Max’s Notes:

This experiment was not only fun to do, but also helped me to realize that my default hand washing method itself was poor. While it is embarrassing to say, sometimes it does take something like a pandemic for people to realize the default things they were doing are incorrect or improper. So from the get-go, I was learning how to properly wash my hands with increment detail.

This then led into finding out that the default bar soap bought en-masse at my house was the best possible soap for cleaning really freaked me out. Compared to all of the other advanced liquid soaps, sanitizers, and other cleaners, a bar of unscented Dial soap cleaned the best.

When it came to the Goop cleaner, I firmly believe the only reason it worked was because it was full of abrasive materials that scrubbed off the glo germ. The Goop never had a lather and while it did feel like my hands were cleaned, a minute later they still felt dirty. As you look at the experimental data, Goop really only cleaned the minimal surface level stuff. Any crevice or crack still contained the glo germ.

The one thing that worked well for this experiment was having an enclosed bathroom with no windows. This really helped to get good pictures of the glo germ in a dark environment to see all of the effects of the cleaner being tested. Also having a younger brother who can take pictures for you is a big help as well. I will say though, if I was to do this experiment again, I would want to wear more muted clothing versus a neon floral that is clearly displayed in the latter half of my images.

Hartely’s Notes:

This experiment answered a lot of my questions, and left me with some others as well. I learned that the soap I had been relying on for years (Bath and Body Works) didn’t kill quite as many germs as one would wish in their daily hand soap. This gave me a new perspective on the soap I have stored in my kitchen and bathroom at home. It also left me questioning how well their other products that I own work, such as their body washes. It was disappointing, but quite informative of the soap I will be buying in the future.

It was also quite interesting to me that the SoftSoap (definitely the cheaper option) worked best in the experiment, as well as the Equate Hand Sanitizer, both of which have officially taken the spots held previously by the Bath and Body Works products. These findings surprised me, not because they were the cheaper option, but because Bath and Body Works is sold in such high quantities and given as gifts all over the place. Although the soaps smell amazing, I won’t be using them as my primary source of cleanliness here on out.

In this experiment I also struggled with getting appropriate pictures that depicted what I was really seeing in person. If I could change one thing, it would be to have an environment where it is possible to eliminate all of the light. This prevented the pictures from really showing the amount of germs on my hand at the beginning and end of the trials, as well as not getting good enough pictures of the backs of my hands to be included in the trial pictures. One difficulty in this experiment was also taking the pictures on my own. I ended up holding the light underneath the camera with one hand, while holding out the experimental hand for the pictures to be taken. This also ended up in some blurry pictures that needed to be retaken.