Is Warm Water Free of Germs?

Those who want to avoid dripping nose, cough, and headache should wash their hands consistently with warm water and soap, according to the experts. But is warm water actually better than cold water? Is warm water free of germs? Let’s find out.

It is recommended by the researchers to sing the ‘Happy Birthday’ song twice when you wash your hands. It destroys all germs, well, most of them. It is because singing ‘Happy Birthday’ twice takes about 30 seconds and that is how long you should wash your hands with soap and warm water. According to experts, this reduces the likelihood of infection, especially in children. But does the water temperature really matter? 

Everything that helps to wash away particles from the skin surface makes sense and warm water is a better solvent than cold water. It is because warm water first has a higher temperature that is not suitable for certain germs.

It either kills them or washes them away. Secondly, warm water molecules are in an expanded state and are farther apart then cold water. It easily binds dirt and germs with it and takes them off your hand when you wash them.

Everyone who has already washed dishes knows this principle. Similar to plates and cutlery, there is a thin film of fat and dirt particles on our skin. The germs that we pick up while touching things like on the handrail in the metro, that a passenger who had a cold had touched, also attach to this thin film on our skin. You need to keep an eye, especially on children because there is no telling what they touch during the day.

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Do Not Touch Eyes With Unwashed Hands

If you wash your hands at home with soap and warm water, you can remove the grease film from your hands very effectively and wash away a large part of the germs. This applies not only to cold viruses but also to other pathogens such as flu viruses and bacteria.

Effective hand washing reduces them significantly. Therefore, before washing your hands, you should not touch your face or even your mouth. Your eyes are also a typical entrance gate for pathogens. There should be no unwashed hands around.

When you wash your hands, it is not necessary that they will become 100% free of germs. Even the disinfectants and hand wash soaps available in the market, do not promise 100% germ-free hands. Whether a person gets infected or not depends on the number of pathogens that the body absorbs.

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At this time, during the corona epidemic, it is generally a good idea to touch as little as possible on the way. Many doors can be opened with the elbow. Gloves are also good protection as they ensure that there is no direct skin contact with the environmental infection sources.

However, you must not touch your face at all while wearing gloves. You must wash your hands regularly. It might cause your hands to dry up a bit but that can be cured using a moisturizer.

So, is Warm Water Free of Germs? Compared to cold water, the warm water actually has a negligible amount of germs or none at all in some cases.