# I miss the ubiquity of bar soap **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 2, 2023, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433 "2023-07-02T03:03:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 4:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/41 "2023-07-02T16:45:37Z")
> [@Crafter\_Man](#): > > I have some skin allergies, and am nervous about using any soap other than Ivory. I don’t have any severe reactions but various scented and/or deodorant soaps will irritate my skin so I just stick to Ivory. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/42 "2023-07-02T16:56:28Z")
> [@susan](#): > > All I can say about either sanitary soap or sanitary soap theater is that whenever JCAHO was about to inspect a hospital, we’d be directed to hide all the bar soap and the liquid soap dispensers would get filled. Huh. My sister worked in a hospital for over 30 years, and she always bitched when “Jay-Co” was coming. I’ll have to ask her if she saw the same thing with the soap. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/43 "2023-07-02T16:57:59Z")
They’d also hide the mental health staff (including me) so we wouldn’t give awkward answers to questions. Usually stick us in an all-day training and have MH nurses cover the unit. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/44 "2023-07-02T16:59:08Z")
Doesn’t surprise me. I’d hear her grumbling over all the things they had to do to prepare. ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/45 "2023-07-02T17:01:03Z")
Yeah, it’s terrible to have to clean, organize, and have everything up to code 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/46 "2023-07-02T17:13:51Z")
Here’s what I use. > **[Skin Relief Unscented Body Wash for Sensitive Skin | AVEENO®](https://www.aveeno.com/products/skin-relief-unscented-body-wash-for-sensitive-skin)** > > This fragrance-free body wash, with a soothing Triple Oat formula, gently cleanses while leaving skin feeling moisturized. Stopped using bar soap ages ago. Never looked back. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/47 "2023-07-02T17:16:05Z")
> [@susan](#): > > Yeah, it’s terrible to have to clean, organize, and have everything up to code No complaints from me! I just think it was stressful so they were venting mostly. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/48 "2023-07-02T18:18:23Z")
[Moderating] Moved to IMHO. [/Moderating] ---
**Author:** ![knavette57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knavette57/32/3871_2.png) [@knavette57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/knavette57)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/49 "2023-07-02T18:26:42Z")
One wonders if they just add scent to bottles of dishwashing detergent. I also like bar soap. More tactile experience plus the syrup soap seems to wash off before I can apply to the bod. A bar feels solid and I can also clean my fingernails by scraping off the soap, and pushing out the small slivers from under the nails. I think I am just getting old and like the nostalgia of Ivory or Dove. ---
**Author:** ![kitap](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kitap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kitap)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/50 "2023-07-02T18:35:00Z")
Liquid soap was great for the public restrooms we used on our tour of Guatemala in 2007. It was always in there, even at this one grody gas station. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/51 "2023-07-02T18:46:30Z")
It’s funny that I think the last time I used bar soap was when I was in a cheap hotel that only provided soap and nothing else. Think Days Inn or something along that line, don’t remember the specific brand as it was just a one night stay before moving over to the host hotel the next morning. At home, I think since about 18 I’ve been in the body wash and bath sponge camp and haven’t looked back ---
**Author:** ![susan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/susan/32/17537_2.png) [@susan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/susan)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/52 "2023-07-02T19:23:51Z")
> [@knavette57](#): > > One wonders if they just add scent to bottles of dishwashing detergent. Nah. Very different feel in use. Also, anything called “gel” is intended for hair as well; “body wash” isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Tamerlane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tamerlane/32/7602_2.png) [@Tamerlane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tamerlane)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/53 "2023-07-02T19:46:28Z")
Weird. One of those topics that has never occurred to me as being a thing. I just assumed most people had sensibly moved on from the inferior product that is bar soap 😉. I didn’t even like bars much as a kid and probably haven’t used one in thirty years. Give me mandarin orange-scented foaming soap any day. Like gray-colored cars I guess this is just one more area where I am helping drive popular demand away from the beloved pleasures of yesteryear. Ah, well - I still read physical newspapers and they will die someday soon and then I will get my elderly comeuppance 🙂. ---
**Author:** ![Grrr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grrr/32/146_2.png) [@Grrr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Grrr)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/54 "2023-07-02T20:02:43Z")
If one is trying to use liquid soap sans scrunchie, it’s no surprise to me they are disappointed with its use. The scrunchie makes all the difference. ---
**Author:** ![Digger11](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@Digger11](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digger11)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/55 "2023-07-02T20:06:20Z")
> [@squeegee](#): > > I don’t really like washcloths at home because they’re gross after one use, and you hang them up and they mold/mildew. I guess that attitude transfers to when I travel and I’d rather use my hands to scrub. Is there some sort of law or custom where you live against washing washcloths when you wash your clothes? Besides, washcloths are small enough that they dry sufficiently quickly to avoid mold and mildew. ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 8:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/56 "2023-07-02T20:19:10Z")
> [@Digger11](#): > > Is there some sort of law or custom where you live against washing washcloths when you wash your clothes? I wash towels and therefore washcloths in hot water. I wash my clothes in cold water. I’m not doing a load of a single washcloth in hot. > [@Digger11](#): > > Besides, washcloths are small enough that they dry sufficiently quickly to avoid mold and mildew. Nonsense. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 9:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/57 "2023-07-02T21:03:54Z")
I buy Ivory soap in the multipacks. Any drugstore will have them. Most handmade soaps will melt away much faster than either cheap Ivory or expensive ‘milled’ soap’. I like the fact that Ivory has stuck with the same mysterious yet meaningless slogan since 1895. I am ever-filled with curiosity about that impure 1%. ---
**Author:** ![carrps](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carrps/32/2957_2.png) [@carrps](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carrps)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/58 "2023-07-02T21:08:39Z")
> [@Grrr](#): > > If one is trying to use liquid soap sans scrunchie, it’s no surprise to me they are disappointed with its use. > > The scrunchie makes all the difference. Yeah, this. I first started using liquid soap and a scrunchy about 25 years ago. An old lady at the gym recommended it, and I loved it. Haven’t used bar soap for showering since. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/59 "2023-07-02T21:16:13Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > After some searching, the bar was found to be way under the tub. Its edges were decorated with tiny teeth marks. Turned some of my roommates were actual rats. But it was the only soap in the house, so I used it anyway. When we had an invasion of mice, they ate most of our bar soap. Hey, fat’s fat. My daughter’s long ago pet rat ate a tube of vaseline. Including most of the plastic. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 2, 2023, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433/60 "2023-07-02T21:18:43Z")
I like liquid soap just fine but prefer bar soap in the shower for the simple reason that it’s cheaper. I can pay ten dollars and get enough bar soap for a hundred showers. The “bath gel” or whatever they call it doesn’t last anywhere near as long, even using a scrunchie; I haven’t done a study of this or anything, but it’s gotta be five to ten times more expensive per clean. That is, I suspect, precisely why they sell it. The liquid stuff I use in the kitchen doesn’t cost much simply because it’s designed to foam on use, so you’re really using very little. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-miss-the-ubiquity-of-bar-soap/986433.md?page=4)