How to wash hands if tap water is too hot?

How to wash hands if tap water is too hot? - Woman Washing Her Hands With Soap

A few days ago I settled in the UK and noticed that hot tap water was not specific to Heathrow Airport. The only option in some toilets (e.g. in restaurants) is "tooooo hot" water. I cannot touch so hot water for even one second, otherwise it is painful.

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How can I wash my hands if hot water is the only option?



Best Answer

If it is not possible to mix with cold water, I would suggest getting some toilet paper wet and use that (afrer cooling down) like wet nappies.




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How to wash hands if tap water is too hot? - Person Washing His Hand
How to wash hands if tap water is too hot? - Person Pouring Water on Clear Drinking Glass
How to wash hands if tap water is too hot? - Crop ethnic woman in robe washing hands in bathroom



Quick Answer about "How to wash hands if tap water is too hot?"

  • Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap. ...
  • Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. ...
  • Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. ...
  • Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.


  • What happens if you wash your hands with hot water too much?

    "Warmer water can irritate the skin and affect the protective layer on the outside, which can cause it to be less resistant to bacteria," said Carrico. Using hot water to wash hands is therefore unnecessary, as well as wasteful, Carrico said, particularly when it comes to the environment.

    What temperature water is too hot for hands?

    The water should be warm enough to allow the person to comfortably wash their hands long enough to sing the "Happy Birthday" song twice. A comfortable water temperature for most people is between 110-120 degrees. To prevent scalding, the water should never be hotter than 120 degrees.

    Do you need to wash your hands in hot water?

    Is it better to use warm water or cold water? Use your preferred water temperature \u2013 cold or warm \u2013 to wash your hands. Warm and cold water remove the same number of germs from your hands. The water helps create soap lather that removes germs from your skin when you wash your hands.

    Is it bad to wash cold hands with hot water?

    According to researchers at Rutgers University, it makes no difference if you wash your hands in hot or cold water as both are equally as effective at removing harmful bacteria.



    Impression of Shakira washing her hands but the water's too hot vine




    More answers regarding how to wash hands if tap water is too hot?

    Answer 2

    If the water temperature hurts you, and there aren't other options, you simply don't wash your hands with that tap. I don't see many solutions... Use an hand sanitizer or some kind of cleaning tissue..

    Answer 3

    The general idea is that you plug the sink, and then fill it with both cold and hot water so the temperature in the water in the sink becomes manageable. You then wash your hands in the sink, and unplug it at the end.

    However not all sinks can be plugged (especially in public bathrooms), or you don't always have time to do the whole process. If your hand can manage cold water, then one of the way is to form a cup with your hand, fill it with cold water, then quickly move your hand with the cold water in it under the hot water to warm the contents up to a more comfortable temperature - the cold water in your hand will make sure you won't burn yourself. You'll then use the moderate water in your hand to do what you want, and repeat the process until you are done.

    If you're in the UK in accommodation where you have access to the boiler (like in some AirBNBs), you can also probably change the water temperature to be more moderate, so the water from the hot taps will not burn your hands outright. Don't forget to ask your landlord first if it's okay to change the settings as well, and note that if the property has a thermostatic shower and not an electric one this might affect it's operation as well. Also this is a short term solution, as the setting should be set back to it's original value occasionally to make sure the water temperature is high enough to kill harmful bacteria

    Answer 4

    A metal water bottle may work.

    Something like this:
    enter image description here

    Fill it. It will take a few minutes to cool down but it is an option.

    Answer 5

    If this is a common enough problem for you (and there is no hand sanitizer dispenser), you could carry hand sanitizer with you.

    Answer 6

    I agree with SLC's answer:

    As a British person I can say in this instance I just splash my hands, or move them in and out of the water stream very quickly.

    Doing something like this also works with a ordinary flame, too, e.g. you can pass a finger quickly through the flame of a candle.

    Do it quickly (and repeatedly if necessary): when your hand touches or passes through the water then it will instantly get wet, but not have time to absorb too much heat (note the difference between "temperature" and "heat", e.g. you can touch the outside of a metal kettle at 100C as long as you only do it very briefly).

    It's annoying to have to do it (I'd rather have cold or warm water than hot -- having only too-host may be unsafe e.g. for children) but feasible.

    This is assuming the temperature is only 60C or so (if it approaches boiling I fear even a drop would scald instantly). This graph ...

    enter image description here

    Hot Water Burn and Consumer Safety Chart

    ... suggests that at 65C it will scald ? after 2 seconds -- however a fraction of a second might be safe.

    Answer 7

    Carry a small (100-200ml) plastic spray bottle with you. Fill it slowly then spray it on your hands. The spray will be a lot cooler than the water. Of course you'll have to carefully rinse of the outside of the bottle between hands and when you've finished to ensure removal of cross contamination from your hands (because the outside of the bottle will have touched the hand you haven't washed yet).

    Water has to legally be 'stored' at higher than comfortable temperature to obviate the risk of legionnaires' disease, but cold water is almost always available, perhaps you were unlucky or the facility was broken. If you are unable to properly was your hands in an eating establishment after using the toilet that raises more serious health and safety issues about the establishment. If you didn't you should have left a written comment for the management.

    Answer 8

    There's usually a cold tap right next to the hot tap. My strategy is to cup my hands, fill them with cold water and add just enough hot water for the mix to be at a comfortable temperature.

    Answer 9

    There is sometimes a hand sanitizer dispenser that you can use instead of the taps. I'm not sure I'd claim it's common, but there are enough places that have them that it's worth looking out for. Often, it'll be in some random place on the wall, like by the door.

    Alternatively, if there is a cold tap at the sink, you can just wash your hands with that. Soap and cold water is just as effective at killing germs as soap and hot water.

    Answer 10

    You can rapidly cool the water by turning it into a mist. You can do this by putting a spoon under the tap. The reason it works is because you are increasing the surface area of the water which has greater contact with the cooler air around it.

    Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

    Images: Edward Jenner, Burst, cottonbro, Sora Shimazaki