During a workday, it is not uncommon to see clients shaking your hands or for you to sign documents with pens that do not even belong to you. All these activities expose you to the risk of getting germs.
Even at playgrounds, when a child comes off the playing equipment, their mothers immediately start worrying about the number of hands that touch the equipment daily. In fact, today, a massive problem of society is the spread of diseases, and with the Covid-19 Pandemic, it is rather a necessity to always keep a sanitizer with you. Due to this, everyone is wondering how to make a hand sanitizer at home.
The Department of Health and CDC recommends washing your hands with water and soap as much as a person can. If these are not available or do not have a sink anywhere near you, the best alternative is a hand sanitizer. Keeping your hands clean is the best way to keep yourself safe from the risk of getting a disease.
Benefits of a Hand Sanitizer
Following are some of the obvious benefits of hand sanitizers:
Stop the Spread of Germs: According to a study, 2 out of 10 people do not wash hands regularly, and 65% of the others who do, do not wash them with soap. Therefore, keeping a sanitizer with yourself at all times will help you a lot, especially if you are among these people. Providing sanitizers in areas like public bathrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds can also reduce the chances of getting an infection.
Ideal for Group Settings: At the workplace, in the classroom, or in any space with heaps of foot traffic, germs spread rapidly. Regardless of whether you are preparing to eat or taking out the trash, others’ germs can affect you (particularly when you are in close contact with other people). This is why having hand sanitizer accessible is perfect for group settings.
Promote Good Hygiene and Health: According to a study, sanitizers are likely to make the workplace more productive. American Journal of Infection Control (AJIC) studied this and found that students started coming to schools more regularly when the school encouraged hand sanitizers. As a result, there was a reduction of 20% in absenteeism.
Reduce Waste: Instead of using paper towels to open doors, people will use hand sanitizers while will reduce waste and resources.
Hands Feel Soft: This may be one of the most astounding advantages of hand sanitizer; however, it is not unrealistic. Hand sanitizers can improve the skin’s surface on your hands; however, to have this impact, they must not contain alcohol. Sanitizers that have alcohol will not have this impact; therefore, making a hand sanitizer at home without alcohol is helpful.
However, you need to use the right amount of sanitizer (do not overuse it!) and rub it until your hands are dry; otherwise, your hand will remain wet and cause discomfort. Moreover, people fear that some hand sanitizer from stores may contain ingredients almost as harmful as the germs themselves. Therefore, we will tell you the best way to make a hand sanitizer at home (without the alcohol!).
Ways to Make a Hand Sanitizer at Home
Alcohol-Free Sanitizer
This Alcohol-Free Hand Sanitizer also doubles as an on-the-go soap that doesn’t need to be washed off! With only four simple ingredients and a clean bottle, you will have yourself a nice stash of foaming hand sanitizer (or on-the-go hand soap) for less than you’d pay at the grocery store! Such an easy recipe and a great way to keep clean!
Ingredients:
- Water: Yes, not very hard to find!
- Castile Soap: This soap will get rid of the germs without killing them.
- Witch Hazel: It will keep your hands soft and will not let them get uncomfortably dry.
- Essential Oils: You can use lemon oil, orange oil, and finally, tea tree oil. Tree tea oil is a proven oil to kill germs, or bacteria whereas orange and lemon are natural disinfectants.
- A clean bottle
Procedure:
Just add your ingredients to a bottle and shake the bottle until you get the texture of a typical sanitizer. If you don’t, add more of the ingredient you think is lacking.
Alcohol vs. Castile Soap:
As mentioned before, castile soap only removes bacteria. On the other hand, alcohol kills it. Because of this difference, the CDC recommends alcohol-based hand sanitizer when in contact with contagious viruses.
This is why below we are also providing you with a recipe for a typical sanitizer.
Sanitizer containing alcohol
Ingredients:
- Aloe Vera gel or glycerin: It will add thickness and will also keep your hands soft.
- Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or ethanol: The concentration of the alcohol should be 91%. Make sure not to use any other alcohol types as they may be toxic.
- Essential oil: You can use lemon or tea tree oil. Lavender can be used too.
- A clean bottle.
Procedure:
Mix all the ingredients. Pour the rubbing alcohol and aloe vera in a bowl and mix it. Gently pour a drop or two of the essential oil. As mentioned in the alcohol-free sanitizer, you can use orange, lemon, or even lavender. These will lessen alcohol’s smell. Mix the ingredients and pour the mixture into the bottle. Lastly, shake the bottle until you get the perfect texture.
Please note that alcohol is the active ingredient in this hand sanitizer recipe; so, to be an effective disinfectant, it needs to be at least 60% of the product.
Is an at-home Sanitizer Effective?
A sanitizer made at home is definitely better than nothing and is best if you have children around and want one you can trust.
However, if you want an alcohol-based sanitizer, it is better to buy one from the market as knowing the exact alcohol content when making one at home is hard. That’s why many doctors recommend buying a sanitizer from a market.
Alan Dietrich, CEO of Crater Lake Spirits, suggests following the recipe carefully to make an effective at-home sanitizer.
There is a high risk of wrong measurements and incorrect ingredient usage when a sanitizer is made at home. Moreover, the ingredients used in a sanitizer are not available in every household. In fact, some people might find it even hard to search for the right one from nearby stores. On the other side, you can buy sanitizer easily at an affordable price.
