Washing dishes with COLD water?

[Callisto in NC]

I have a friend that recently told me that she washes her dishes by hand with cold water because her dishwashing soap has bleach alternative added and she's sure that's enough to kill all the ickies on her dishes. I just can't believe this is safe. It even says it's not a bleach, it's an alternative additive.

What do you guys think? I could never eat off a utensils that weren't cleaned in super hot water. It grosses me out, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

 

[Barb L.]

I am with you on this one Callisto, gotta be hot for me too !!

 

[GB]

I do not know for sure, but my thoughts are that the hot water in your sink is not hot enough to kill anything. I use hot just because I find it more efficient at loosening up stuck on stuff and dissolving soap. I would not think that cold water would do a worse job than hot. I just think it would take a little longer to get to the same result.

 

[JillBurgh]

I don't know about the specifics of what temp is right with which detergent, but I do know from food handling safety classes that dishwasher water should be no lower than 130 degrees F. Better safe than sorry, I'd say.

Off-topic PS: My BF brushes his teeth with VERY hot water and I think that's strange

 

[Andy M.]

I agree, the water coming out of your faucet is not hot enough to do any sanitizing.

 

[kitchenelf]

Cold water versus the very hottest water out of your tap are basically the same, as others have said. It IS the detergent that cleans. If something is stuck on though the hot water will help loosen it - that too has already been said - the same for greasy things.

I question whether the bleach would still have to be the correct ratio (can't remember now what it is - 1/100? Don't remember, sorry. Bleach in the dish washing detergent can't hurt, but, I don't know if it's enough to do "the job".

It is surprising though how many germs are killed by plain soap and water.

 

[mcnerd]

Those that do any canning knows that boiling water (212 F) is needed to kill most bacteria and today's dishwashers supposedly are designed to heat up the water to sufficient temperatures to sanitize. Without a dishwasher, my mother and grandmother used to pour boiling water over the cleaned and rinsed dishes sitting on the rack. I even have a vague memory of my great grandmother with a large boiling pot on the stove that she dipped her dishes in.

The newer dish soups have anti-bacterial agents in them and I wonder how successful they are during normal sponge washing or soaking in the sink.

 

[Jeekinz]

Off-topic PS: My BF brushes his teeth with VERY hot water and I think that's strange

He could have a sensitive grill. When you warm up your toothbrush it softens the bristles.

As far as the dishwater, hot for me. I don't like cold hands.

 

[love2"Q"]

most dishwashers if they have a hot water booster will
only reach 140 degrees ..
most people set their water heaters to 125-130 degrees ..
so i do not see how it would matter if you washed in hot or
cold .. i am sure it helps with the cleaning process ..
but i doubt you are killing anything ..

 

[Andy M.]

i have a Kenmore washer that heats the water to 160F in the normal wash cycle. There is also a high temp cyle that takes the water to 190F. The difference is significant.

 

[Fisher's Mom]

I'm pretty sure washing dishes in cold water with detergent would be just as effective sanitizing your dishes as hot water. The best way to kill germs is through soap and friction. I think the reason automatic dishwashers have hot water is because there is no hand friction to scrub the dishes so the hotter water loosens the debris so the jets can wash it away. Also, heated water aids in faster drying so less spotting.

The key is to getting dishes clean and germ free is to scrub and rinse well. Surgeons often scrub up with lukewarm or cold water but they scrub for a set number of minutes and rinse well under running water.

But it's yucky to have your hands in cold dishwater so I use hot, too.

 

[mozart]

Most dishwashers do not get hot enough to sanitize dishes. The dishwasher detergent does that, and the temperature is not all that important.

Washing dishes by hand does not sanitize them unless you use a chlorine bath after rinsing.

The good news is clean dishes are not a viable source of pathogens because they lack the moisture to support growth and will die off quickly without moisture and food.

Washing in cold, warm or hot water is fine. Let the dishes air dry. The reason most use hot water is the dishes air dry faster.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I had so many reasons why cold water would be just as useful as normal hot-tap water for washing dishes. But all my ideas are already covered. But, aha, I am Goodweed. So I have to add something usefull.

The friction and soap do not kill the pthogens. That is a comonly held mistake. Rather, the soap acts as a sufactant, lifting and removing the nasties from the dishes. It's the same with ordinary, non-anti-bacterial handsoap. It doesn't kill the germs so much as it allows them to be washed down the drain. And, as a matter of fact, it has been theorized for many years that anti-bacterial soaps are not only no more effective than ordinary soap, but tend to create super bugs that are resistant to current germ and bacterial killing agents. It is no longer a theory. The super bugs that hit the Eastern states this year are directly attributable to misused anti-bacterial soaps that weren't used in a strong enough solution to completely do the job. The surviving critters mutated as they multiplied and gave birth to nastier naties.

Anti-bacterial soaps are dangerous. Don't use them. Also, if you have a well and septic system, they can mess up the septic system and cause you expensive problems down the road.

Scientists have been telling us this for a decade now. But the advertizers play the game of creating germaphobia through their advertisements so that we will purchase their product rather than someone else's. It's not about our well being, it's about money.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[miniman]

I go along with the effect on bacteria, but will add that when I do comparisons, hot water cleans much better and much easier.

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

I go along with the effect on bacteria, but will add that when I do comparisons, hot water cleans much better and much easier.

You are absolutely correct. I didn't mean to infer that washing the dishes was easier in cold water. That would just be wrong.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[pacanis]

Anti-bacterial soaps are dangerous. Don't use them. Also, if you have a well and septic system, they can mess up the septic system and cause you expensive problems down the road.
Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

Huh?! I didn't know this or ever hear of it.
Does it take years and years? I always buy anti-bacterial dish soap and use it to wash my hands with, too

How long do I have?

 

[quicksilver]

I don't know how cold water gets grease, let alone germs off anything. My hands can't take straight hot water from my faucet, so a dishwasher they will go, will go. (I waited 40 years for mine. I'd rather not eat than not have it now - hate, hate, hate doing dishes!!!!)
I do remember reading a long time ago some ratio like 1 tsp of bleach to a gallon of water to make it drinkable in the wilds to prevent Montezuma's Revenge. But not a bleach substitute
Tell me something, when was the last time you ate at her house?

 

[sattie]

I wash with cold in the sink, more to save money on electric and to conserve. I have not had any problems.

 

[bethzaring]

What do you guys think? I could never eat off a utensils that weren't cleaned in super hot water. It grosses me out, but maybe I'm just paranoid.

I think you're paranoid.

Mozart is correct, washing dishes in cold, warm or hot water is fine. Come to think of it, this is one way to conserve energy, good idea sattie!!

 

[Callisto in NC]

Huh?! I didn't know this or ever hear of it.
Does it take years and years? I always buy anti-bacterial dish soap and use it to wash my hands with, too

How long do I have?

Hey pacanis, I've known this for quite some time. Anti-bacterial soaps actually cause you to build resistance to certain things and I prefer not to use them. Since a septic system relies on enzymes to perpetuate the cycle, using an anti-bacterial which kills the enzymes would make sense that it slows the cycle down (this being "in theory" as I've never had a septic system).

I would never use anti-bacterial soaps on a daily basis. Our bodies don't do well with them.