Good Questions: Dish Water, Dog Colds & Traffic Times
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Amanda from Golden Valley and her husband have a standing argument. They asked for our help in resolving this important issue: Should you rinse your dishes in warm or cold water?
According to University of St. Thomas nutrition expert Jeannemarie Beiseigel, hot water (110 degrees or higher) is recommended because it helps remove dirt and debris. It also speeds the drying of dishes.
But, given 170-degree water is required for sanitizing, hand-washing dishes will not sanitize because water heaters typically don't heat water to that high of a temperature.
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Justin from Minneapolis along his dog, Panda, asked: Do dogs get colds?
"The answer is actually a little bit complex," said Dr. Travis Anderson with Uptown Veterinarian. "Dogs don't get colds in the sense that, they don't get the same type of virus that human get, which is a rhinovirus."
He says the most common cold-like illness for a dog is kennel cough. That's caused by a bacteria and is usually spread in kennels or dog facilities.
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Kasey from Coon Rapids asks: How do they estimate the traffic times on the highway signs?
According to MnDOT, there are sensors embedded in the roads or in microwave radars overhead every half-mile or so.
Those sensors measure the speed of traffic over 30 seconds and transmit that data back to MnDOT -- who interpret the data, send it to the signs and update the times every 30 seconds.