Does hand-washing dishes kill bacteria?

Does hand-washing dishes kill bacteria?

We sometimes get questions about the advice to only wash beeswax wraps in cool water. "It needs to be washed in warm/hot water to kill the bacteria".

But does hand-washing in warm/hot water kill bacteria? Actually, no, it doesn't. Here's the science:

Bacteria effectively die at temps of 65C+. Even the maximum temperature of kitchen taps is only 50C-60C (and 60C is generally too hot for hands), so it isn't the killing of bacteria that cleans any hand-washed dishes. Instead, the soap and rinsing gets the bacteria off your dishes when washing them by hand. 

Remember back to the COVID days?

Wet (using any water temperature that's comfortable), rinse, lather, sing Happy Birthday, rinse.

That was the advice because it's the washing and rinsing that cleans, not the temperature of the water that kills the germs. 

Here are links to the science:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7373692/

https://www.cdc.gov/clean-hands/data-research/facts-stats/index.html

https://www.food.gov.uk/safety-hygiene/cooking-your-food

https://www.fsis.usda.gov/food-safety/safe-food-handling-and-preparation/food-safety-basics/how-temperatures-affect-food

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