How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

I understand soap molecules having polar and nonpolar ends, so that it can help nonpolar things dissolve in water. What I've never understood is, why doesn't soap clean off pine sap?

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#5

Post by mholt » Fri, Oct 27, 2023, 2:26 PM UTC

I'm a huge advocate for washing with soap and water, but this gave me pause:

> washing your hands with soap and water is one of the most effective ways people can keep from getting sick, and from passing the [COVID-19] virus to others

So not to doubt handwashing, but I thought we overwhelmingly determined that COVID-19 doesn't thrive on surfaces (very long) and its primary transmission vector is through the air, from respiratory system to respiratory system, clinging to small moisture particles as it goes.

Also... this article is a bit of a stub. Diagrams would be nice. More detail would be nice, I'd expect better from a company like Pfizer, who I do trust to make vaccines, but this marketing content is low-effort.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#6

Post by dylan604 » Fri, Oct 27, 2023, 2:28 PM UTC

kavaruka wrote: post #2

for a moment I thought about SOAP (Simple Object Access Protocol)

I will forever now use "a moment" as the amount of time to process the rest of the sentence.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#7

Post by phito » Fri, Oct 27, 2023, 2:30 PM UTC

ProjectArcturis wrote: post #4

I understand soap molecules having polar and nonpolar ends, so that it can help nonpolar things dissolve in water. What I've never understood is, why doesn't soap clean off pine sap?

I would guess that since pine sap (and any other adhesive) sticks, it does not allow for soap molecules to surround it.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#8

Post by jyoung789 » Fri, Oct 27, 2023, 2:35 PM UTC

ProjectArcturis wrote: post #4

I understand soap molecules having polar and nonpolar ends, so that it can help nonpolar things dissolve in water. What I've never understood is, why doesn't soap clean off pine sap?

I don’t have a real answer for you but I will say that olive oil works well for this.

I worked on a Christmas tree lot through my winters as an undergrad and olive oil always worked well. Of course then you need soap and water to remove the olive oil.

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#9

Post by brailsafe » Fri, Oct 27, 2023, 2:36 PM UTC

jyoung789 wrote: post #8

ProjectArcturis wrote: post #4

I understand soap molecules having polar and nonpolar ends, so that it can help nonpolar things dissolve in water. What I've never understood is, why doesn't soap clean off pine sap?

I don’t have a real answer for you but I will say that olive oil works well for this. I worked on a Christmas tree lot through my winters as an undergrad and olive oil always worked well. Of course then you need soap and water to remove the olive oil.

Coffee grounds or that mechanic paste might do pretty well also

Re: How Soap Works: The Science Behind Handwashing

#10

Post by jawns » Fri, Oct 27, 2023, 2:39 PM UTC

This is probably the stupidest question many of you will encounter today, but:

If soap has an extraordinary ability to destroy viruses on our skin ... can eating soap give us some of those benefits for viruses that are already in our bodies?

I'm not seriously envisioning chowing down on bar soap or using liquid hand soap as a salad dressing. But are there ways to use the _properties_ of soap that make it good for killing viruses in something that can be ingested? Or do those properties only work for surface-level viruses, and we need to use other strategies to kill viruses once they're in our bodies?