Are Antibacterial Soaps Helpful or Harmful?
Studies support that ingredients in common non-alcohol based antibacterial soaps such as triclosan can cause harm to the environment and to public health. And there is no evidence that non-hospital, “every day” use of these soaps are helpful to us at all. In fact, studies show that soap and water are just as effective as antibacterial soaps in killing germs – 99.4% compared to 99.6%. The documented negative effects of these ingredients surely pose problems for public health; the use of these soaps create too high of a risk considering the positive effects are marginal at best.