So should we skip the hot water? Is there no benefit?
Just lemon/baking soda/warm water then cold rinse?
Based on reports in this forum, I'd say using hot water you can put your hands into comfortably is reasonably safe. I don't think we can tell at this point how much hot washes help or hurt the product
The papers I read on processing dried herbs and spices claim that cold washes and rinses result in lower bacteria and fungi count on the final product. Studies say hot water washes rinses slightly decrease the quality of preservation. However, none of the studies included Cannabis drying. I use cold water.
The testing I did, trying to wash off trichomes in running water, was under tepid (around 100 F) water. (The results show fresh trichomes don't wash off under forceful water flow) I've not seen anyone else post results of the same experiment using hot water.
I would not use anything warmer than tepid unless I was trying to remove material I sprayed on the plants.
Hot water is a better solvent, but anything warmer than 120 F (50C) will cause rapid changes to the chemistry of most biological material. I would suggest 120 F as a safer upper bound than 150 F for Cannabis washing temperatures.
There's more than one way to achieve good results, but every method I learned about always ends with a rinse in clean, cold water before drying.
Here's my regular reminder.
Never store and reuse wash or rinse solutions. It's important to clean the washing tanks/buckets with detergent and store them dry between uses, otherwise biofilms will form and can contaminate future batches of produce processed in the tanks. Ideally, use food grade containers. Don't use old, scratched buckets.
Everyone needs to know that washing can go bad if you start with contaminated buckets.
