The forgotten joy of soap • Hacker News Board

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#161

Post by Renaud » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:43 PM UTC

PakG1 wrote: post #145

Renaud wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I started using boric acid about 6-7 years ago. I’m nit talking about those ineffective foot powders, just straight pure boric acid (looks like powdered sugar), about a teaspoon every 2/3 days in my shoes. Basically stopped all smells, no fungal infection of any kind for years, and at the end of the day, my socks still smell of fabric softener. Doesn’t prevent sweat but the boric acid completely blocks the proliferat…

That's interesting. I presume it needs to spread evenly over the entire insole?

Just shake the shoe to spread the powdered boric acid. Doesn’t need to be precise, over time it will spread everywhere.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#162

Post by crooked-v » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:44 PM UTC

Pimpus wrote: post #133

ASalazarMX wrote: post #117

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh, I also stopped brushing my teeth, I just wash them with water. The first month I had halitosis, but it gradually went away. I'm also more productive than ever because my coworkers have started to send me emails instead of having meetings!

We are descended from at least 7000 generations of man, and 99.9% of these ancestors had never even heard of toothpaste.

...and simple dental work dates back to before recorded history, suggesting that cavities have always been a problem, even if they were probably much rarer before the mass use of refined sugar.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#163

Post by pessimizer » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:47 PM UTC

novok wrote: post #157

pessimizer wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Or unless you inherited those beliefs from your parents, who kept you oversanitary as a child. Then the world really is very dangerous for you; childhood is the best time to get exposed to stuff.

No, you'll be fine and you'll quickly gain missing immunities, if you have any. A good chunk of the behaviors might even be counterproductive.

I hope so, I've heard otherwise. I was personally a filthy kid, so I'm not talking about me.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#164

Post by pessimizer » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:50 PM UTC

robin_reala wrote: post #144

Pimpus wrote: post #133

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We are descended from at least 7000 generations of man, and 99.9% of these ancestors had never even heard of toothpaste.

…or refined sugar, or living past 40.

Plenty of people lived past 40, people always include infant mortality in life expectancy statistics and it skews people's image of how long people who became adults lived.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#165

Post by kstenerud » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:52 PM UTC

goostavos wrote: post #150

jdlyga wrote: post #85

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For anyone reading this, please don't try this without honest friends or an honest spouse who will give you feedback. It works for people with specific genetics, but not for the majority.

They're have to have crazy specific genetics, I'd wager. I've worked with a no-soap no-deodorant guy before.. You could literally detect where he'd previously been by smell alone. We had to keep doors open even in large conference rooms. It'd hit you like a wall.

Your gut biome also has an effect. I couldn't tell which made more difference because I did both at the same time, moving away from processed foods, removing sugar wherever I could, and cooking from primary ingredients.

For some, reducing meat also has an effect.

Also, you may need to control the bacteria on your skin with salt based products like Crystal deodorant.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#166

Post by coldtea » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:53 PM UTC

theshrike79 wrote: post #137

coldtea wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I see colleagues just leave the bathroom without washing their hands Perhaps they have mastered the art of pissing without pissing on their hands...

So you're fine with them touching their sweaty junk and then handing you a donut with the same hands?

Totally! It even adds a pleasant salty taste to the donut!

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#167

Post by coldtea » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 5:54 PM UTC

jressey wrote: post #134

coldtea wrote: post #118

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> When I see colleagues just leave the bathroom without washing their hands Perhaps they have mastered the art of pissing without pissing on their hands...

So you're cool with folks touching their genitals and then touching you?

Totally, especially if it involves sex.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#168

Post by Dirlewanger » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 6:00 PM UTC

DanBC wrote: post #45

dnvbcnvb wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

YES! I wash hands tens of times per day. Every time before touching food, or after touching something potentially poisonous (like eliquid, strong detergents, gasoline, etc). I can't imagine using liquid soap, it doesn't clean at all! It's horrible, hands covered in some oil, can't remove it with water. I'm using this https://www.ladymakeup.com/shop/barwa_hypoallergenic_traditi... 0.99 PLN (0.26 USD) for a 100g bar at…

> I wash hands tens of times per day. Every time before touching food, or after touching something potentially poisonous (like eliquid, strong detergents, gasoline, etc). You may want to read this from the US CDC: When is clean too clean? https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/7/2/70-0225_article

So basically: Everyone use alcohol-based hand cleaners.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#169

Post by pessimizer » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 6:03 PM UTC

NeedMoreTea wrote: post #147

buu700 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Devil's advocate: is this not a legitimate concern? e.g. can viruses potentially be transmitted via bar soap? I use bar soap in my own shower, but I still prefer not to use someone else's bar soap and I use equivalent liquid/foam soap for washing my hands and face.

How is it more likely that the comparatively complex pump mechanism someone else shares does not contain the same germ and virus transmission possibilities? Those pumps often look a little mangy with excess soap remnants by the time the bottle is running low. What of the handle of the shower door? Surely both have the same possibility of germ killing formulation or transmission? I have no memory of mass outbreaks of…

A fear of contamination can often just be a fear of touch. Remember when we found out how filthy hot air hand dryers were? My bet is that most of us don't remember, because no matter how filthy they are, people who are afraid to touch will still prefer them.

Some people will always prefer bottled water to tap water, even if the bottle was filled from a tap.

Re: The forgotten joy of soap

#170

Post by Frondo » Tue, Jul 09, 2019, 6:04 PM UTC

projektfu wrote: post #111

ivanhoe wrote: post #104

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How we smell depends a lot on our activities. It's really the bacteria that cause sweat to smell bad, so it depends a lot on a physical activity and how long it's been sitting on the body. When a person sweats a lot, like during sports, sweat contains much more water and less food for bacterias, so the smell is less intensive. In high-school I used to spend whole summer on the beach playing sports, sweating like a pi…

Indeed, I remember hearing about a product being researched which was a spray made from a certain kind of soil that promoted a different bacterial population on the skin to reduce malodor. Unfortunately I can't find any references now. Still, it actually works pretty well to go to the beach for a while and then you will smell better for days, so I think there's something going on there, whether it's the ocean water o…

Along those lines, I've found that I'm much more distinctly odor-free for a few days, after I spend a day at the russian bathhouse. Something about sitting in hot tubs, steam rooms, cold showers (I've never done the arctic pool! haha), saunas and banyas, rotating throughout the different conditions somehow cleanses off ALL of the bacteria, to where if I didn't have any deodorant on the next day it wouldn't be a thing.

It's pretty physically taxing to make a whole day of it, especially when you're splitting a bottle of vodka at the same time, but nothing leaves me feeling cleaner.