Save your energy bills by washing hands in cold water!

ARTICLE * 2 MINUTE READ * THURSDAY 24TH MARCH 2022

 

Water use unsurprisingly increased during the pandemic due to increased hand-washing. But did you know that water can only kill germs on its own when it's so hot that it would scald your hands? Getting a good lather with any soap is what actually removes germs from your hands.

Heating water in businesses and homes accounts for up to 5% of the UK's carbon emissions, and can make up to a fifth of your business's energy bills. So why not encourage employees to wash their hands using cold water outside of winter? Let's face it, boilers can take a while to heat water up, so a lot of perfectly drinkable tap water (at flow rates of up to 15 litres per minute!) is being run to waste while people wait for 20 seconds of balmy heat.

There's also no need for soaps to be anti-bacterial outside healthcare settings, and they could contribute towards antibiotic resistance. So you could save on your soap bills too!

For more information about washing hands in cold water and hand washing for hygeine , please visit:  https://www.cdc.gov/handwashing/faqs.html or  https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/best-way-to-wash-your-hands/