# Hand Soap vs. Dish Soap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 24, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228 "2010-04-24T18:14:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Chickie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chickie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickie)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/1 "2010-04-24T18:14:30Z")
So, we’re running out of dish soap- the 99-cent thing of palmolive I bought about 3 months ago. Okay, think I, I’ll put it on the grocery list and pick up another one soon. But my roommate has other ideas- when I get into the house yesterday, I notice that he’s replaced the near-empty thing of dish soap with a dial anti-bacterial hand soap. Hand soap?? (Of course, this may be a knee-jerk reaction to the time one of my broke-ass roommates, in an attempt NOT to buy dish soap, began to wash her dishes with a bar of soap from the bathroom. I remember exclaiming, horrified, “This household is not going to wash dishes with BAR SOAP!” and immediately eating the expense of more dish soap) Bar soap is one thing, but what’s the real difference between liquid antibacterial dish soap and liquid antibacterial hand soap? Is this mainly a marketing distinction, or is there something about dish soap that makes it better for dishes than hand soap? Will hand soap effectively clean dishes? ---
**Author:** ![Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nefarious_chipmunk/32/1045_2.png) [@Nefarious\_Chipmunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nefarious_Chipmunk)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/2 "2010-04-24T19:33:29Z")
Isn’t hand soap generally more expensive then dish soap? I have heard that you shouldn’t use dish soap on your hands (dries them out or irritates them) but I haven’t specifically heard anything about using hand soap on dishes. I am eagerly awaiting the answer. ---
**Author:** ![thelurkinghorror](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7c8e57/32.png) [@thelurkinghorror](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelurkinghorror)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/3 "2010-04-24T20:00:48Z")
Are you handwashing the dishes? It might work, although yes, it is almost certainly cheaper to use dish soap, on the order of a few magnitudes. They make “moisturizing” dish soap, but I don’t know how good that promise is. If you have a dishwasher, hand soap has to be a dangerous idea. You may find suds covering your entire kitchen. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/4 "2010-04-24T20:17:18Z")
I think that dish soap is better at cutting grease than hand soap, so depending on what’s soiling your dishes, this might make a difference. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/5 "2010-04-24T20:55:36Z")
The last bottle of antibacterial dish soap we bought said “hand soap” in small print on the label. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/6 "2010-04-24T21:53:54Z")
The antibacterial soap I’ve used has such a strong scent that no matter how much I rinse my hands, I can still smell it. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/7 "2010-04-24T23:19:40Z")
My optician said I should use dish soap to clean my eyeglasses, because hand soaps contain oil-based skin moisturizers that dish soaps don’t. Although, I suspect that some dish soaps that are advertised as being good for your hands probably do have skin moisturizers added. ---
**Author:** ![Chickie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9de053/32.png) [@Chickie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chickie)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2010, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/8 "2010-04-25T04:57:47Z")
Yes, I am handwashing the dishes- no washer for us! It did occur to me that hand soap is pricier than dish soap so, if you’re going to be economical, you should make dish soap the all-purpose 😛 Our dishes aren’t incredibly greasy but I’d rather not wash them with something that isn’t going to get them totally clean… ---
**Author:** ![Floater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/dc4da7/32.png) [@Floater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Floater)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2010, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/9 "2010-04-26T12:54:16Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > My optician said I should use dish soap to clean my eyeglasses, because hand soaps contain oil-based skin moisturizers that dish soaps don’t I have used both kinds for my glasses with equal success. For what it’s worth I have a vague memory of having read or heard somewhere, sometime that dish soap and shampoo are essentially the same thing only differing in concentration. ---
**Author:** ![Sapo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@Sapo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sapo)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/10 "2010-04-27T01:57:44Z")
Hang on for something crazy. I have always refrained from using hand soap on dishes because it leaves all kinds of residues. My solution? Use toothpaste to wash dishes when you don’t have soap dish. The logic? It is something that is meant to be put in your mouth. ---
**Author:** ![GilaB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@GilaB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GilaB)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/11 "2010-04-27T03:51:34Z")
> [@Floater](#): > > I have used both kinds for my glasses with equal success. For what it’s worth I have a vague memory of having read or heard somewhere, sometime that dish soap and shampoo are essentially the same thing only differing in concentration. I’ve very successfully used shampoo as dish soap, FWIW. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2010, 4:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/hand-soap-vs-dish-soap/537228/12 "2010-04-27T04:02:06Z")
I’ve been out of the business for a while now, but “back in the day” when they first came out, a hand soap would be much milder in terms of detergent component and also normally has more of a fragrance added. Dish soaps have stronger surfactants (detergents) and usually the formula is designed to remove oils. Oil on your skin, even your hands, is what keeps them soft and not dry. So if you don’t mind having dry, cracked skin on your hands, you can use dish soap for your hands. I personally wouldn’t use hand soap for my dishes as it might make them smell strongly of perfume (depending on the soap) which would make your food taste “off”, plus you might need a lot more to get your dishes clean. I’d also suggest that the use of anti-bacterial anything at home is of debatable merit.