Infection is of great concern in open fractures. Traditionally, time to irrigation and debridement has been thought to be important, and six hours has been cited as an ideal time target. However, this is based on basic science studies with limited clinical correlation. In this study, the authors performed a secondary analysis of the Fluid Lavage of Open Wounds (FLOW) Trial data. Patients were matched based on propensity scores, and compared both on a dichotomous time scale (<6h vs. >6h) and a continuous time scale. There was no significant association between time and unplanned re-operation in either scenario. Overall, time to irrigation may be less important than traditionally thought.