# Dirty soap **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 13, 2002, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-soap/97972 "2002-03-13T02:28:31Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Osakadave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f07891/32.png) [@Osakadave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Osakadave)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-soap/97972/1 "2002-03-13T02:28:31Z")
I was wondering in the shower yesterday about the soap. Usually when you’ve got something dirty on your hands (say they’ve been coughed or sneezed on or you’ve just washed your bum), you pick up the soap with your dirty hands. So the question is: will handling soap with hands covered by “everyday” nasty germs contaminate the soap? ---
**Author:** ![sjc](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e5b9ba/32.png) [@sjc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sjc)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2002, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-soap/97972/2 "2002-03-13T02:35:04Z")
Just a WAG, but I think that the answer is yes, the soap is contaminated by any germs you may have on your hand. If I am not mistaken, soap (the non-antibacterial kind, scarcer and scarcer these days) doesn’t kill bacteria. The reason we use soap is to facilitate the washing away of said bacteria. ---
**Author:** ![medstar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f07891/32.png) [@medstar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/medstar)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-soap/97972/3 "2002-03-14T00:10:53Z")
I don’t use bar soap anymore, because of the dirt on the surface and the gross jelly on the bottom of the soap. I use liquid hand soap at the sink and a shower gel in the shower (obviously). I like the shower gels cause there’s no waste and the bubbles stay longer. ---
**Author:** ![Enola\_Straight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dec6dc/32.png) [@Enola\_Straight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enola_Straight)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-soap/97972/4 "2002-03-14T00:39:19Z")
Running the soap under water dissolves away the surface dirt. Dirty soap is irrelevant. Germs are irrelevant. From this moment foreward, your cleanliness will service…us. Locutus of Dial ---
**Author:** ![David\_Simmons](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9de053/32.png) [@David\_Simmons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_Simmons)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2002, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dirty-soap/97972/5 "2002-03-14T00:42:44Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Osakadave \* > \*\*I was wondering in the shower yesterday about the soap. Usually when you’ve got something dirty on your hands (say they’ve been coughed or sneezed on or you’ve just washed your bum), you pick up the soap with your dirty hands. So the question is: will handling soap with hands covered by “everyday” nasty germs contaminate the soap? \*\* With men (the louts) or little boys in the house, you always have to wash the soap before you use it.