I think the biggest problem is the pubes imbedded on the soap. Hell, I live by myself and have liquid soap in the shower, so that actually never happens.
My technique prevents pubes from being embedded.
I don’t know, but my wife and I use different soap anyway. Hers is full of scents and moisterizers. Mine is more… manly.
So…
Share your technique with us peons, oh enlightened one 
I can’t even understand how someone could think that in the shower.
I used to use a washcloth all over, and still do for my face & feet (in that order), but I just use hand + bar on the body in the interests of saving that minute or two I spent re-lathering the washcloth.
Two words - oatmeal soap. Very scrubby without a washcloth.
I don’t share a shower currently and therefore don’t share soap. On those occasions when I have had to, I always rinsed off the soap thoroughly before use, and then again after I used it.
But yeah, really, I’m not getting my (absent) knickers in a twist about it one way or the other.
Roddy
I wash all my body with the bare bar, no wash cloth. I usually start with my butt. I then use a shaving brush and the same bar to shave.
Why is everyone so paranoid?
My bum may be filthy but the soap is self cleaning. Bacteria and viruses don’t stand a chance.
I’ve been do this for years and years. Never a problem.
P.S. I think a washcloth would be dirtier. Having a wet washcloth sit overnight sounds like a great breeding ground for germs.
I think you can get liquid soap with pubes floating in it, for people who prefer the convenience of a liquid but miss the pubes as essential to whole soap experience.
With raisins.
Mmmmmm.
With a washcloth and a good bar of soap, I can work up enough suds to wash myself from head to toe without ever having to re-lather, if it suits me. If I’m just using soap on my hand, as I sometimes do if a washcloth isn’t available for whatever reason, I have to re-lather my hand several times.
I don’t think many people are that paranoid or really think that it is a dangerous practice, it’s really just when you think about it that it is kind of “eww” (the same way that thinking about someone scratching their butt would be “eww”, not really that disgusting, just “not in polite company”) but then it drops from your mind and doesn’t change anything in the big scheme of things, at least for me it doesn’t; I have used every method mentioned here at one point and never really squicked on it one way or another.
You are probably right, and leaving the wet washcloth overnight and reusing it the next morning probably transfers more germs and bacteria than rubbing the bar of soap against your naughty bits. But using a clean washcloth avoids that (if one is so paranoid of germs and not just the thought of “where the soap has been”) and washcloths have other advantages of getting you really clean and exfoliating (lathery hands just can’t scrub as clean as a cloth would). To back up that point I have only an anecdote:
I had a scheduled abdominal surgery last month. I had to go “check in” at the hospital and get the pre-op instructions a few days before. They gave me special surgical soap (like Hibeclens but a different brand that I no longer remember) and instructions for washing the night before and the morning of surgery. The instructions included washing my entire body (not just the surgical site) and using three different, clean washcloths. The first to lather, scrub and rinse the surgical site, the second to lather and everything else and the third to re-wash the surgical site and then rinse everything else. The instructions included instructions that if the surgical area was near the genitals or the rectal area that a separate washcloth should be used each time that area was scrubbed and that washcloth should not be used elsewhere nor should the other washcloths be used on the body then on that area. It specifically said that this was to cut down on transfer of bacteria and prevent infections.
So I do believe that germs and bacteria can be transferred both by bar soap and by washcloth, but also that minor amount of bacteria (and probably the same bacteria being shared within the family anyway) isn’t really a concern unless you are facing surgery or are immunocompromised or have other extraordinary circumstances.
So it’s got, like, bolts and HDMI jacks on it?
ToeJam said:
Uh, post #18
One may use a wash cloth for the rinsing/scrubbing stage, if desired. The key is to not rub the soap against your (hairy) body, nor to rub the soap against a washcloth that was just rubbing your (hairy) body. Rinse hands between soap applications.
Troy McClure SF said:
I’m repeating a meme I read here somewhere. It’s probably someone else’s mistaken interpretation that I’m repeating uncritically.
Agreed.
What I find so stupid about this kind of worry is how little is based on real information.
Your hands, face and mouth are dirtier and more infectious than just about any other part of your body, but we shake hands and kiss cheeks.
Your toilet seat is cleaner than your sink, but we use paper covers on the toilet seat and splash water from the sink on our faces.
Your door knob has more germs than your toilet brush, but we cover the toilet brush and use the knob on our way out of the bathroom (reinfecting our newly washed hands).
The bottom line is exactly your point - if you’re a healthy adult, just forget about it. After a certain point, the stress is more harmful than the germs.