Is Hot Water More Effective than Cold for Washing Tom Harris Right Out of My Hair?

As I explained in greater depth over at my PC blog, the Red Shi(r)ts from the Floyd County Health Department went suddenly flaccid on Friday night at Bicentennial Park, arriving very late, tsk tsk, and then declining to so much as inspect the beer pouring perimeter -- this coming after a flabby operative insisted during Boomtown that our not having a hot water handwashing station was cause for great alarm, and after all, it had always been enforced, even if he had not enforced it himself on a half-dozen occasions last year.

South Pacific, meet George Orwell.

I expect a copy of the Friday report, by golly, and have told them so. These yellow sheets are important, constituting as they do a paper trail documenting the Health Department's inconsistencies over time.

Meanwhile, thanks to Duke for this link.

Is Hot Water More Effective for Washing Hands? (Hand Hygiene, Infection Prevention and Food Safety Blog)

 ... So while many believe hot water is more effective for hand washing the study actually concluded, "the temperature of water used is not related to how well pathogens are eliminated during the process." Additionally, warmer water can irritate the skin and can affect its protective layer, which may cause it to be less resistant to bacteria. Skin irritation has been reported as one of the main reasons many healthcare workers forgo hand hygiene for example.

Hot water and hand washingInterestingly if you look at the official guidelines for hand washing from the CDC and WHO, both do not actually specify a water temperature. They do recommend using soap and water and scrubbing using proper technique for at least 20-seconds, followed by drying hands thoroughly.