I work in a Zellers (kinda like a wal-mart or k-mart for my American neighbors) and have noticed that over the last year or so, anti-bacterial soap has become VERY popular, more so than any other kind of soap. I guess this makes sense, but I’m skeptical, it seems most people think if they wash their dishes with the stuff they wont get sick anymore. Anyways, my question is this: Whats the deal with AB soap, does it actually work? and is it true that if you use it often you will become immune to the magic of anti-bacterialism? (sounds more like a political agenda to me) this was something i was told by a mall janitor today, seems resonable a janitor would know of such things, still seems fishy to me though, any thoughts would be great, thanks.
“If you can’t answer a man’s argument, all is not lost; you can still call him vile names.” - Elbert Hubbard.
Cecil discussed this in a relatively recent column. Yes, there is a small chance that overuse of the product could lead to the development of resistant bacteria that don’t respond to normal anti-bacterial measures. But this is really only a problem at places where it is used 24/7, like hospitals. (That’s comforting, isn’t it?)
My guess as to the surge in popularity of the AB soap is that it just feeds the American neurosis that if something (soap) is a good thing, then a lot of it (AB soap) is better. Add that to obsession with cleanliness (“Aren’t you glad you use Dial? Don’t you wish everybody did?”), phobia about germs and unrealistic understanding of risks and probabilities and you have a market niche that Lever Brothers et al are only too happy to fill.
he sleeps on that pile/of newspapers/in the corner/and when he
takes off his/shoes you cannot/smell his breath
“king nicky”, archyology
Don Marquis
Almost anything that is washed and dried is pretty darned clean, certainly that applies to dishes, glasses, pots and pans.
Most people use nice warm water and rub off the remaining food or drink residue.
That’s it!
The dishes aren’t the problem in the kitchen, it’s the dish rag or kitchen sponge.
Supposidly these items collect bacteria.
If you are concerned about bacteria in your kitchen, use and then toss a paper towel to clean your table, range, and as a dish rag.
And don’t dry your dishes with a towel, just let them air dry and put them away.
It’s those commercials that get us a little paranoid these days. We worry, they make money!
Are you driving with your eyes open or are you using The Force? - A. Foley
I seem to remember Cecil saying there were two types of AB soap, one alcohol-based and the other based on medicinal sterilizers (for lack of a better term). The medicinal stuff was based on organic chemicals and whatnot that targeted specific bugglies, while the alcohol-based stuff just wiped everybody out, thus less chance of any sort of resistant strain developing.
Aha! Great minds think alike! Not too long ago, I had the same question, so I thought I would post you a link to that thread. (Assuming I can get the code right, for which there is no guarantee…)
There were some good, informative answers, as well as a couple of interesting links on the subject.