Foaming hand soap is the coolest thing! The kids love to see the bubbly soap squirt out onto their hands, so they want to wash their hands more often just to see the bubblies. I have also read that you can actually save money by using it. The most expensive part is the pump soap dispenser. You can refill your dispenser using your normal liquid hand soap and diluting it with water.

Sounds wonderful! My question is does it make you cheat? When I watch my kids wash their hands with foaming soap at the store, they squirt, play with the bubbles a few seconds, rub for about 2 seconds, and then rinse.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, you are supposed to lather and rub for at least 20 seconds (long enough to sing “Happy Birthday” twice) before rinsing. Regular liquid soap makes this pretty easy because it is very thick and probably takes about 20 seconds just to get off your hands. With foaming soap, you can put it on your hands and then rinse it off with very little rubbing at all (and that is almost exactly what my kids do). 🙂

So, I guess my question isn’t whether the soap works. The question is, do people actually take long enough washing their hands to make it worthwhile. I know it makes kids want to wash their hands more often because it is so fun. Maybe frequent washing makes up for the lack of time spent washing each time? I am not sure.

So, tell me. Do you think foaming hand soap does the job just as well as liquid hand soap? I would like to hear your opinion. (In other words, please leave me a comment) 😀

If you already use foaming hand soap and think it is a great product, check out recipes for the homemade refill at the blogs of Butterfly Mama and Melanie.

If you aren’t quite sure how to wash your hands and need to see a video, check this out! My only question is, does each person get his own individual towel? If you’re not sure why I asked that question, let me know. 🙂 Meanwhile, go wash your hands….and please use soap. Oh, and don’t forget to wish your mother, brother, or dog (or whoever happens to be nearby), a double happy birthday!