{"id":20661,"date":"2017-06-19T14:28:09","date_gmt":"2017-06-19T18:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/?p=20661"},"modified":"2021-05-21T12:23:53","modified_gmt":"2021-05-21T16:23:53","slug":"rutgers-university-research-handwashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/rutgers-university-research-handwashing\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the Right Way to Wash Our Hands? Rutgers University Research Debunks Hot Water Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have ever wondered whether you are washing your hands properly, then wonder no more. A <\/span>recent Rutger University study<\/span><\/a> provides us with the information we need to wash our hands thoroughly and remove germs that make us ill and <\/span>spread disease<\/span><\/a>. <\/span><\/p>\n

The study was led by <\/span>Dr. Donald Schaffner<\/span><\/a>, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers University and extension specialist in <\/span>food science<\/span><\/a> at the university\u2019s School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, whose research interests include handwashing and cross contamination. <\/span><\/p>\n

Handwashing is key to good health. We learned that from a very young age. Many of us can recall our mothers telling us to sing \u201cHappy Birthday\u201d twice while washing our hands. (Singing it twice adds up to 20 seconds.) Once we learned to count, we were told to count up to 20 as we washed our hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

Proper handwashing is so important that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention even produced videos designed to teach people how to wash their hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=lhmYLwDdPuE<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The need to wash hands properly is particularly important in food service industry where improper handwashing could lead to food contamination and jeopardize the health of many. To minimize risk, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has even issued a guideline to food service industry on how hot the water should be. <\/span><\/p>\n

According to <\/span>Section 5-202.12(A) of the 2013 Food Code<\/span><\/a>, handwashing sinks \u201cshall be equipped to provide water at a temperature of at least 38\u00baC (100\u00baF) through a mixing valve or combination faucet.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

The guideline has been interpreted by many states, according to Schaffner, to require handwashing at 100\u00baF. <\/span><\/p>\n

The problem is, up until Schaffner\u2019s study, the policy for washing hands at high temperature has not been supported by scientific evidence. <\/span><\/p>\n

Also, as we know, heating water consumes energy, and it takes more energy to heat water to a higher temperature.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hot water is not necessary<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

In reality, water doesn\u2019t have to be hot to remove germs from our hands, according to Schaffner\u2019s study. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cPeople need to feel comfortable when they are washing their hands but as far as effectiveness, this study shows us that the temperature of the water used didn\u2019t matter,\u201d Schaffner said in a statement.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study, which was published in the <\/span>Journal of Food Protection<\/span><\/a><\/em>, involved 21 participants over a six-month period. <\/span><\/p>\n

The participants had high levels of a harmless bacteria placed on their hands numerous times over a period of six months, and then had to wash their hands in 60-degree, 79-degree, or 100-degree water temperatures. They used 0.5 ml, 1 ml, or 2 ml volumes of soap to wash their hands.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study\u2019s conclusion that hot water is not necessary for handwashing is good news for the environment. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis study may have significant implications towards water energy, since using cold water saves more energy than warm or hot water,\u201d Schaffner told TUN. <\/span><\/p>\n

Schaffner hopes that the FDA, which is scheduled to review the existing code in 2018, will take the study into account and revise its water temperature policy at that time. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI think this study indicates that there should be a policy change,\u201d Schaffner said. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cInstead of having a temperature requirement, the policy should only say that comfortable or warm water needs to be delivered. We are wasting energy to heat water to a level that is not necessary.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Lathering beyond 20 seconds is not essential<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

Another key finding of the study is that it is not effective to wash our hands for more than 30 seconds. <\/span><\/p>\n

That sounds counterintuitive. One would think the longer one takes, the more effective it would be. So, why is it not? <\/span><\/p>\n

Because the study found most harmful bacteria is removed from our hands within 30 seconds. If we wash our hands for longer than 30 seconds, we will still not dislodge bacteria embedded in deeper layers or pores, or ones that \u201care biochemically attached to skin.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The study also found that microbial reduction will not increase significantly beyond 10 to 20 seconds of lather times. It is enough then if we lather our hands for 10 to 20 seconds. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBased on our research, I recommend at least a 10-second \u2018lather\u2019 time,\u201d Schaffner told TUN. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis does not include the time to wet the hands and apply soap and to rinse soap off.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Type of soap, but not amount, is significant<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

As mentioned above, participants in the study used <\/span>0.5 ml, 1 ml, or 2 ml volumes of soap. The amount of soap used did not make a difference in microbial reduction. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe \u2026 found no difference between 0.5, 1, and 2 mL,\u201d said Schaffner. <\/span><\/p>\n

If that\u2019s the case, there is no need to use more than 0.5 mL of soap.<\/span><\/p>\n

The study, however, found that the type of soap used made a difference. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWe saw a small but highly statistically significant difference between bacterial and non-antibacterial soap,\u201d said Schaffner. <\/span><\/p>\n

It is more effective to use antibacterial soap to wash hands. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is consistent with other research we\u2019ve done with antibacterial soap,” said Schaffner. <\/span><\/p>\n

“Our computer simulation predicted that using antibacterial soap would result in >50% fewer illnesses when food workers\u2019 hands were contaminated by pathogenic bacteria.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/b><\/span><\/h5>\n

The Rutgers study has given us the information we need to wash our hands properly, so we can stay healthy and prevent diseases from spreading. We need only lather for 10 to 20 seconds. We should use water that\u2019s comfortable (but not hot) and about 0.5 mL of antibacterial soap. We can save energy by not using hot water and save money by not wasting soap. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you have ever wondered whether you are washing your hands properly, then wonder no more. A recent Rutger University study provides us with the information we need to wash our hands thoroughly and remove germs that make us ill and spread disease. The study was led by Dr. Donald Schaffner, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":20662,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[620,231,233,432,433,434,230,229,243],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20661","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-body","category-campus-news","category-sustainable","category-rutgers-university-camden","category-rutgers-university-new-brunswick","category-rutgers-university-newark","category-news","category-lead-stories","category-health"],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing.jpg",830,553,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing-216x144.jpg",216,144,true],"medium":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing.jpg",830,553,false],"large":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing.jpg",830,553,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing.jpg",830,553,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing.jpg",830,553,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"Susan Chu","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/author\/susan-chu\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"If you have ever wondered whether you are washing your hands properly, then wonder no more. A recent Rutger University study provides us with the information we need to wash our hands thoroughly and remove germs that make us ill and spread disease. The study was led by Dr. Donald Schaffner, Distinguished Professor at Rutgers…","featured_media_src_url":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/Handwashing.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20661","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20661"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20661\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20662"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20661"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20661"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20661"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}