when hand washing dishes, how hot should the rinse water be, and why?
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Dish detergents (and those for laundry) for home use are made to be effective at low temperatures. Hot water helps soften fat to where the detergent can take hold of it, warm water is more comfortable to work with than cold.
But what little extra germ-reducing effect you might get by increasing the temperature of your washing or rinsing water, it’s not worth it compared to the damage to your skin. Bacteria are usually hardier than humans and the temperature needed to kill spores can’t be achieved in the sink anyways.
Save energy, be nice to your hands, the cleaning effect is from scrubbing the dishes, not the temperature. Even just sterile water and cloths to rub surfaces with can get a germ-reduction as good as using a disinfectant, disinfectant is plain faster. Hot dishes dry faster, but that doesn’t make a difference in hygiene. If there’s gunk left on there that could harbor germs, that small spike in temperature won’t change anything.
The nasty thing in your dish routine is the sponge/brush/rag. *That*’s where the bacteria happily multiply between uses, not the dry, smooth surfaces of dishes. Sponges are the worst, humid, lots of surface, protected pockets that never get fully clean. Paradise for germs.
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