5 replies to this topic

[mitkat]

Hey all,

Help me prove a curmugeonly old woman wrong! Or me, whichever. At this nursery I used to work at, there was this eldery oriental woman who always had interesting teas to drink (this is when I was 15). She was hard to talk to, mainly because she didn't like me and my dreadlocks, or any of the younger staff really. Anyyyyyway, she always boiled the water for at LEAST 20+ minutes to make her tea. She started boiling it well before her break. Whenever I came in and took from the pot for my tea, or dreadful instant soup, she would hassle me, saying that water was full of germs. Even if it had been boiling for 5+ minutes. Not just warm to a boil, straight boiling, whistling and all. I'm not paranoid about germs at all, but she used to make me so mad, and I often told her she was wrong (she also used to repot the Gardenias without gloves, but that's another story).

I saw her a while ago downtown and it made me remember, so can anyone tell me, how long should water be boiled for to get sufficient - I suppose anti-bacterial action? My dad has one of those CPAP/apnea machines, and he boiils it for quite a while, but I'm JUST making tea.

Thanks

[mitkat]

Come on crew! Don't let me down

[scottl]

Most germs will be killed by boiling (don't ask me how long). OTOH there are some oddball germs that can live through this. Just like betadine (stuff used in hospital to kill germs) kills most germs and there are oddball germs that can live in betadine (pseudomonas I think).

[mitkat]

Thanks Scott. I was wondering how long, but I'll settle for just boiled.

[Neurosail]

You must bring water (tea) to a boil >180F for 15 minutes to kill bacteria, such as Salmonella aureus, Listeria monocrytogenes, E.coli 0157:H7, Coliforms and Campylobacter. Sorry, 5 minutes isn’t long enough and may encourage the growth of thermophilic aerobic spores to grow in liquids.

[mitkat]

Don't apologize, I'm happy enough with that number. Thanks.