Why antibacterial soap is bad

Cleaning removes dust, dirt, and debris. You have to clean things before you can sanitize them. And nobody wants to do that.

Sanitizing reduces bacteria on surfaces. And disinfecting destroys bacteria AND viruses. Top-notch products allow you to sanitize and disinfect, but probably have very specific directions for one or the other. The moral of the story is: read the label and follow its directions carefully! Which is good because elbow handshakes might be a thing for a while. These 50 incredible cleaning hacks will change your life and your house—mostly with supplies you already have!

Research has shown that small quantities of the chemical can persist after treatment at sewage plants, and as a result, USGS surveys have frequently detected it in streams and other bodies of water. Once in the environment, triclosan can disrupt algae's ability to perform photosynthesis. The chemical is also fat-soluble—meaning that it builds up in fatty tissues—so scientists are concerned that it can biomagnify , appearing at greater levels in the tissues of animals higher up the food chain, as the triclosan of all the plants and animals below them is concentrated.

Evidence of this possibility was turned up in , when surveys of bottlenose dolphins off the coast of South Carolina and Florida found concerning levels of the chemical in their blood. One is a non-antibiotic hand sanitizer , like Purell, which don't contain any triclosan and simply kill both bacteria and viruses with good old-fashioned alcohol.

Because the effectiveness of hand-washing depends on how long you wash for, a quick squirt of sanitizer might be more effective when time is limited. Outside of hospitals, though, the CDC recommends the time-tested advice you probably heard as a child: wash your hands with conventional soap and water. That's because while alcohol from hand sanitizer kills bacteria, it doesn't actually remove dirt or anything else you may have touched. But a simple hand wash should do the trick.

The water doesn't need to be hot , and you're best off scrubbing for about 30 seconds to get properly clean. Joseph Stromberg was previously a digital reporter for Smithsonian. Via trekkyandy A few weeks ago, the FDA announced a bold new position on antibacterial soap: Manufacturers have to show that it's both safe and more effective than simply washing with conventional soap and water, or they have to take it off the shelves in the next few years.

Here's our rundown of five reasons why that's the case: 1. Via nebarnix 3. What Should You Do? Post a Comment. The antimicrobial triclosan was introduced to hospitals back in the s, but by the 80s, soap marketers saw an opportunity to get in households all across the US: by offering a promise of everyday protection to consumers. But most of the sicknesses people commonly come down with—colds, stomach flus, sore throats—are caused by viruses, not bacteria.

Bacterial concerns like salmonella and E. Lastly, and most importantly, triclosan and chemicals like it are rarely present in high enough concentrations in consumer products to kill all the bacteria on your skin. At these low concentrations, they instead exert selective pressure on bacteria, allowing them to quickly evolve adaptations—like one cellular mechanism that sucks in triclosan and pumps it right back out, almost like a gag reflex.

Add up these adaptations and you get bacterial resistance, which gets passed down genetically, and eventually you get Starting September , hand soaps and body washes can no longer contain triclosan, triclocarban, or any of 17 other specific chemicals with germ-killing properties.

Manufacturers have until then to either reformulate their products or yank them from the market completely.