Soap Opera

Remember that soap and shampoo dispenser I bought a while back? Well, not only does it reduce clutter in the shower, but I'm really noticing that the kids are using (read: wasting) less than they did with bottles. For one thing, they used to squirt out way too much; this forces them to pump out only small dollops at a time. In addition, they don't spill or accidentally squirt it out all over the floor.

More recently, I bought an OXO dish soap dispenser for the kitchen sink. This is also preventing a lot of waste, and it looks nicer than the Dawn bottle. The main reason I bought it, though, is so that I could pump out the soap with my wrist or forearm if my hands are covered with raw chicken or something else yucky. I also have a pump dispenser for hand soap at the kitchen sink, but I use Dawn on my hands when they're greasy.

Meanwhile, it occurred to me that my kids have never used a bar of soap—we started off bathing them with liquid baby soap and then moved them on to liquid kids' soap when they started showering. We have liquid hand soap at all the bathroom sinks, so the kids never have occasion to use a bar and very likely never will! Andy and I still use bar soap (Yardley oatmeal and almond, if you must know) in the shower, even though liquid soap is surely much more hygienic.

Comments

[Deborah]

I've tried to get my husband to switch from his beloved Dove moisture bars for years because liquid doesn't leave the awful soap scum on the ledge of the tub. I still don't have much luck - he's nothing if not stubborn - but I keep trying!

[Liz]

You know, I have never thought of bar soap as unhygenic. I imagine that it does have that potential. I haven't heard of disease caused by bar soap. Is it marketing or is it real?

[Karen]

No, I've never heard of anything happening because of bar soap, but when you think about it, when people share the thing and rub it all over themselves and drop it etc..... ICK

[Elena]

I worry that those poufy things you can use w/ the liquid soaps can be unhygienic.