Antibacterial soaps are not more effective,

Health concern partial report by

Alisha McDarris

Published Dec 23, 2025 10:00 AM EST

Ditch the antibacterial soap this cold and flu season!

The most dreaded time of year rolls around every winter like clockwork: cold and flu season. 

The time when hand washing increases, sanitizing surfaces intensifies, and old and young schedule regular seasonal vaccines in an attempt to prevent sickness from descending on their households.

But there’s one piece of ammunition you should absolutely skip this season—and all year-round—because it does more harm than good: antibacterial hand soap.

While hand washing is vitally important to curb the spread of disease, soap advertised as antibacterial not only doesn’t protect you better from disease, but it has far-reaching and possibly harmful effects on your health and the environment.

Here’s why to ditch it and use plain soap instead.

How does soap even work?

Regular soap can come in many forms: foaming liquid, bars, and gels. It is a little more than a combination of fat or oil, alkaline substances (lye), and water. When you wash your hands with it, it loosens the bond microbes (of which viruses and bacteria are a subset) have made with your skin, which allows water to easily wash them away down the drain.

You still need to wash your hands with soap and warm water, though.

Independent studies show (and the FDA agrees) that there’s no meaningful health benefit to choosing antibacterial hand soap over plain soap and water when it comes to eliminating microbes on hands and preventing illness.

That includes E.coli, viruses, and the “bad” bacteria. There is little evidence that disinfecting wipes, sprays, and laundry sanitizer in homes provides added health benefits beyond regular cleaning and proper laundering, either, Fuoco says.

Additionally, most antibacterial products have to be left wet on surfaces—including hands—for several minutes in order to be as effective as they claim. Most consumers don’t follow those instructions, so products aren’t nearly as effective as they may think.

What to look out for

According to Fuoco and many other scientists, the best and safest choice is to avoid antibacterial and antimicrobial products altogether, particularly those containing QACs or chloroxylenol. Hand washes marketed as antibacterial must list their active antiseptic ingredients. So on labels, look for terms like “antibacterial” or “antiseptic” and check ingredient labels for the ingredients benzalkonium chloride, benzethonium chloride, and chloroxylenol.

When wiping down surfaces in your home or office, opt for plain soap and water instead of disinfectant wipes and sprays. “It’s usually unnecessary to disinfect surfaces in your household,” Fuoco states. 

The exception is when there’s been blood, fecal matter, or vomit from a sick person on surfaces. Other options like diluted bleach, hydrogen peroxide, alcohol-based products, or citric-acid-based disinfectants can do the job while generally posing fewer health and environmental concerns, she continues.

So, ditch the antibacterial products altogether and fight cold and flu season the old-fashioned way: with plain soap and water. 

You’ll fare just as well and leave your long-term health and that of the environment better for it. 

Thank you for reading,

Tim.