Bathing in dettol

[Pinkerbells]

So I was chatting to my friend about what we were doing after work, (we work in a restaurant), and she said she was going home to have a dettol bath. I though she was kidding as she has a bug, but no. Turns out she has a 45 minute soak in dettol every night, then changes the water and has a 45 minute bath in 'normal' bathwater. Is this a thing??????? AIBU to think that's so bad for your skin and fufu. Dettol's website (of course) say it's fine, but surely your killing germs bad or good.

My Dad used to bath in Dettol. Soothed his psiorias apparently.

I had dettol baths in the 70s but only when we had had diahorrea. When my c-section wound was infected, the midwife told me to bathe with savlon and sea salt in the water. Those baths were the highlight of a difficult period for me and the smell felt terribly comforting.

I have always had eczema, which as a child covered me neck to ankles. I used to have Dettol or Savlon in my bath when the eczema got infected. It was outrageously painful, but almost certainly better than rotting....

XmasPostman You are going to have to explain that again. Slowly. For the hard of understanding, like me it made no sense whatsoever.

I don’t routinely do it, but whenever the DC have scraped their knees, hands, whatever, or I’ve come off a horse or bike, or husband has crashed skating, I splash a capful in the bath.
Also put lavender in too....

My vagina is on fire even thinking about this..

Weird! I do remember, years ago, people putting disinfectant in their baths. That was in the dark ages when people didn't bathe every day. Certainly not recently. I wouldn't like disinfectant on my skin but I daresay your friend doesn't put a whole bottle in.

Disinfectant only disinfects when neat anyway, once diluted it's useless.

My Grandma used to throw a capful in my bath too, late 70s child here ☺️

Even the thought of it is making my fanny itch
It can’t be good for the fanny flora surely?!

I had to go and google the loo roll tap stamping thing. WTAF? This is all so odd.

I used to get boils on my face. I started putting Dettol in the water when bathing & it totally cured it. I think it was a case of getting one & it just keeping reinfecting me.

Dettol has two uses in our house when we were growing up (1990s) - for cleaning after my sister or I had a vomiting bug, and a capful to go in dad’s bath on a Saturday night.

He still does it- my sister reminded the family about it the other week and we were like “WHY, Dad, why!?!” and he admitted he didn’t know, he just thought everyone did it!

The toilet paper stamping is where you fold over the end of the toilet paper roll into a point and then press it on the damp end of the tap which makes a stamp. I am not sure if you are supposed to redo this every time you use the toilet.

Are you sure this wasn't a dream you had?

A capful of dettol in a bathful of water isn't going to do any harm to most people, I'm also old enough for it to be a thing but do agree that 1.5hrs in the bath is a bit weird

I can't imagine that the concentration of phenols in a couple of capfuls of Dettol in a bath could do any harm. All those horrified by the thoughts of dried out skin: you go swimming don't you?

I haven't had a Dettol bath for years, but in the summer if we've been out walking and I'm footsore a dettol footbath while I watch Telly is a lovely thing!

My Mum used to make us have a Dettol bath if we had any cuts or grazes on our knees.

I'm not sure about Dettol specifically, but I do know it's not recommended to use antibacterial soap. Reason being that it can dry your skin excessively, leading to cracking. Non-intact skin actually carries MORE bacteria than intact skin, so ironically, your use of antibacterial soap can INCREASE the bacteria on your skin. I would imagine that Dettol could also cause skin reactions.

I remember the occasional Dettol bath in 80's as a young child often when there were scrapes due to falls.

My MW suggested salt baths after pfb.

I don't remember trying it as sleep and getting bf going were my priories - she was a Velcro baby and getting a very quick shower was a trial in itself let along a lone bath.

I used to work in a maternity hospital in the 70s and all the new mums had a capful of Dettol in their first bath after giving birth. Mum’s also got proper rest and uninterrupted meal times. None of this malarchy of going home 24 hours after having a C section! But sorry that is for another thread!

I love the smell of dettol and I am another whose mum put a capful in the sunday night bathwater, can't believe it was one bath a week!!
it was also something that was always used on cuts and grazes diluted in a bowl and sponged over the sore area. I fancy a dettol bath now :)
I always have a bottle in the kitchen sink cupboard and occasionally put it in the fabric softener drawer when I was towels, they smell well fresh after that.

My DH mum used to do this to him once a week. Dettol bath wtf.

Milton after childbirth was recommended as recently as '96.

It is great when children are all cut up and scratched from rough play. Never needed it as an adult though.

My mum was a nurse and always used to have a dettol bath when she got home after a shift.

I might have to go buy some.

I have Epsom Salts baths quite often as I'm always achey.

I used to have these when I was a kid and carried on doing it myself when I was older as assumed it was a normal thing to do!