The Germ-Away Challenge: Week Three
DIY Hand Sanitizer
We don’t know about you, but our hands are getting a bit tired out by all of the hand sanitizer and the gloves, and more sanitizers and a few more hours of gloves. Needless to say, our patties are eager to find a better solution. Recently we decided to figure out if we could make our own hand sanitizer, and learned it is not as easy as it sounds. This is not because it is complex, but because the main ingredient (isopropyl alcohol in 99% alcohol volume) can be so hard to come by.
The New York Times even said to skip this effort because, “Recipes circulating on social media say it’s simple. But the end result is not like the real thing, and it may not be effective at killing germs.” They point to commercial formulas and old-fashioned hand washing as the best alternatives.
The team at Healthline and has a simple and functional hand sanitizer recipe you can find here, but they also warn that we should “Only use homemade hand sanitizers in extreme situations when handwashing isn’t available for the foreseeable future.”
Another medical expert says you can mix two parts isopropyl alcohol or ethanol (91 percent to 99 percent alcohol), one part aloe vera, and a few drops of clove, eucalyptus, peppermint, or other essential oil to create a workable solution. Even the World Health Organization says you can mix up a huge batch of DIY sanitizer using their recipes found here.
We also love the different “alternatives” that this article from Refinery29 suggests, though we can’t guarantee that you’ll get your hands on any of them soon (yes, that pun was intended).
Go Aloe Vera!
No matter what method is used, though, the constant wetting, drying, and sterilizing of our hands has created Sahara-like conditions on our precious mitts. We’re lucky on this one because our household has lots of potted plants that remain indoors all year, including a number of aloe vera plants that have come to the rescue these days. We keep a few pieces in a Ziploc in the fridge and give our hands a good, sticky coating a few times each evening to makeup for all of those squirts of sanitizer used between stops on our free home delivery routes.
If you want to stock up on some aloe vera for your home, skip the processed stuff found in bottles and get yourself some air cleaning, home-beautifying plants. Broadway Gardens at 1640 Broadway in South Portland has a nice supply of aloe plants waiting for a home. Give them a call or visit their website to find out more about their inventory.
Until next time, stay safe and healthy, and keep in touch!