today, then you're doing ok!

ClaudiaWankleman · 26/08/2017 22:08

Bacteria shouldn't be able to penetrate hard soap. The door handles, taps and hand dryer will likely be far less hygienic than the soap.

Hard soap is harder to waste, too, so maybe it's a cost saving measure.

Sparklingbrook · 26/08/2017 22:09

There's soap. That's a good thing. Nobody has pinched it either.

If you lather it up it's fine. Don't find it vile at all. Lots of worse things in public loos TBF.

ApproachingATunnel · 26/08/2017 23:06

I dont get what's the issue. I'd use it.

Bearfrills · 26/08/2017 23:20

The toilets in our local park have blocks of soap, they're newly built/refurbished so I was bit Hmm that they didn't just install soap dispensers then I remembered soap is self-cleaning so why does it matter?

FerretsAreFeminists · 26/08/2017 23:26

The only time I think I've ever seen a bar of soap in a public toilet was actually the toilets in primary school.

I don't think anyone ever used them as they were completely manky looking and I don't think anyone replaced them either. I just remember these gross manky looking soaps just sitting beside the sinks for ages.

expatinscotland · 26/08/2017 23:27

YABU

Letstryagainshallwe · 27/08/2017 00:14

Oh I couldn't touch them. But then I hate bar soap anyway freaks me out for some reason!

OP posts:
PeaFaceMcgee · 27/08/2017 00:21

Yy, they are creepy. Especially the dried out all cracked ones with black streaks running through them.

Nuttynoo · 27/08/2017 00:25

They're less freaky that some dirty skank walking out of a toilet without washing their hands after a poo.

AgentProvocateur · 27/08/2017 00:27

Don't see the issue Hmm

ClemDanfango · 27/08/2017 00:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Letstryagainshallwe · 27/08/2017 00:34

I didn't poo! I washed my hands with hot water then applied hand gel out of my changing bag. No way was I touching that soap.

OP posts:
PeaFaceMcgee · 27/08/2017 00:36

Soap isn't self cleaning unless it's an antibacterial and antiviral soap. It's just an emulsifier - it gets stuff washed off your hands easier.

PeaFaceMcgee · 27/08/2017 00:39

Huffpost article:

"Germs can and most likely do live on all bars of soap, but it’s very unlikely they will make you sick or cause a skin infection. Generally, those with a compromised immune system are really the only ones who should be extra cautious and stick to liquid soap. If you are healthy, your body will have no problem fending off the germs.

Bacteria lives quite happily in the “slime” of bar soap, but doing a few simple things (which you probably do already) will make it so the germs are of no consequence to you. Rinse off the bar in running water before lathering up to wash away the germy goop. And always store soap out of water (i.e. not in a wet bathtub), allowing it to dry between uses. That way, there’s no moist environment for germs to flock to in the first place.

If you’re just sharing the bar with family members, you have nothing to worry about since you probably share many of the same microorganisms anyway. Public bathrooms usually don’t have bar soap, but if you find yourself in that situation and have no other way to clean your hands after using the restroom, rinse off the bar, and then just make sure to wash your hands well — 20-30 seconds, both sides, under your nails, up to your wrists, like you learned in grade school. If you’re washing for long enough, the germs originally sitting on the bar will most likely wash off, too"

treaclesoda · 27/08/2017 08:14

I washed my hands with hot water then applied hand gel out of my changing bag. No way was I touching that soap.

But your hands would have been cleaner if you had just rinsed the soap and used it. Confused

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