I went looking for hand sanitizer

[lowell holmes]

and there is none to be found, and rubbing alcohol is off the shelves as well. The only thing we can do is wash our hands and don't touch our face. Oh well, another challenge. I am referring to the Corona Virus scare.

[Matt Day]

Yup, been like that for a couple weeks. You’re a little late to the party Lowell.

[lowell holmes]

We do have some alcohol.

[bill epstein]

Pssst....don't tell anyone, but you may find eyeglass cleaner and it's higher in alcohol than Isopropyl. Shhhh.

I have mine.

[Prashun Patel]

DNA or isopropyl ac can be used as a sanitizer. 70/30 with water.

[Jeff Body]

I have a gallon of 99% alcohol. I think I'm good.
No I didn't hoard it. I use it to clean substrate for my sign and graphics business. hehe

[Edwin Santos]

I think this is commonly known, but I'll mention it here anyway. Soap and water is better, especially so for this particular virus.
Hand sanitizer, over 60% alcohol, is great for when you are on the go and away from soap and running water. But if you are at home there is no reason to use hand sanitizer instead of a vigorous hand wash with soap and water, and in fact doing so might be a little less effective.

This is the information that has been widely disseminated by the CDC and NIH (Dr.Fauci).
Edwin


Added: The "soap and water is better than sanitizer" is not new thinking by any means. Years ago, when I worked in a hospital, even though I was in Administration, we were required to sit in mandatory infection control inservices, and the information and practice at the time was the same i.e. washing hands vigorously and thoroughly with soap and water was superior to hand sanitizer and we were all expected to do it frequently. They showed us tests where they used swabs on hands that had done it both ways and there was considerably less bacteria on the soap and water washed hand. The only things we used sanitizer for in the hospital at that time was for wiping surfaces and visitors. It was rarely used for hands for employees. I think for the general public, the astringent smell of alcohol suggests it is doing more than it really is.

I saw an interview with someone (might have been Fauci) on the Covid-19 virus, and it was reported that this virus in particular is more vulnerable to soap and water than alcohol because of a lipid molecular exterior which soap does a good job of dissolving and destroying. In that interview it was reported that dish soap was even better yet because it is formulated to cut oil and grease (but not so much better that you should neglect your conventional soap and go hoard dish soap).

Just passing this on in the hope it is useful. Any info to the contrary, please post.

[Jim Becker]

Must be "proper" handwashing, too. Dr. Gupta was on Colbert last week and demonstrated that...proper hand washing involves being sure one gets completely in-between the fingers and NOT forgetting one's thumb which apparently is quite common. I never realized how "badly" I was often washing my hands until that particular wake-up call and I'm generally pretty good about things relative to frequency.

I will say, however, that it was very much a pleasure to discover two small bottles of quality sanitizer in one of the boxes I brought back from Florida after cleaning out the apartment my mother had been living in...one for the shop and one for my vehicle. :) Professor Dr. SWMBO also made three small bottles of it today so she and our two daughters would have "portables" for their respective purses.

[Thomas McCurnin]

Remember this is a virus which is surrounded by a fatty cocoon. It is not a bacteria, so anti-bacterial soap isn't really going to work very well. Being surrounded by a fatty cocoon, plain soap breaks down the fat and exposes the virus which is cannot live for more than a few seconds without that fatty cocoon, assuming one washes and dries his or her hands vigourously. Hand sanitizer is way overrated, unless you don't have access to soap and water. Soap and water is the absolute best.

[Doug Dawson]

Remember this is a virus which is surrounded by a fatty cocoon. It is not a bacteria, so anti-bacterial soap isn't really going to work very well. Being surrounded by a fatty cocoon, plain soap breaks down the fat and exposes the virus which is cannot live for more than a few seconds without that fatty cocoon, assuming one washes and dries his or her hands vigourously. Hand sanitizer is way overrated, unless you don't have access to soap and water. Soap and water is the absolute best.

There was a really great article about this in the NY Times the other day: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/13/health/soap-coronavirus-handwashing-germs.html

That gets to the dirt about it.

Disclaimer: I am not a sanitation engineer. But I do wash my hands 14 times a day (on average, pre-virus. Now, probably less, because I'm stuck at home.)

[lowell holmes]

For at least 10 days we will not leave the house or our street which is 1/4 mile long.