6. The Used Water

2:4 One should only wash one’s hands into a receptacle. One may not use the water with which one has washed one’s hands because of its spiritual uncleanliness. The water must be disposed of in a place where people are not accustomed to walk. (Since we tend to wash in sinks nowadays, our water typically goes down the drain.)

2:5 Before washing one’s hands in the morning, a person should not touch any of his or her orifices – not the one’s on the head and face, nor the ones used for excreting waste. Similarly, a person may not touch an open wound or handle food before washing. All of this is because of the spiritual uncleanliness of the hands before washing. Parents should ensure that their children wash; the fact that non-Jews who may prepare food do not ritually cleanse their hands is not problematic as the laws of spiritual purity and impurity only apply to Jews (Mishnah Brurah 4:10).