How to Make Hand Sanitizer Safely
By: Julien Dimastromatteo
Tags: Virus Prevention, Safety, Health, DIY, Pandemic

Virus Prevention / Hygiene

How to Make Hand Sanitizer Safely

Hand sanitizer is good complement to traditional soap and clean water hand washes. It prevents virus and pathogen contamination and spread. Particularly useful during pandemic.

Photo by Science in HD on Unsplash

We use hand sanitizer for convenient reasons. It’s easy to apply, it is ready-to-use and importantly, it dries out without using paper towels. Germaphobes are very happy to see hand sanitizer’s dispenser everywhere they go. Supermarkets, local stores and obviously hospitals are offering the opportunity to disinfect your hands on-the-go.

Indeed it will never replace hand washing with soap and clean water. But it is a good addition to it. It is actually the only alternative in countries and regions where clean water is, unfortunately, not accessible.

During an epidemic or pandemic such as the one we are currently experiencing with the new coronavirus SARSCoV-2, the population’s demand in hand sanitizers increases exponentially. People buy a lot of them at once. The providers have a hard time to produce enough. They can’t keep up with this extensive demand which consequently leads to shortage. Nobody can find hand sanitizers anywhere.

Do It Yourself Said WHO

To address this issue, the World Health Organization (WHO) recommended to make it at home. An official DIY guide to make hand sanitizer was released. It provides several recipes and advices. Extra recipes are also available on the internet. They all look straightforward and easy to follow at first. However, hand sanitizer ingredients can be harmful if not handled properly.

Safety First

Before roleplaying the mad scientist, it is important to keep in mind that you are going to handle potentially dangerous chemicals. Ideally, it requires to wear protective equipment such as:

Glasses

Mask

Long sleeves

Gloves

Indeed, make sure no kids are running around.

Protective equipment used to handle chemicals safely. Glasses, facial mask and gloves. Note that plastic, latex or nitrile glove are preferable. Photo Credit: HorizonLab Photography.

Hand Sanitizer DIY

Now you are well protected and no kids are running around, let’s make some hand sanitizers. Here are two recipes.

Recipe #1

For 1 liter solution, you’ll need:

830 ml Ethanol (>60%) or rubbing alcohol

40 ml oxygen peroxide (optional)

15 ml glycerine

115ml water

Warning: be extra careful when mixing oxygen peroxide. It is a powerful oxidant when mixed with organic products. It may result in violent blasting chemical reaction.

DIY — An example of items required to make your own hand sanitizer. Note the the alcohol content in the displayed bottle is only 14%. I used what I found in my pharmacy cabinet. However, CDC recommended percent of alcohol >60% to increase efficacy. Photo Credit: HorizonLab Photography.

Recipe #2

Here is a simpler recipe. This one use only two ingredients:

3/4 ethanol (>60%) or rubbing alcohol.

1/4 aloe Vera.

Mix until you obtain clear and homogeneous solution. Add few drops of essential oil of your choice for fragrance purpose only.

Important Considerations

In the two recipes mentioned above, ethanol or rubbing alcohol will dry out your skin if use alone. It is important to counterbalance this effect with protective and hydrant product like glycerine and aloe Vera.

Soap and Water Hand Washing

Just as a reminder, washing your hands frequently with soap and clean water is the most efficient way to prevent virus and other microbes contamination and spread. As recommended by health authorities, here is how to wash your hand properly: