Hot Water Doesn’t Get Your Hands any Cleaner

It doesnt matter what temperature water you use to （A） w____ your hands： all that matters is that you wash them. And youre probably doing it wrong. Understanding what gets our hands the （B） c_____matters， because not washing our hands is one way that germs spread.

To figure out how water temperature affects hand sanitation， a group of researchers contaminated participants hands with harmless bacteria and then made them wash at 100， 80， and 60 degrees Fahrenheit. They thought that 60 degrees was the coolest temperature that would be comfortable. The FDA， according to the studys authors， （1） r_____that food service preparers （like restaurants） provide access to a sink capable of providing water that reaches at least 100 （C） d_____ Fahrenheit. And historical surveys have found that most people are told to wash their hands in the warmest water they can tolerate. In （2） g_____ ， people associate warmer water temperatures with cleaner hands. The study， however， didnt find this to be true. As we know it， water temperatures that are lower than boiling temperature have no effect on killing bacteria. However， when people need to clean their hands， they are unlikely to use boiling water to kill （3） b_____ at the expense of burning their flesh.

In a survey， however， researchers did find temperature actually had an （D） e_____ on hand washing time. Though the results werent statistically significant， men seemed to wash for closer to 20 （4） s_____ when water was at 100 degrees Fahrenheit； women when the water temperature was at 80 degrees Fahrenheit. This suggests that temperature matters—not because the hot water kills bacteria， but because were more likely to keep scrubbing when the water feels good. Therefore， we should wash our （5） h_____ where we feel comfortable， and no one should be telling us necessarily what temperature to use. A （E） p_____ who is comfortable is going to do a better job of washing hands， versus if the water is icy cold or scalding hot. What we want is whatever is comfortable for us.

（A， B， C， D， E， F FOR CROSS， 1， 2， 3， 4， 5 FOR DOWN. The first letters of the absents were given.）endprint