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Do you need to wash dishes with hot water?
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β Do you need to wash dishes with hot water?β
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Since food residue is less likely to get left behind while using hot water, it's less likely that a film of grease is left behind for germs to proliferate, leading to a cleaner dish. Finally many dish soaps are designed to work better in hot water, so if you choose to use cold water, you might end up leaving behind some soapy residue on your dish.
But, let me be clear, hot water isn't a requirement to getting a clean dish. In fact, the temperature of the water isn't a big factor in cleaning dishes. The effectiveness of dishwashing has far more to do with dish soap and scrubbing.
Need a refresher on how soap works? Check out an earlier article I wrote on that topic.
Dish soap is designed to lower the surface tension of water, allow it to mix with oil more effectively, and ultimately wash away grease and germs. The scrubbing action to get water picking up these dirty microbes and grease is critical to making the soap do its job.
So if you're happier using cold water, do what makes you happy. Just know that you're going to have to scrub a lot longer and harder to make sure all that food residue and bacteria is getting washed away.
Do you have to sanitize dishes with hot water?
If you want to go the extra mile with your dishes, let's talk about killing germs through sanitization. There are two main ways to sanitize your dishes and effectively kill harmful bacteria and viruses:
- π§ͺ After cleaning, soak your dishes in a solution of bleach and water. This method doesn't require you use hot water.
β - π₯ Clean your dishes using water that's at least 140Β°F (60Β°C). This method would burn your hands. Ouch!
If neither of these methods sounds enticing to you, you may have a secret weapon in your kitchen: the humble dishwasher.
Most household water heaters are set below 140Β°F (60Β°C) to prevent scalding. But dishwashers can reach temperatures around 150Β°F (65Β°C) during wash and rinse cycles, killing far more bacteria than we ever could hand washing. Top it off with a high heat drying cycle, and bacteria doesn't stand a chance.
Do you need to wash dishes with hot water?
Hot water is not necessary to clean dishes because soap, scrubbing, and rinsing is primarily how grease and germs get physically removed. But since hot water makes cleaning more efficient, it likely also contributes to a cleaner dish.
And unless you're using bleach, hot water is critical to sanitizing dishes, so if you're fortunate enough to have a dishwasher: load 'er up.
In the debate between hot water and cold water dishwashing aficionados, hot water has an edge.
π§ Bonus brain points
How should dishes be dried?
If you can't wash your dishes in a dishwasher, air drying is more sanitary than towel drying. The reason is simple: Most of us don't wash our dish towels frequently enough. We use them, they get wet, they harbor bacteria, and then we .... towel dry our clean dishes. The better way is to let your dishes air dry on a rack.
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--- Thanks for reading this week's newsletter! If you have any thoughts, questions, or favorite GIFs, my inbox is always open. Just hit reply to send me a note! :) All my best, |
βSources for this week's newsletterβ
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π Wikipedia article of the week
βNew car smellβ
"New car smell is an odor that is commonly encountered in the interiors of new automobiles and other vehicles. The smell is caused by gases emitted from various manufactured materials, such as leather, plastics and textiles. Some people find the smell pleasant, which has led some automobile manufacturers to mimic the desired scents and utilize them to attract customers in show rooms."
π Catch up on other curious questions
- βDoes soap need bubbles to clean?ββ
- βWhy are there so many Union Stations in America?ββ
- βHow does dry cleaning work?ββ
P.S. π€ Do you have a question for the newsletter? Click here to submit your question (or reply to this email!)
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π‘ Today You Should Know
Learn something new every Friday. Join 2,000+ nerds and satisfy your curiosity one question at a time with topics including science, technology, history, and more.
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