Wash hands in COOL water!

Surprising reason you should wash your hands in cool water

Why not hot water instead?

In order to effectively kill most germs, hot water needs to be close to boiling — which is why instruments are boiled to sterilize them, and why dishwashers and other automated cleaning equipment gets to boiling or higher for washing. I don't know if you've tried washing your hands with boiling water lately, but it's not a pleasant, or, honestly, feasible, experience; after the recommended 20 seconds, your scalded hands would be throbbing with blisters.

So washing with hot water only works when the water is too hot to tolerate. Washing with warm water, on the other hand, can actually soften the upper layers of the skin, making you more vulnerable to germs. Washing with cool or cold water? May be just what the doctor (and the planet) ordered. The key components of hand-washing are the soap, friction (to lift debris from your skin), and a steady flow of water.

By switching to cold or cool water for hand-washing, you can save a substantial amount of energy, although it's not always immensely comfortable at cold times of the year, which is why you need a nice fluffy towel or an eco-friendly air-dryer to absorb all that water when you're done.

Your individual hand-washing decisions might not seem like a big deal, but changing the way people wash their hands as a whole could generate huge energy savings across the country, which is great news for the planet, and your pocketbook.