Steel soap how does it work

Whatever is credible should be sourced, and what is not should be removed. Stainless-steel soap is just that: a slab of stainless steel used for alleged cleansing purposes — although it isn't very soapy.

Chunks of polished stainless steel have been sold for this purpose. German inventor Dirk Zielonka patented such a block in The underlying idea is that the iron or chromium in the stainless steel soap binds sulfur compounds that cause the strong odors of garlic, onions, and other food items.

It seems likelier that any effects from the stainless steel soap are actually due to the actions of running water and friction, and that a chunk of rubber, plastic, or something similarly solid would yield comparable results. Traditional soap has the detergent quality that arises from its combination of organic acids with inorganic ions, resulting in a product that allows normally insoluble oil and grease to emulsify more easily with water.

Stainless steel soap lacks these detergent properties. There doesn't seem to be much evidence for it. NPR in suggested there were no scientific studies into its effects. We need as many people as possible to perform a simple experiment to test whether stainless steel really is an effective odour remover.

A knife. A blindfold. A plastic spoon and a stainless steel table spoon of about the same size. Under running water, rub one palm with the back of the stainless steel spoon for about 10 seconds.

Then rub the other palm with the plastic spoon, again under running water, for 10 seconds the plastic spoon is our control experiment.

Make sure you remember which hand was rubbed with which spoon. Find a willing volunteer. Ask them to close their eyes or put a blindfold on — with their eyes closed, they are less likely to notice any signals from you about which hand has had what treatment.

Hold a hand under their chin that way each hand will be the same distance from the test subjects nose and ask them to smell it. Then do the same with the other hand.

Let us know whether one hand smelt more than the other, or whether they smelt the same using this survey below. Chromium does not form rust in the normal sense of the word, but it does form an oxide when it remains in contact with air and water. Some believe this oxide layer is responsible for the purported odor-removing properties of the stainless steel bar. Another theory suggests that the physical act of scrubbing one's hands against stainless steel mechanically removes the oils and grease responsible for the offensive food odors.

The stainless steel doesn't actually do anything to neutralize the odors chemically, but the act of using it under running water helps to break up the surface tension on the skin. In theory, other materials such as plastic or rubber should perform the same action with similar odor-reducing results. It is also possible that the chemical composition of the stainless steel, especially the chromium and chromium oxide, does interact with the sulfur compounds found in many odor-causing foods.