Common antibacterial soaps no better at killing germs than ordinary suds, new study says

Antibacterial hand soaps containing a chemical flagged as potentially dangerous are not much better at killing germs than regular suds, researchers said Wednesday.

The chemical, triclosan, was long one of the commonest ingredients in antibacterial soaps, which are used by millions of people and generate $1 billion in sales annually in the United States alone, experts say.

But studies have linked it to antibiotic resistance and hormone problems, prompting a safety review by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that may yet lead to restrictions.

Now a study in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy reports that when it comes to normal hand-washing, there is “no significant difference” between the bactericidal effects of plain soap and antibacterial soap.

The agent only became effective after microbes had been steeped in the stuff for nine hours, the authors found.

“At times less than six hours there was little difference between the two (soaps),” the researchers wrote of their tests.