Three of the top benefits of hot water cleaning include:
Efficiency
Better, faster cleaning results
Hygiene
Reduced bacteria and virus counts
Sustainability
Lower resource consumption
Efficiency — Better, faster cleaning results
Just like for your dishes at home, hot water cleaning provides better, faster results in commercial and industrial applications.
In partnership with the wfk – Cleaning Technology Institute, we conducted tests comparing hot and cold water pressure washing and found that across all applications, hot water reduced cleaning times by an average of 40%. In some cases, such as where greases, fats, and oils were present, hot water cleaning was four times more efficient than cold water cleaning. That translates into a cleaning time reduction of 75%.
Take a moment to think about how much more cleaning your team could get done with 40% (or 75%) more time. You might have time to clean high-use areas or equipment more often or to perform essential deep cleaning tasks.
Using hot water also reduces the drying time after cleaning, which means the areas and items you’ve cleaned are available sooner. For example, if you’re sanitizing shopping carts, hot water will help you get them back into use faster. If you’re cleaning floors, they can be reopened earlier without the risk of slips, trips, and falls.
Hygiene — Reduced bacteria and virus counts
Clean, then sanitize (or disinfect, depending on the level of clean required). This is the most effective approach to germ removal when cleaning hard surfaces.
Heat is a key factor in battling germs. A study by the Thuringen State Office for Agriculture found that, while cleaning with cold water had no impact on bacteria count, raising the temperature to 60˚C reduced the number of bacterial colonies by 90%. At 80˚C bacterial colonies were reduced by 97%, and at 155˚C they were eliminated entirely.
Heat can also help combat viruses. For example, the virus that causes COVID-19 is sensitive to heat and can be inactivated by exposure to 56°C for 30 minutes. Hot water alone is not sufficient for sanitization or disinfection, but it can reduce the bacteria and virus counts on surfaces in preparation for the next step.
To gain more knowledge on hot water cleaning, download our PDF highlighting: Eight steps to reduce or eliminate germs with hot high-pressure washers.
Sustainability — Lower resource consumption
Finally, hot water cleaning decreases your resource consumption in three main ways.
Water
Because hot water reduces cleaning time, less water is required. For every 1000 liters of water required for cold water cleaning, a hot water cleaner will save at least 400 liters.
Energy
Shorter cleaning times also mean less energy consumption.
Chemicals
In some cases, hot water can decrease or eliminate the need for detergent because the heat is sufficient to remove the dirt. If you’re sanitising or disinfecting, you’ll still need to use an appropriate disinfectant for this step, but you’ll still lower the overall amount of chemical you need to use.