Pro Tip: DIY Hand Sanitiser

[EEVblog]

[james_s]

The hand sanitizer I have says the active ingredient is ethyl alcohol, you can buy that stuff (mixed with something to make it taste horrible) in the paint section of any hardware store as denatured alcohol.

I don't really understand the current obsession with hand sanitizer though. It's better than nothing but if you have access to soap and running water it's more effective to just wash your hands.

[johnlsenchak]

Emergency DIY hand sanitizers

[Stray Electron]

    Isopropyl alcohol disappeared off of the shelves around here just as fast as the hand wipes did.  My home made disinfectant is 1/2 teaspoon of Clorox added to a gallon of water. I still have hand wipes so I just use this stuff for wiping down surfaces.

[KaneTW]

Yeah, even my usual suppliers are dry on IPA.

[james_s]

I just checked the local Home Depot here and they have 10 gallons and 13 quarts of denatured ethyl alcohol, it's readily available if one knows what to look for.

[Mr. Scram]

The hand sanitizer I have says the active ingredient is ethyl alcohol, you can buy that stuff (mixed with something to make it taste horrible) in the paint section of any hardware store as denatured alcohol.

I don't really understand the current obsession with hand sanitizer though. It's better than nothing but if you have access to soap and running water it's more effective to just wash your hands.

You're on the money. Warm water and soap do the job and do it well. Soap and water are effective against fat and the virus has a somewhat fatty outer layer. You need to wash properly of course. Meanwhile, not all hand sanatizers are effective though alcohol based ones do seem to desolve the virus as well. Note that antibacterial properties are generally useless against a virus.

[helius]

My cleaner/degreaser of first resort is a drug-store bottle of 93% IPA with a spray trigger from an auto detailing supplier. This makes a very affordable and convenient cleaner. I keep it by the sink because it works especially well for cleaning pine tar off hands after working in the yard.

It's not especially surprising that stocks are running low on this type of alcohol. Most of the time, very few people are buying it (a bottle lasts me a few years). Right now, many many people are trying to buy it.

[EEVblog]

I don't really understand the current obsession with hand sanitizer though. It's better than nothing but if you have access to soap and running water it's more effective to just wash your hands.

That's the entire point, when you are out and about you usually don't have access to soap and running water. You can carry this in your pocket.

[EEVblog]

Isopropyl alcohol disappeared off of the shelves around here just as fast as the hand wipes did.

Not so here.
Hand sanitiser went about Jan 27th or so. IPA was still being sold in bulk on ebay a few days ago when I last checked. Only during editing this did I go to get some screen captures and it was all gone!

[jfiresto]

The hand sanitizer I have says the active ingredient is ethyl alcohol, you can buy that stuff (mixed with something to make it taste horrible) in the paint section of any hardware store as denatured alcohol....

I have read that  isopropanol is more effective on bacteria while ethyl alcohol is better inactivating viruses. People sometimes mix the two, with an alcohol concentration of at least 60%.

The latter was in normal stock, yesterday, at the local chemist /  drugstore. People appeared to be more interested in buying plenty of toilet paper.

[Stray Electron]

   The news casters are bemoaning the fact that this outbreak will destroy a lot of businesses and will put many people out of work but this is also going to be a boom time for many industries.

[jfiresto]

For the toilet paper makers, I think it will be a boom and then a bust, as people run down the pallet loads they bought.

[Bud]

I don't really understand the current obsession with hand sanitizer though. It's better than nothing but if you have access to soap and running water it's more effective to just wash your hands.

That's the entire point, when you are out and about you usually don't have access to soap and running water. You can carry this in your pocket.

I got a pack of small plastic craft bottles at a dollar store, loaded them with hand sanitizer and put in a basket by the door. Family members going out can grab one from the basket as they going out, bring used ones in and i refill them. This way you always have sanitizer with you and the bottle size is tiny and fits woman's purse just like a lipstick.

[ogden]

When we will get cooking, gardening, golfing and fishing pro tips? 

[Stray Electron]

When we will get cooking, gardening, golfing and fishing pro tips? 

  Very soon now.  As soon as everyone gets laid off and starts discovering that that they can have a life outside of work, going to the bars or the theme parks.

[thm_w]

Also here in Canada, all alcohol/isopropyl sold out locally for weeks. Even a lot of people buying vinegar, but apparently its not too effective.

   The news casters are bemoaning the fact that this outbreak will destroy a lot of businesses and will put many people out of work but this is also going to be a boom time for many industries.

A handful will boom, the vast majority will suffer. I mean for sure be positive, but do you think many if any low level workers will benefit from this situation?
- Grocery stores
- Alcohol/sanitizer/toilet paper/glove producers

[madires]

We need some brain sanitiser for those who buy all the flour, pasta, toilet paper and so on. Not a single bag of flour left in the super market. It's crazy!

