THURSDAY, Sept. 17, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- When it comes to ridding your hands of bacteria, plain old soap is just as good as many "antibacterial" soaps, new research contends.

Lab tests conducted by a team of Korean researchers revealed that when bacteria are exposed to the standard over-the-counter antibacterial ingredient known as triclosan for hours at a time, the antiseptic formulation is a more potent killer than plain soap.

The problem: People wash their hands for a matter of seconds, not hours. And in real-world tests, the research team found no evidence to suggest that normal hand-washing with antibacterial soap does any more to clean the hands than plain soap.

"[The] antiseptic effect of triclosan depends on its exposure concentration and time," explained study co-author Min Suk Rhee, a professor in the department of biotechnology and the department of food bioscience and technology at the College of Life Sciences and Biotechnology at Korea University in Seoul.

But most people who wash their hands with antibacterial soap do so for less than 30 seconds, Rhee noted, using formulations containing less than 0.3 percent triclosan -- the maximum allowed by law. And that combination, he said, is "not adequate for having an antibacterial effect."

Rhee and his colleagues outline their findings in the Sept. 16 issue of the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy.

Triclosan is the antibacterial component of liquid soap. In bar formulations, it's triclocarban, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. These ingredients have been somewhat controversial. Some contend there is no scientific evidence to back up claims that these products are more effective than regular soap. Others have argued that these ingredients aren't safe.

But there isn't any proof that triclosan is unsafe, the FDA said. However, the FDA cautioned that animal studies have raised concerns that the antiseptic may interfere with normal hormonal regulation, or may contribute to antibiotic resistance.

To address both issues, in 2013 the FDA proposed passage of a new rule that would -- as of 2016 -- require soap manufacturers to provide more solid safety and effectiveness research to back up all antibacterial claims related to triclosan. If the rule is ultimately approved, failure to provide such evidence would result in either the relabeling of triclosan soap packaging to remove all antibacterial claims, or the removal of triclosan.