# What do hotels due with leftover soap? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [September 12, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381 "2006-09-12T06:12:14Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/1 "2006-09-12T06:12:14Z")
Apologies if this has been asked before (I don’t recall it and did a fair search). A quick google search did not give me a satisfactory answer. Most fancy hotels make a big deal out of giving you new wrapped bars of soap to replace the barely used bar of soap from yesterday. I’ve never really liked this practice, which seems unnecessary and wasteful. What happens to the barely used soap? It would not seem that useful for doing laundry. Only a few places seem to try to recycle it. Do cost-conscious businesses just chuck it out or make it into insecticide or what? ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 9:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/2 "2006-09-12T09:09:40Z")
[QUOTE=Dr\_Paprika] Only a few places seem to try to recycle it. Do cost-conscious businesses just chuck it out or make it into insecticide or what? [/QUOTE] My guess is they just toss it, since soap is cheap in large quantities, although a quick google does bring up some mention of recycling. They may return them to their suppliers for remanufacturing, although I doubt it. However I have noticed that many hotels are now switching from soap to small tubes/bottles of gel, so they can just refill them and save money/resources. This seems particularly prevalent in scandinavia. However the real snooty hotels will presumably stick with their Crabtree & Evelyn minature bars/disks. This is fine by me since I just steal them for use in camping and for the ‘make homeless people less stinky’ charity collection box in the office. Waste not want not. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/3 "2006-09-12T09:27:15Z")
Throw it away. My family takes away our slightly-used bars. Many hotels in Spain only change the semi-used bars when they change bedclothes and you can ask them not to change it (the soap, not the linens). The teenyweeny bottles aren’t refilled, they’re thrown away. One reason to use them is that they’re a better single-use measure than the bars of soap; also, you can just get the same gel to use as shower gel and hands soap, whereas nowadays many people are used to shower gel and would have problems processing the notion of “soaping up in the shower with a bar”. ---
**Author:** ![Thin\_Ice](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/aeb1de/32.png) [@Thin\_Ice](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thin_Ice)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 12:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/4 "2006-09-12T12:36:23Z")
My first guess would be that employees take the opened bars home for their own use. That would be better than just tossing out perfectly good soap. Once you wash your hands a couple times your’ve used up the portion that strangers touched and it’s fresh new soap. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/5 "2006-09-12T13:04:56Z")
Toss 'em. twicks, who worked in the hotel biz a few incarnations ago. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 1:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/6 "2006-09-12T13:12:32Z")
I’m just curious – what made you change the spelling of the second “do” to “due”? Seems odd. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/7 "2006-09-12T14:09:51Z")
[QUOTE=Thin Ice] My first guess would be that employees take the opened bars home for their own use. That would be better than just tossing out perfectly good soap. Once you wash your hands a couple times your’ve used up the portion that strangers touched and it’s fresh new soap. [/QUOTE] My mom did this when she worked as cleaner who cleaned hotel rooms part-time. We never wanted for shampoo, soap, or TP. But the majority were thrown out, since there’s only so much soap one person needs. ---
**Author:** ![JeffB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeffb/32/188_2.png) [@JeffB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JeffB)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/8 "2006-09-12T16:07:14Z")
[QUOTE=Dr\_Paprika] Most fancy hotels make a big deal out of giving you new wrapped bars of soap to replace the barely used bar of soap from yesterday. I’ve never really liked this practice, which seems unnecessary and wasteful. What happens to the barely used soap? [/QUOTE] I’ve found that most hotels now will give you a new bar, but will leave the barely used soap if you’re staying multiple nights. No thread about hotels and soaps would be complete without a link to the [hotel soap](http://www.snopes.com/humor/letters/soap.asp) saga. ---
**Author:** ![kmac8464](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b9e5f3/32.png) [@kmac8464](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kmac8464)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/9 "2006-09-12T16:44:26Z")
[QUOTE=Dr\_Paprika] Apologies if this has been asked before (I don’t recall it and did a fair search). A quick google search did not give me a satisfactory answer. Most fancy hotels make a big deal out of giving you new wrapped bars of soap to replace the barely used bar of soap from yesterday. I’ve never really liked this practice, which seems unnecessary and wasteful. What happens to the barely used soap? It would not seem that useful for doing laundry. Only a few places seem to try to recycle it. Do cost-conscious businesses just chuck it out or make it into insecticide or what? [/QUOTE] I used to work in the hotel industry; we would collect the used soap(s) and when we had a boxful, call the local homeless shelter. They would come and pick it up. ---
**Author:** ![Greenback](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/2bfe46/32.png) [@Greenback](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greenback)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/10 "2006-09-12T16:48:12Z")
They should leave it for the next occupant. After all, soap is self-cleaning\* \*bad attempt at a _Friends_ reference ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/11 "2006-09-12T17:16:31Z")
[QUOTE=Greenback] They should leave it for the next occupant. After all, soap is self-cleaning\* \*bad attempt at a _Friends_ reference [/QUOTE] Are you sure about that? What if somebody was seriously infected with… well I don’t know - the plague, leprosy, crabs… something. Can soap retain any germs/viruses at all? ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/12 "2006-09-12T18:15:44Z")
Donate it to charity such as homeless shelters. The price of the soap, shampoo, shower caps, etc. can then be written off taxes. ---
**Author:** ![Will\_Repair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/a698b9/32.png) [@Will\_Repair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Will_Repair)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/13 "2006-09-12T18:18:15Z")
Wait a sec…the leftover soap is thrown away. The unopened soap is given to charity, depending on the hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/14 "2006-09-12T18:37:20Z")
Sigh. I used to be such a good speller. Then I took a job where I get no sleep. ---
**Author:** ![Jake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jake)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/15 "2006-09-12T18:52:12Z")
**jeffb** Thanks for the link. First time I’ve read that. LOL! 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/16 "2006-09-12T19:21:57Z")
[QUOTE=Rigamarole] Are you sure about that? What if somebody was seriously infected with… well I don’t know - the plague, leprosy, crabs… something. Can soap retain any germs/viruses at all? [/QUOTE] If it retains any short, curly hairs from the person who had the hotel room before me, I have qualms about using it, germs or not. ---
**Author:** ![Cerowyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/82dd89/32.png) [@Cerowyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cerowyn)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2006, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/17 "2006-09-12T20:16:54Z")
Are they running out of hand sanitizer at your hospital, Dr\_Paprika? Thinking of starting a new business? 😃 (I drove through your town a couple of weeks ago on my way to Earl Rowe Provincial Park, but decided you’d probably not appreciate a drop in.) ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [September 13, 2006, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-hotels-due-with-leftover-soap/372381/18 "2006-09-13T00:51:25Z")
[QUOTE=JeffB] I’ve found that most hotels now will give you a new bar, but will leave the barely used soap if you’re staying multiple nights. No thread about hotels and soaps would be complete without a link to the [hotel soap](http://www.snopes.com/humor/letters/soap.asp) saga. [/QUOTE] That’s my experience. They’ll put a new, unopened soap out, but leave the opened one. I bring my own, since I’m allergic to perfumed soap, and all except once they’ve been good at leaving it. I assume they just leave unopened soap in the room for the next guest, right?