system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:if we have to use soap to kill the bacteria on our hands, then why is just using water to clean fruit/vegetables enough?
gpt
Hand soap does not kill bacteria (well, antibacterial soap might kill some), but rather just washes them off (along with oils and dirt from your skin). In fact, you get rid of a good bit of bacteria just by rinsing, the soap just makes it more effective.

When you rinse veggies, you are physically removing the dirt, and maybe traces of pesticides (in the US, at least, there are rarely even trace amounts of pesticide; but just in case). Fruits and veggies aren't animals and the bacteria / viruses on them are not generally harmful to people. Even then, water washes much of it off.

The only time there's really a risk is when manure is when natural fertilizers (like manure) are used. Sometimes that may have harmful bacteria. That's not really a concern unless you buy organic. Even then, rinsing it off will get the majority of anything harmful off.