Health safety of trading partially used soap

My memory is that HIV can't survive a day at room temperature. Hepatitis survives on surfaces longer. Soap seems to be one of the least likely places to acquire a pathogen. I'd like to see data to the contrary.

I'm comfortable purchasing used razors, brushes, etc.... because I can put them in Barbicide.

Like handjam, I would like to see research saying it is or isn't ok. I did find a study that documented contagion spread via soap in a dentists office, though it didn't say which one. I also found where an expert said that HIV wouldn't make it long on soap. I've found nothing about Hepatitis, other than it can live in a syringe for 45 days.

I won't be buying any used soap, though certainly can understand those that will. I think this is something that people should consider for themselves, rather than not think about it.

I'll say this as it is in line with a couple of medical comments related to blood. Assume that anyone you purchase used soap from has a blood born pathogen. If you wouldn't want to use soap that had been used by someone with HIV, Hepatitis C or one of the other things, then it's probably best not to buy it.

Many people that have them don't know it because the time between becoming infected and getting sick can be many, many years. Especially Hepatitis C. About 1% of the population in the US has Hepatitis C and many people don't know they have it.

When I first get a new soap I'll use a plastic spoon and remove enough for one shave. I'll lather it in a shave bowl and try the soap from there. This way if I have a reaction or just don't care for the soap then I can sell, trade or more often give away a new unlathered soap with enough for one shave removed instead of a soap that's been lathered one time.

If I like the soap I'll remove some of it and put it into an IKEA Grundtal container. I'll leave some of the unused soap in the original container. If I want to share a sample with a friend then this is where it comes from as I prefer to share new soap as opposed to something used since it's more considerate.

I can understand being freaked out by soaps I guess, but I will never understand the people who freak out about using used hardware. One of my wife's friends that was over last night tried to tell me how she thought it was gross that I would buy and use a razor that somebody else had used (She's kind of a germ freak). The conversation went like this:

"Really? I scrubbed it with dish soap and a toothbrush and then dunked the thing in barbicide."

"That's still gross. Somebody else used it."

"OK, where did you come from before you came over tonight?"

"Ixtapa Mexican restaurant."

"Do you know how many tens of thousands of mouths that fork you used has been in before you decided to stick it in yours? And they stick it through a crappy dishwasher that has been cycling used food all night with the cheapest detergent they could find cost wise, and you're going to comment on my used razor use?"

The look on her face was priceless.......

Meh. Doesn't bother me. It's soap! Granted it doesn't have antibacterial additives, but still. Lather the heck out of it, rinse and let dry. Good as new.

I saw a post before where this gent rubs some cotton with alcohol on top of the soap, lather, throw away the lather then drying completely before he uses it for the first time. Not sure if it helps but it makes sense in my mind I suppose.

Soaps, razors, brushes, balms....all new.

I think dfoulk hit the nail on the head. A best practice for folks that may wind up selling or trading soap away is to use a spoon or pop sickle stick to remove what they are going to use until they decide if they are going to keep it.

I can see everyone's point of view and it really comes down to each persons risk tolerance. I do think there may be some risk, though suspect it is small. Without research, I wouldn't want to consider it risk free.

I saw a post before where this gent rubs some cotton with alcohol on top of the soap, lather, throw away the lather then drying completely before he uses it for the first time. Not sure if it helps but it makes sense in my mind I suppose.

That's rad, lol.....

I'm participating in a soap passaround right now, so I'm hoping that I'm not lathering up with little critters hiding in my brush.

Normally, I would not buy a used soap or brush. But I think this is just a mental block since I think very few diseases can thrive in a bar of used soap. That used soap would have to have belonged to someone with a disease, that person's blood then need to get on the soap, that pathogen would have to survive for days (or weeks) on the surface of that soap, and finally, that disease would need to jump from the soap to your bloodstream. Not impossible, but not likely.

But I'm still not buying no used soap. There are wackos out there who put razor blades in candy, after all. Better safe than sorry.