Eli5 why do people say to wash dishes or your hands in warm water when cold slows down bacteria growth?

2.87K views

Eli5 why do people say to wash dishes or your hands in warm water when cold slows down bacteria growth?

In: 722

126 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

This is an extreme case, but when performing radiological decontamination on people we were trained to avoid extreme temperatures when cleaning skin with water. Too cold closed skin pores which could trap particles, and too hot would enhance their adsorption into the bloodstream.

Your typical dirt and grime probably aren’t affected at the scale where this is a problem, but all the same.

You are viewing 1 out of 126 answers, click here to view all answers.