reading this, i got the impression that hot water wasn't more effective than cold. they kind of waffled on that one saying it might remove oils from the hands, but could also increase soap's irritability.

The impression?

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Hot water for hand washing has not been proved to remove germs better than cold water.

That's kind of why it's an interesting read, yes?

i think i misunderstood the title. and yes, maven, impression might have been the wrong word.

I read somewhere that the only benefit to washing with hot water is that you would kill the bacteria. But you'd need incredibly hot water to do so. So, the suggestion was just that water is only used to wash the bacteria off..not to kill it.