Washing your hands in cold water works just as well as hot!

Photo: flickr/jar[o]Conventional wisdom says that the best way to wash your hands is with soap and plenty of hot water. Well, prepare to have your mind blown! According to this study, it's not the temperature of the water that matters for getting bacteria off your hands, or even whether the soap is antibacterial. What really matters is how long you lather, with 20 seconds being more effective than 5 seconds. I guess surgeons knew something we didn't!Quantifying the Effects of Water Temperature, Soap Volume, Lather Time, and Antimicrobial Soap as Variables in the Removal of Escherichia coli ATCC 11229 from Hands "The literature on hand washing, while extensive, often contains conflicting data, and key variables are only superficially studied or not studied at all. Some hand washing recommendations are made without scientific support, and agreement between recommendations is limited. The influence of key variables such as soap volume, lather time, ...