Eli5: Why are we told to wash our hands for 20 seconds to kill all the bacteria etc, but not told anything similar for dishwashing? What makes dishwashing different, if anything?

Question

Eli5: Why are we told to wash our hands for 20 seconds to kill all the bacteria etc, but not told anything similar for dishwashing? What makes dishwashing different, if anything?

In: Biology

Answer 1

The 20 seconds hand washing is to encourage you to wash all areas of your hand, you can do it quicker or slower but as long as you wash all over, it achieves the same results. Similar to the dishes, you wipe all areas until it’s clean. Hands are a more complex shape than a dish hence why it takes longer.