Hot Or Cold Water To Kill Those Germs? Does It Matter?

[HuckleB]

The Claim: Always Wash Your Hands With Hot Water, Not Cold
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/health/13real.html?_r=1&ref=health

Hmmmmmmmmmm.

[Hoopla Phil]

1. Soap and running water. You'd have to soak your hands in

scalding water for far too long to have the heat do any good. The key is soap and RUNNING water.

[Taverner]

3. I always thought the hot water was just to get the soap to lather easier

:shrug:

[Hoopla Phil]

6. That may be. I had not herd that though. I do know that

lathering agents are just for a consumer feel good "look". Soap, without the lathering agents works just as well but it does not lather. It's just that we have been conditioned to think that lather means soap and no lather means no (or less) soap.

[Taverner]

7. could be - but for me lathering means that the soap is 'melting'

But who knows?

I use Kastille soap too and that stuff doesn't later as much and it works better

[Warpy]

2. While a temperature above 120F can destroy some bacteria

that temperature has to be maintained for 5 minutes or so and some pathogens do very nicely at that temperature. What gets rid of bacteria and viruses on your hands is friction, loosening them from the surface, surrounding them with soap, and washing them down the drain. Friction with the towel takes care of most of the rest.

Viruses, especially, are stable at a wide range of temperatures since they're not really alive until they hijack a living cell.

If you're really paranoid, you can get surgical soap at Walgreen's. Just be aware that if you're a frequent handwasher it will screw up your skin.

If you're just doing the 10-15 second hand wash that most of us do when we're in a big hurry, it doesn't matter what temperature the water is. Just do a lot of rubbing to make sure you drown most of the germs.

[theoldman]

4. Not putting your fingers in your mouth and not touching your food is more important.

If you do not have a cut on your hands, you don't even have to wash your hands.

[Hoopla Phil]

8. Or rubbing your eye, touching your nose, stroking a beard/mustache If you have one.

It is still very important to wash your hands.

[snagglepuss]

5. Soap is the important factor. As the Brits say "soap it off or eat it later!'

[kestrel91316]

9. It takes a lot of heat to kill bacteria - far more heat than hands can take. HOWEVER,

hot water works more effectively with soap to mechanically remove dirt than cold water.

So certainly warmer water is more effective than colder water, but the soap and scrubbing and rinsing and drying are what does most the job.

So sayeth the microbiologist in me.

[uppityperson]

10. Warm water is more comfortable, people will wash/rinse longer.

that's always been my take on it.