FAQs

You have questions, Dial® has answers. Click the links below to help answer your soap questions.

Soaps that are formulated to contain an approved antibacterial ingredient can be marketed as an antibacterial hand soap. Dial® antibacterial hand soaps are formulated with the bacteria killing ingredient called Benzalkonium chloride. This antibacterial ingredient has been used for over 50 years in many types of antibacterial products. They are chemically known as Quaternary Ammonium Chlorides (Quats). The active ingredient can kill a broad spectrum of bacteria that are found in the home, including commonly found kitchen bacteria. In time kill studies against commonly found bacteria our formulas can kill 99.9% within 30 seconds and against some bacteria even higher, 99.99%.

Published data shows that the risk of food borne illness in the home is prevalent. It has been reported that up to 87% of reported food-borne illnesses are associated with food preparation in the home. 1Cross contamination from food sources to countertops, cutting boards and hands of the food preparer have been well documented. Researchers found several types of bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella spp. surviving on hands, sponges, clothes and utensils for hours or days after initial contact with the microorganisms2.

Additional surveillance studies evaluating the diverse types of bacteria in the home have been reported. Levels of fecal and total coliforms were found to be higher in the kitchen than in the bathroom. Specifically they found Escherichia coli, Salmonella and Camplyobacter3 . Pathogenic bacteria are continuously introduced into the home by pets, people, food, water and even air.

References:

  1. Asselt van E.D. et al. Cross Contamination in the kitchen: estimation of transfer rates for cutting boards, hands and knives. Journal of Applied Microbiology 105 (2008) 1392 – 1401
  2. Scott E. et al. The survival and transfer of microbial-contamination via cloths, hands and utensils. Journal of Applied Bacteriology 68, 1990 271 – 278
  3. Rusin P.P. et al. Reduction of fecal coliform and heterotrophic plate count bacteria in the household kitchen and bathroom by disinfection with hypochlorite cleaners. Journal of Applied Microbiology 85 (1998) 819 – 828

We know that hand hygiene plays a significant role in the prevention of food-borne illnesses and other diseases where hands play a role in transmission. Washing your hands with an antiseptic hand wash either before or after food preparation and other activities that leave the hands dirty can help reduce the risk of spreading bacteria. Antibacterial hand soaps kill more bacteria on the hands then plain soap. Reducing the number of bacteria on the hands, reduces the chances of cross contaminating food, and other surfaces in the home. Published studies have shown that by reducing the level of bacteria on hands, the amount left that could be transferred is significantly less then levels found after washing with plain soap. Higher levels of bacteria can result in a higher number of illnesses.

Read article for more details: All About Antibacterial: What is Antibacterial Soap & Body Wash

Antibacterial hand soaps are formulated to reduce bacteria on the hands. While the active ingredients in antibacterial hand soaps can kill many different types of bacteria, they do not specifically target “good” bacteria vs. “bad” bacteria. These products are formulated to provide an immediate reduction of bacteria when you wash your hands. They are not designed to provide a long acting protection and they also are not formulated to reduce your normal flora for extended periods of time. Transient bacteria are bacteria that are picked up on the hands during food preparation, diaper changing, petting pets and other daily activities. Antibacterial hand soaps work by removing or killing the transient bacteria that are not normally found on your skin.

We place the date of manufacture, not the expiration date on our products. To read our lot/batch codes: PPDDMY - PP is the plant - DD is the date - M is letter associated with month < January (1), February (2), March (3), April (4), May (5), June (6), July (7), August (8), September (9), October (X), November (Y) or December (z)>  and Y is the year. Your product has a shelf life of XX months. While the product is still safe after it’s shelf life, we cannot guarantee that it will be as effective.

While you can use hand soap as a body wash, you would find that, due to less surfactants, your skin would feel less clean and have less suds. Also, there is less fragrance in the hand soap. We recommend using body wash for all over clean and lasting fragrance.

While you can use a body wash as hand soap, using it multiple times per day, you might find that it may cause skin irritation since there is more surfactants in body wash verses hand soap. We recommend using hand soap for washing your hands and arms multiple times per day.

Let me walk you through a few steps to see if we can get this pump working? First try to tighten the collar of the bottle.  The collar is connecting the pump to the bottle. If that does not work, push the pump downwards as you put pressure in it. Then, turn or twist your hands counter clockwise until the nozzle pops up. If that does not work then hold the middle ring of the pump (located at the top of the "collar") with one hand. Your other hand should turn the nozzle tip counter clockwise until the pump pops up. If that does not work, please contact the Team Clean experts at the Consumer Information Center by emailing them at consumeraffairsNA@henkel.com. Please include the UPC and printed lot code so we can document your issue. You can also call the team Monday to Friday from 9 am to 6 pm ET at 800-258-3425.

We do not test our cosmetic products on animals. This applies to both the products for home use available in the market and professional products used in hair salons. We use recognized, alternative testing methods or existing data to demonstrate the safety of our cosmetic ingredients. For almost 40 years, we have been committed to the development and recognition of alternative methods in many different ways. Some countries still test certain cosmetic products from our assortment on animals to obtain market registration. We are working with national and European associations to convince the authorities in these countries to cease testing cosmetic products on animals. All Dial products are now Leaping Bunny approved. You can always check the Cruelty Free International website which lists all the brands that have its Leaping Bunny approval. Here’s the link: https://www.crueltyfreeinternational.org/LeapingBunny

The Leaping Bunny is the highest standard for a global approval for cruelty free cosmetics & personal care products and for household products. The approval requires (i) a supplier monitoring system to be implemented by the brand, (ii) checks for cosmetic animal testing down to and including manufacturer level of the supply chain, (iii) adherence to a fixed cut-off date and (iv) regular independent supply chain audits to ensure compliance.