Bathroom as guest AIBU

[serenavanderwoodsenn]

Technically I’m not a guest as I work in the home as a nanny but the family I work for only has bar soap in the bathroom for handwashing?? All of their guests (they have people every weekend) plus 2 kids and the parents use this soap. It makes me feel icky. I don’t feel clean at all as it feels like everyone else’s germs are festering on it. I always end up grabbing the Sanex off the side of the bath or trying not to touch anything and washing my hands with fairy liquid when I get downstairs.

AIBU to think bar soap is ok for personal use but as a communal soap it’s a bit grim?

Germs can’t live on soaps. It’s perfectly safe for you to use.

Soap kills germs, you're being ridiculous.

It's fine - whilst some bacteria may be on the soap, if you're using it to wash your hands properly your hands will still be clean at the end of it!

It's much dirtier to not wash your hands and go downstairs and use fairly liquid imo - you've walked dirty hands downstairs possibly touching things and then bringing your toilet germs to the kitchen and touching the fairy liquid.

It’s not at all unhygienic, though there was a thread the other day about bar soap that suggests you’re not the only person to feel this way.

How about a little hand sanitiser you can keep in your pocket?

Exactly this. That's the whole point of soap!!

With respect, you are being a bit, errr, silly. If it really bothers you, carry round a little bottle of sanitiser to use in addition?

Good lord yes, people died of all kinds of transmissible diseases before liquid soap was invented even though they used bar soap diligently.
Not.
It's fine OP. And by the way all the people who've touched the soap have also touched the towels, door handles, taps... and some of that BEFORE washing their hands! The soap is probably the most hygienic item in the whole process.

It doesn't actually. Soap just makes the germs come loose on your skin so you can wash it away but it doesn't kill anything.

Yanbu. Just keep using the sanex.

Until a couple of decades ago,everyone always used bar soap. The liquid soaps only came into the shops because manufacturers and retailers like to diversify and update their offer in order to maximise sales. Liquid soaps aren't progress, they aren't more hygienic; they're just a little bit of additional choice.

As an older woman (61) I always find it interesting to see threads on MN by posters who are rediscovering the values of "bar soap" (it always used to be just "soap"). When liquid soaps came in I could never really see the point of them. Less convenient for most purposes.

Have you ever thought about multiple people touching a pump of a liquid soap with their pissy hands?
Unless you are 18, I am fairly certain that you spent most of your childhood using soap bar and you are still here to tell the tale... so yep, YABU

I was working in the toiletries department at M&S when liquid soap was first developed. Definitely a marketing thing and good for the manufacturers because it runs out far faster than bar soap! I only use bar soap myself but have liquid soap available for visitors.

I don't think that's right, actually. Soap disassembles viruses (and I think bacteria). The link below just relates to soap's destruction of the covid virus, but I think it is generalisable to other germs.
https://www.qub.ac.uk/coronavirus/analysis-commentary/how-soap-kills-covid-19-virus/

Completely unreasonable. People weren’t dropping like flies before liquid soap was invented.

It makes me feel icky

Grow up.

I’m not a fan of bar soap, but my issue is the slime it creates, regardless of the type of dish you put it in.

What about everyone touching the pump dispenser and tap? Soap bar is very hygienic, lasts longer and is less wasteful. We use it, and we're never unwell.

Ffs 😂 you do know the humble bar of soap came first…..

Easy to wipe clean.

Bar soap only in this house - bar shampoo and conditioner too... Perfectly fine hygiene wise and far better both financially and ecologically.

TBH it’s not unhygienic but I avoid using hand soap . It is the texture and the knowledge that other peoples dirty hands have used it …yuck

Liquid soap only came out in the 90s, I think Carex was the first one. There was always bar soap everywhere before that, even in public toilets (the horror!). So yes YABU. Bar soap much more environmentally friendly saving all those bottles of plastic

You are ridiculous to think that the hands of a family member are any more/ less safe or clean than the hands of any other normal person that might use your 'family' bar of soap! By all means fill a travel bottle with some liquid soap and take it with you if it makes you feel better... but bar soap is just as safe and effective (and far better for the environment) than liquid soap.

No, regular soap doesn't kill bacteria:

This is because soap alone doesn't kill bacteria. Instead, soap's role is to loosen dirt and germs, and help the water remove them from your skin. “The illness rates are the same between people using regular soap and people using antibacterial soaps,” he says. “As long as you wash, you're getting rid of bacteria.”

From https://health.clevelandclinic.org/avoid-germs-dont-bother-anti-bacterial-soaps-video.

Antibacterial soap, bleach or hand sanitiser kill bacteria, but not regular hand soap.

Slime free soap dish. I have many of these all over the house - bathroom, shower, utility, kitchen.
Tiilan Self Adhesive Bar Soap Dish for Shower, Bathroom Soap Holder Wall Mount – Stainless Steel, Silver : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen