Boiling Water

[Rame]

Can I kill all the Bacteria at 60C or need (Water)Boiling point.

[mith]

of course even boiling water doesn't kill all bacteria

[biohazard]

...although boiling long enough does :)

[mith]

So you're the one causing global warming lol, in anycase, it's prolly better to do autoclaving if you really need to kill more bacteria, rather than boiling

[skeptic]

Depends on what you are trying to achieve. To achieve total sterility requires, as already said, autoclaving. This can be done in a domestic pressure cooker. 20 minutes pressure cooking and nothing is left alive.

The problem is bacterial spores, which can survive even boiling for a time. However, if you only need a more modest kill off, such as rendering drinking water safe to drink, you do not need to achieve sterility. Brief boiling will do that, or even holding the water at 70 C plus for at least half an hour.

This is the principle of pasteurisation. If you boil milk, you change it chemically. To make it safer to drink without destroying it, simply holding it at 70C for a time will kill most of the harmful bacteria. This process was supposed to have saved the lives of in excess of 50,000 people per year in Britain alone, before the development of antibiotics, who would otherwise have contracted deadly tuberculosis from drinking infected milk.

[JackBean]

and I thought, that pasteurization is very short heating...

[skeptic]

There is a range of pasteurisation methods. You can pasteurise milk by holding it at 70 C for about 20 seconds. This kills most of potentially harmful bacteria, but not all. It is, however, very useful in reducing disease.

[biohazard]

Depends on what you are trying to achieve. To achieve total sterility requires, as already said, autoclaving.

Sorry to be a nitpicker, but if you boil water long enough, it becomes sterile. There is no need for autoclaving if your instrument/substance/whatever can withstand boiling. Even spores die after boiling long enough :)

This being said, autoclaving is usually much more effective and convenient, and thus it is very often the method of choice.

[Rm1989]

For bacteria to actually die, the hot water would have to be at a temperature above what your skin can tolerate.

Regards
Rm

[sumita]

Most Bacteria can be killed at 60c as most of them are Mesophiles.But some Bacteria are Thermophiles and the normal or the best temperature for their growth is 50c-60c. Thermophiles can even grow in boiling hot springs.

[canalon]

Most Bacteria can be killed at 60c as most of them are Mesophiles. But some Bacteria are Thermophiles and the normal or the best temperature for their growth is 50c-60c. Thermophiles can even grow in boiling hot springs.

Yes but few thermophiles are pathogenic. However some mesophiles can survive above 60ºC, or produce spores that will survive boiling and then start growing again when the temperature becomes more appealing.
Anyway the question was 'all bacteria' and the answer is clearly no

[beautiful]

The water that we are drinking that should boiled.Chemical infection of water is also problem for us. Water need to boiled to kill disease organisms. It helps us to remain healthy.Now a days there are many thousands products on the market that claim to provide us with the purest water available, everything from filtration systems and distillation units to bottled water. It is good to use some trusted products which can give pure water.