Asked • 06/18/19

Can general soap kill bacteria?

I have read that general soap can kill bacteria by opening holes in the bacterial membrane.http://questions.sci-toys.com/node/90However, I found some articles as well saying that it cannot.http://goaskalice.columbia.edu/answered-questions/does-soap-kill-germsThere seems split answers among experts,so I would like to know which one is correct.Could anyone advise me?Thanks.

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Inactive Tutor answered • 06/18/19

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One thing to consider is your resource. For the first resource, based on its website address, it does not seem a reliable resource. However, the second opinion's resource, as it is university-affliated, is a more reliable source. So based on this, the second opinion would be more reliable.


Now for the science. It is true that general soap does not kill bacteria. Instead, bacteria are lifted off surfaces by the soap and rinsed away with water.


I will include references supporting this fact in the comments.

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IUPAC. Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book"). Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford (1997). Archived. Klaus Schumann, Kurt Siekmann (2005). "Soaps". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. Thorsten Bartels et al. (2005). "Lubricants and Lubrication". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH.​
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06/18/19

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