Thursday, January 7, 2010

Why do people wash dishes in hot water vs. cold water. How hot does the temperature have to be to sanitize?

My brother and I argued about this as i mixed cold water with the hot water as we were washing in the sink. I said it doesn't sanitize unless its boiling which obviously water from a sink is not. Who is right?Why do people wash dishes in hot water vs. cold water. How hot does the temperature have to be to sanitize?
Hot water helps disolve and remove grease. Not only would the water need to be boiling, but for most bacteri, it would need to boil for a certain amount of time as well (20 minutes or longer for most). Soap works much better with warm water, too. Try it one time. Use cold water and then add your dish soap while you are filling the sink. Observe how much it suds up. Now, do the same with warm water. A whole lot more suds with warm water.

So, you are right. Hot/warm water will not kill the germs while you wash your dishes. It does help make it easier to clean 'em. I use hot/cold mix, too. Unless you plan on using some really good gloves while you are washing, stick with warm water that won't burn ya!

Good Luck to You!Why do people wash dishes in hot water vs. cold water. How hot does the temperature have to be to sanitize?
I agree with the others. It's is good to use hot water to kill germs and bacteria in addition to using dishsoap. I use water that is too hot for my hands and I let the dishes soak in it, until the water is cool enough to put my hands in. I also use special gloves for washing dishes. I am allergic to latex, so I buy the non-latex dishwashing gloves, which is more expensive...argh!!!

When I was a teenager I went camping with my friends. We washed our dishes in cold water. ALL of the dishes were greasy afterwards.

We had to re-wash the dishes with hot water. We put water in a big pot and heated it on the Coleman campstove. After the water was hot we poured it in the wash tub container we used for washing the dishes. We re-washed the dishes with the hot water and the dishes came out clean, no more greasy residue!!!

Bottom line, if you don't want greasy dishes, wash in hot water, NEVER use cold.
Water that is hot enough to put your hand in but not leave it for long is the right temperature. Hot water does sanitize better than cold, but not like if it is boiling. If you want to sanitize your dishes, especially if there is someone in the house with the flu, fill one sink with hot water, place about a capful of bleach in the water. Let the dishes rest in the water for a few minutes. Then rinse off with plain water, place in the drainer and let it air dry and do not use a towel to wipe off the dishes.
Hot water does sanitize and it doesn't have to be boiling hot either. It is also easier to dry dishes that have been washed and rinsed in hot water. Try drying a plate that has been rinsed in cold water and you will be drying a lot longer than you would be if it was rinsed in cold.
To sanitize you would have to have the water way hotter than tap has.If you want to sanitize then wash,dip in water with a little bleach and then air dry.I never do this,I just use anti-bacterial soap and rinse in hot water----my dishes are colored and I want to keep them that way.....
Hot water does sanitize, but it doesn't have to be boiling.

Just a little more than hot to the touch.
Hot water will cut grease better, make more suds and the dishes will dry quicker (no towel drying for me) when rinsed with hot water. However, cold water will rinse the soap off quicker. The water would have to be boiling for sanitizing. If you want to also sanitize your dishes put a little bleach into a basin of hot/warm rinse water. Make sure to rinse the dishes thoroughly after setting in the bleach solution.
Hot water is better for cutting grease on dishes and pots/pans. Sanitizing does call for very hot water--the temp that your dishwasher reaches which is the best way to sanitize dishes/silverware.
Hot water makes it easier to get dishes clean. I don't think it's an issue of sanitization, but it makes it easier to get dried on food off of your dishes. It makes the soap more effective too, cold water breaks down soap and bubbles.
Hot water is used to soak the dishes, especially the silverware. To solve the problem of bacteria they have made ANTIBACTERIAL dish washing soap which even in cold water will kill the germs.

However, even with the Antibacterial soaps, I still put my water in as hot as it can get then let it cool down for my hands.

I also have my water heater set for extremely hot water.

Now, as to who is right and who is wrong.. You are correct that the ';water'; does not sanitize unless it is at a certain temperature which is too hot for our hands.

It is the soap that does the job.

';as women rule = men will drool'; teehee


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