Originally Posted by
lost_in_translation
Personally, I much prefer liquid soap and view this as a positive even if it is probably a cost saving measure. Bars of soap are less hygienic and there is always something incredibly wasteful about using a bar of soap to wash your hands once or twice on a one night stay then throwing the whole thing away.
I also intensely dislike both ticking clocks and digital clocks with displays that are too bright in the bedroom (I have multiple phones and a watch to track the time, thanks) but YMMV on that one too.
I don't want to turn this into an environmental discussion because that's not the purpose of this message board. But from what I've read
bar soap is environmentally better:
In actuality, "liquid soap” is actually not a soap but a “synthetic detergent” that was originally developed for laundry purposes. Like soap, it has a water-soluble and an oil-soluble end, but unlike bar soap, it does not leave behind a scum, which is a precipitate that forms when soap reacts with calcium or magnesium minerals found in hard water. On average, people use about 2.3 grams of liquid soap to wash their hands but only about 0.35 grams of a bar soap.
And the experts seem divided. Some say bar soap is more effective than liquid hand wash. Others say liquid hand wash is better than two people using the same bar of soap. I suppose it probably depends what is in the hand wash.
The government says use plain soap.