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Filipino Moms Need to Wake Up from the Dirty Truth about Bar Solution

Do Filipino mothers really know best?

Filipino mothers are known to have some of the world’s cleanest practices in running their households. They ensure their kids take a bath everyday and shower before going to bed. They hand wash clothes so that they are stain-free and smelling fresh for their family’s use. And they encourage their children to brush their teeth three times a day. However, because of the many chores and costs that come with maintaining the home, mothers are sometimes forced to improvise or maximize consumption of certain household products. For example, some mothers use leftover laundry soap to wash their plates. They think in this process they are saving up, but unknown to them are the horrors behind this practice.

A recent study reveals that ten out of ten Filipino households who use bar solution consisting of used laundry soap, water and a sponge clean their plates with bar solution dirtier than a toilet seat cover.

This data was obtained from a study conducted by a third party agency and an expert from the Philippine Society for Microbiology among 150 households who use bar solution. Using a luminometer or germ meter, the PSM found that all of the bar solutions have higher level of contaminants compared to toilet seat covers.

The luminometer or germ meter is a device used by microbiologists to measure the levels of contaminants found in objects. This is done by swabbing on item’s surface with a chemical reagent (Luciferase/Luciferin), which causes a bioluminescent reaction that can be measured in Relative Light Units (RLU). The generated number of light emitted is directly proportional to the level of contaminants found in the object.

In this study, the germ meter’s reading was at 504 RLU for the toilet seat cover. The bar solutions, on the other hand, registered an alarming average of 6,921 RLU – 13 times higher than the toilet seat cover! With this result, mothers are better off preparing their family’s meals on top of their toilets’ seat covers than on plates washed with a bar solution.

Commissioned by Joy Anti-bac with the Power of Safeguard and verified by the Philippine Society for Microbiology, this study aims to prompt mothers to reassess their current kitchen sanitation practices.

“Every time a sponge is used it absorbs almost any particle or liquid it comes in contact with including germs from dishwashing. Likewise, the laundry bar that was once used to wash our dirty clothes also tends to collect dirt and particle especially when left in a moist container and exposed to open air. Together, these two become breeding grounds for contaminants,” explains Dr. Supachai Basit, PSM President.

“Mothers think that they are saving money by using their leftover laundry soap in dishwashing,” shares Jan Jizelle Ang, Brand Manager for Joy. “However, this study proves that the use of bar solution is both uneconomic and unhygienic. We hope that mothers wake up from the dirty truth about their bar solution.”

Joy recently launched a new variant, Joy Anti-bac now with the Power of Safeguard that mothers can trust. It not only cuts through grease, it also provides 99.9% germ protection so moms can stop cleaning with germs and keep their family protected.

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Someone will scream in delight…

my little sister is coming for the long weekend.. and I am pretty sure she would scream in delight when she sees this:

My sigarilyas bearing fruit! It happened right after the flood.. I think my plants were threatened by the flood and started bearing fruit.. I have noticed that after Ondoy, the fruit bearing trees in the subdivision started to flower and bear fruit earlier.. ang galing di ba, they feel like their existence was threated kaya they bear fruit para di maubos ang lahi nila.. haay nature!

My sigarilyas has been flowering for what seems like forever..but because of plant worms, the flowers never made it..hahays..pero ngayon.. ay naloka ako ng bongga when I saw the fruit! Another gardening dream fulfilled!

Sadly, my sili did not survived the flood.. good thing, I already harvested some of its fruit a few days before the flood:

Oh well, I just have to pant another sili, this time I will plant it on a pot.. mother said, sili never really liked water, that’s why it died after the flood.

Managing A Household

Here’s my version of how I manage to survive my full time career, that is motherhood. Managing a household of 6 is not easy. Brushing alone takes a lot of time, imagine 4 kids.. then I have to bathe them too! But you know, even it is hard, it’s very fulfilling and just by looking at them at night, I feel refreshed already!

Our day would start with the 2 older boys preparing for school. That would include preparing their breakfast, bathing them, checking their bags, preparing their snacks and of course, assisting them as they put on their uniforms. I am also homeschooling my two younger kids, then tutor my school boys.

My secret in being able to manage it all is scheduling and advance cooking. I have a schedule of how my day should go, though most of the times I don’t follow it, it still serves as a guide and as a reminder of what’s needed to be done. Cooking has been a big part of household management, there’s breakfast, snack, lunch, snack, dinner. Just imagine how much time I spend on the kitchen. What I did to solve the dilemma of spending too much time on the kitchen is to cook in advance.

We usually buy food good for two weeks. I devote one whole day for cooking the dishes then freeze it. It saves me a lot of time as on weekdays, I don’t have to prepare meals, I just place the precooked meal in the microwave and voila! If we have a bigger fridge freezer, I can store more food and will be able to save more time.

I am also glad that my hubby’s very supportive with me. There were times that he would wash the dishes for me, specially when he sensed that I am already tired. A dishwasher would e very helpful of course, but as you know, we’re just renting so it would not be possible to install a dishwasher on our kitchen.

Another thing that helped stay sane is my boys, they have been very helpful the past few days, helping me simple household chores. My little girl is very helpful but she’s our little clutter maker.