Has anyone been able to buy disinfecting spray anywhere?

[Brian Elfert]

The liquid hand sanitizer that is mostly just alcohol seems to be plentiful. The gel type hand sanitizer most of us are used to is very hard to find.

A local coalition of distilleries is making and selling hand sanitizer as a fundraiser. They sell a 32 oz spray bottle for $12.99 at four local grocery chains. (A grocery store I was just at had at least half a pallet for sale.) They intend to sell 35% of production and give away the other 65% to government, healthcare, and so on. The strange thing is they are sourcing ethanol from ethanol plants rather than producing their own alcohol. All they are doing is mixing the ethanol with other ingredients and packaging it for sale. If they make any profit on the venture it goes to a local food shelf agency.

[Bert Kemp]

most big box stores and pool stores have clorox and pool shockers that could be diluted to sanitize, I picked up a 1lb jar for 6 bucks and 2 qrt bottles of Hydrogen peroxide at wally world yesterday

[Kev Williams]

Fill spray bottle almost to the top with water. Add about a quarter cup of bleach.

You're done.

Spray, let sit for a minute, wipe off.

The CDC recommends 5 tablespoons (1/3 cup) bleach per gallon, 4 teaspoons per quart. Hoever, they also say this mix 'will be effective for disinfection up to 24 hours.' Part of the reason for the short duration is light, which causes algae to form, which the bleach wears itself out killing. Use an opaque spray bottle if possible, it'll help. But 1 teaspoon per 8oz made fresh daily is pretty cheap

Me, I put on gloves and dampen the rag with the spray, then just wipe down the item...

[Al Launier]

The disinfectant sprays still are in short supply here in NH, so during the interim I've been using Isopropyl 70% alcohol, i.e. rubbing alcohol. It was also out of stock for a while, but it finally became available up at our grocery store, no where else. It doesn't skin lotion mixed with it, but it is an effective disinfectant.

[John K Jordan]

I can't seem to find disinfecting spray anywhere. Has anyone else been able to find any? I didn't realize how many disinfectants there are for COVID-19. The state of New York has a many page document listing disinfectants that are supposed to work against COVID-19.

I also didn't realize until today that Formula 409 works to kill viruses. I have about a gallon of Formula 409, but I think that will go quick for a project I have coming up mid summer. I might be able to make up a DIY bleach spray, but that smells so bad. (Maybe bleach smell is good now so people know you are disinfecting.)

Brian,

What is your upcoming project? The type of surface may make a difference.

Be careful in using hand sanitizer mixed with things (like aloe vera) for skin as some can leave a film on surfaces like dining tables. Probably shouldn't be used to disinfect things like oral thermometers.

A couple of months ago I bought several gallons of 99% isopropyl alcohol locally to make of hand sanitizer. Diluted with water to 75% or 80% (volume, not weight) it makes an effective sanitizer. I put it in spray bottles for local charities who provide food and meals for those in need.

I see many industrial suppliers sell IPA in quantity, for example 5-gal cans. It was unavailable for a while but seems to be coming back - google shows me some have it in stock now and some are backordered but expect deliveries in a few weeks. I've seen prices as low as about $20 and as high as $50+ for a gallon of the same product, not including shipping or the hazmat fee some charge. I'm going to try to order a 5-gal container in case the pandemic doesn't magically go away as some suggest. Dilute and put into spray bottles. Big caution - this stuff is HIGHLY flammable, especially when sprayed.

UPS will deliver but the USPS told me it would NOT. They won't even accept a package with an old label that has the word "sanitizer" even if the word is marked out with a sharpie and you certify there is nothing liquid or hazardous! (Found that out yesterday)

You can also buy 190 proof ethanol (vodka) at a liqueur store but it's far more expensive than isopropyl. I recently bought a quantity to make vanilla extract - the cheapest I found was about $35 for 1/2 gallon. Ethanol smells a lot better. Denatured ethanol is cheaper since it's not made for drinking and avoids the liqueur tax but be careful, some today is denatured with methanol which is toxic.

Don't know what you are sanitizing but some wood finishes (on tables, handrails, etc) don't play well with any kind of alcohol. My wife accidentally dripped some on our hardwood floor and it left spots.

