The effect on the skin flora of bathing with three different detergent antiseptic preparations (chlorhexidine, povidone-iodine and hexachlorophane) was assessed in staff and patients. Contact plate samples from the skin showed an increase in the numbers of bacterial colonies after bathing with soap and either a decrease or less often a smaller increase after bathing with an antiseptic. Although significant differences between soap and antiseptic baths were found in samples from individual sites on staff no overall difference between soap and other preparations was obtained. A reduction occurred more frequently with chlorhexidine, particularly 4 h after bathing, and the low counts from the bath water after three baths with chlorhexidine showed some residual effect.