Hi Elaine -
Water alone likely won't remove the urushiol oil unless its forceful. Oil and water don't mix and urushiol oil is heavier than water so without something to encourage the urushiol oil to "give up its spot" such as a fast stream of water, it'll stay put. Soap on the other hand is good at attracting and removing oil provided you use sufficient water to move the soap and oil off the surface. You can learn more about soap here: How Soap Works. You could also use a solvent but personally, I don't like the idea of using solvents for something I'm going to ingest. |