JKJ

[Brian Elfert]

What is your upcoming project? The type of surface may make a difference.

I need to disinfect plastic folding tables. I am looking at using distillery sanitizer in a spray bottle for this.

[John K Jordan]

I need to disinfect plastic folding tables. I am looking at using distillery sanitizer in a spray bottle for this.

Alcohol should work fine for this.

I don't know about your area, but sanitizer from distilleries is just now threatening to be available in our area. (Odd, since TN and KY are saturated with distilleries.) I've been following this with several retailers and the prices they are expecting are shameful. Maybe you can do better.

JKJ

[Brian Elfert]

A 32 oz spray bottle of distillery sanitizer is $12.99 at the grocery store. One distillery sells direct at $30 per gallon and another at $35 per gallon.

[Tom M King]

I just ordered 7 packs of 2 spray bottles of Clorox Cleanup from Home Depot. The reason for the amount was to get past the minimum dollar amount for free shipment to home. Everything else "clorox" was out of stock. It remains to be seen if it's really available, but they took my money, so we'll see. The price was the normal price.

[John K Jordan]

A 32 oz spray bottle of distillery sanitizer is $12.99 at the grocery store. One distillery sells direct at $30 per gallon and another at $35 per gallon.

Hey, if you got some can you tell me what is listed on the label as the active and inert ingredients and percentages of the distillery sanitizer? (Can't check here until I find some!) What kind of alcohol?

I found one store with gallon jugs of isopropyl hand sanitizer for sale but at shameful rip-off prices ($60/gal). The label indicated they used the WHO formula.
I found another store selling 4 oz bottles of hand sanitizer for almost $20. Good grief. The other stores in the area usually have none, very low supplies, or 2 oz bottles at 8 oz prices.

JKJ

[Brian Elfert]

The organization selling the 32 oz spray bottles for $12.99 lists denatured ethyl alcohol (80.0%), glycerol (1.45%), hydrogen peroxide (0.125%) and water as the ingredients.

[John K Jordan]

The organization selling the 32 oz spray bottles for $12.99 lists denatured ethyl alcohol (80.0%), glycerol (1.45%), hydrogen peroxide (0.125%) and water as the ingredients.

Thanks. That's more or less Formulation I of the WHO, except they list ethanol instead of denatured ethyl. The instructions are here if anyone want's to mix up some themselves: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK144054/

If mixing with DNA I would, however, try to find out if the bitterant used in the DNA is not methanol which I understand is toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. From reading the MSDS on various denatured alcohol products available to consumers (through Home Depot, etc) it was difficult for me to tell exactly which were using methanol. It appeared to me that some of the major brands were switching to higher and higher percentages of methanol over time.

(Keep in mind that my understanding of all this is not deep - I made As in chemistry in college but unlike physics it was my nemesis, an embarrassingly serious struggle!

This is disturbing: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Denatured_alcohol , in particular "In the United States, mixtures sold as denatured alcohol often have much greater percentages of methanol, and can be less than 50% ethanol." And while ingestion is the most toxic, I found this from the Methanol Institute, www.methanol.org: "Direct exposure to methanol should be avoided, as methanol can be harmful if swallowed, absorbed through the skin, or inhaled." And as hand sanitizer...?

I suspect what the distilleries are selling is non-toxic. If mixing a batch at home for use on the skin and in doubt, a safer method might be to use the more expensive drinkable ethanol or the WHO Formulation II with "pure" (99%) isopropyl alcohol, the formula I used when I mixed up some earlier.


JKJ

[Neil Gaskin]

We found simple green at Home Depot a while back. The jug label says it’s affective against Corona Virus?

[Stan Calow]

I was curious so went to the Simple Green website. This is what it says in the FAQ:

Q: Can Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner be used against Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)?
Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) is the disease caused by the virus SARS-CoV-2.
Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner is not a disinfectant and will not kill bacteria or viruses. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can not treat a disease. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can be used to clean a surface before applying a disinfecting solution.

[Jim Becker]

We found simple green at Home Depot a while back. The jug label says it’s affective against Corona Virus?

And then you'd need to understand if it's effective against "this" particular corona virus (often referred to as COVID-19) or the common cold which is also a corona virus or...