During hot water killing, what is important about the water temperature?

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Multiple Choice

During hot water killing, what is important about the water temperature?

Hot water killing relies on heat being transferred quickly enough to disrupt the insects’ vital functions, but you have to balance effectiveness with safety and the dignity of the objects being treated. Boiling water is far hotter than needed for most practical applications and brings safety risks—scalding, steam hazards—and can damage fabrics, containers, or surfaces. Using hot water at a high but non-boiling temperature (typically around 60–70 °C, or 140–158 °F) is lethal to many pests while avoiding those risks and material damage. Very cold water wouldn’t kill, and water that is too hot (boiling) isn’t necessary and can be hazardous, so the key is hot, but not boiling.

Hot water killing relies on heat being transferred quickly enough to disrupt the insects’ vital functions, but you have to balance effectiveness with safety and the dignity of the objects being treated. Boiling water is far hotter than needed for most practical applications and brings safety risks—scalding, steam hazards—and can damage fabrics, containers, or surfaces. Using hot water at a high but non-boiling temperature (typically around 60–70 °C, or 140–158 °F) is lethal to many pests while avoiding those risks and material damage. Very cold water wouldn’t kill, and water that is too hot (boiling) isn’t necessary and can be hazardous, so the key is hot, but not boiling.

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