Shapes of hot water: the ontological politics of handwashing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

This paper explores the ontological politics and practices of handwashing using hot tap water during the COVID-19 pandemic in Sweden through attending to how handwashing was performed, what thoughts and emotions handwashing practices evoked, and reflections about why these thoughts and emotions emerged. In analyses based on written diaries, stories, digital photos, and videos from the private sphere of the home, we show how the concepts of humans, non-humans, childhood, economy, ethics, infrastructure, and nature–together with public health organizations’ promotions of handwashing recommendations–are enacted and woven into the fabric of hot tap water use. Hot tap water emerged as an ambiguous commodity, differently shaped depending on past experiences and how messages from authorities were received. The politics of the seemingly mundane activity of washing hands (especially prior to the COVID-19 pandemic) consists of connectivities and relationships between various phenomena in fluid space, and blurs the boundaries between local and global, past and present. Thrifty handwashing practices previously established in the private sphere were challenged during the COVID-19 pandemic, as popular versions of surgical scrubbing were promoted. These versions were sometimes challenged when the inclusion of hot water was questioned at home and in public debate.