Soap
Soap and detergents
The application of water alone is inefficient for cleaning skin because water is often unable to remove fats, oils, and proteins, which are components of organic soil. To remove pathogens, two gallon of water per minute is needed in washing hands using flowing water.[link]
Therefore, removal of micro-organisms from skin requires the addition of soaps or detergents to water. Currently most products sold as “soaps” are actually detergents, so that is the substance most used to wash hands.
Water Temperature
Hot water that is comfortable for washing hands is not hot enough to kill bacteria. However, warm, soapy water is more effective than cold, soapy water at removing the natural oils on your hands which hold soils and bacteria.[link]
Solid soap
Solid soap, because of its reusable nature, may hold bacteria acquired from previous uses, so it’s important to wash the soap itself before and after use. This is one of the most important advantages of using liquid soap products – apart from the obvious advantage of being less messy. Hand washing with contaminated soap could colonize the hands with Gram-negative bacteria, which results in an increase in bacterial counts on the skin.[link]
Antibacterial soap
Antibacterial soaps have been heavily promoted to a health-conscious public. To date, there is no evidence that using recommended antiseptics or disinfectants selects for antibiotic-resistant organisms in nature.[link] However, many antibacterial soaps contain common antibacterial agents such as Triclosan, which has an extensive list of resistant strains of organisms. So, even if antibacterial soaps aren’t selected for antibiotic resistant strains, they might not be as effective as they are marketed to be.
A comprehensive analysis from the University of Oregon School of Public Health indicated that plain soaps are as effective as consumer-grade anti-bacterial soaps containing triclosan in preventing illness and removing bacteria from the hands.[link]
Another study, published in the Cochrane Library journal, found handwashing with just soap and water to be a simple and effective way to curb the spread of respiratory viruses, from everyday cold viruses to deadly pandemic strains.[link]