[Stray Electron]

Also here in Canada, all alcohol/isopropyl sold out locally for weeks. Even a lot of people buying vinegar, but apparently its not too effective.

   The news casters are bemoaning the fact that this outbreak will destroy a lot of businesses and will put many people out of work but this is also going to be a boom time for many industries.

A handful will boom, the vast majority will suffer. I mean for sure be positive, but do you think many if any low level workers will benefit from this situation?
- Grocery stores
- Alcohol/sanitizer/toilet paper/glove producers

    How short sighted you are!  This is the exact reason that low-level workers usually don't benefit from changing conditions but smart people that are willing to learn new skills, work, innovate and create do.

  How about anything in the medical profession? There will be a huge increase in demand over the next few years.  Also research, any kind of drug manufacturing, even homeopathic medicine (can you grow Aloe Vera?), every sort of home delivery service including grocery and food delivery, manufacture, sales and operation of medical devices, computer services including support for work at home systems will increase drastically, so will will in-home entertainment since people can't go out. Those are just a few that I can think of at the moment.  If I was in the restaurant business, I would be closing my dining room and installing cashless online ordering system and drive through pick windows right now.   Those are probably the only kind of restaurants that are going to survive this.  IF you have any idea that supports that kind of operation (remodeling, operations, computer services, ordering systems, you name it) here is your chance to get in on the ground floor.

[ogden]

When we will get cooking, gardening, golfing and fishing pro tips? 

  Very soon now.  As soon as everyone gets laid off and starts discovering that that they can have a life outside of work, going to the bars or the theme parks.

Going to the bars or theme parks?  - Many are home and going nowhere, eager to do some electronics, yet receive advice about DIY hand sanitizer, not uCurrent or uSupply: https://www.eevblog.com/projects/usupply/

[thm_w]

Some data on sars-cov-1: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00430-004-0219-0

All four commonly used brands of hand disinfectants were able to render SARS-CoV non-infectious within 30 sec of contact. Table 2 presents the data on their SARS-Co-virucidal efficacy. Isopropanol 70% and 100% achieved a >3.31log10 reduction of virus infectivity after 30 s, while Desderman reduced the virus titre by >5.01log10 and Sterillium by >2.78log10. The actual reduction factors shown varied because of the effects of ultrafiltration necessitated by the different cytotoxicities of the compounds. In addition, three more disinfectants, formaldehyde, glutardialdehyde and Incidin plus (isopropanol/ethanol like mix), were assessed for their anti-SARS-CoV potency. All three rendered SARS-CoV non-infectious. The minimum reduction factor for formaldehyde (0.7 and 1%) was >3.01log10, for glutardialdehyde (0.5%) >4.01log10, and for Incidin plus >1.68log10, after 2 min of incubation. The reduction factor for wine vinegar was ≥3.0log10, achieved within 60 s.

Vinegar did work, but it took twice as long as isopropyl.
"Desderman" is 96% ethanol with some preservative, it seemed to be even more effective.

    How short sighted you are!  This is the exact reason that low-level workers usually don't benefit from changing conditions but smart people that are willing to learn new skills, work, innovate and create do.

So you agree then, low level workers will suffer here? Regardless of whatever bootstraps you think they should be pulling on.
OK good we are at an agreement and we can move on with the discussion.

[james_s]

My cleaner/degreaser of first resort is a drug-store bottle of 93% IPA with a spray trigger from an auto detailing supplier. This makes a very affordable and convenient cleaner. I keep it by the sink because it works especially well for cleaning pine tar off hands after working in the yard.

It's not especially surprising that stocks are running low on this type of alcohol. Most of the time, very few people are buying it (a bottle lasts me a few years). Right now, many many people are trying to buy it.

I use some stuff called Oil Eater, it's inexpensive and can be diluted as needed. It does a fantastic job of removing skin oils so it works very well for cleaning up grungy control panels on test equipment. It does an equally fantastic job of cleaning the oils right out of your skin so wear gloves unless you like having crusty skin and cracked bleeding cuticles.

[james_s]

Going to the bars or theme parks?  - Many are home and going nowhere, eager to do some electronics, yet receive advice about DIY hand sanitizer, not uCurrent or uSupply: https://www.eevblog.com/projects/usupply/

I know a handful of people who work in bars and restaurants which the governor of WA has decided to "temporarily" close. They are suddenly out of work and have no idea when their next paycheck will come. Yes they can collect unemployment for a while, though it isn't nearly as much as they were typically earning. Restaurants tend to have razor thin profit margins so even a couple weeks of forced closure could be catastrophic and now they're talking possibly a month or two.

Yes some businesses will boom but many, many more will suffer and the effects of this will ripple for a long time, I think we are headed into a recession that will make the recession of 2008 look like a walk in the park. I *hope* I'm wrong but the news just keeps getting worse all the time.

I'm wondering if they should bring in the military to set up scores of temporary hospitals rather than crashing the entire economy in a likely futile attempt to stem the spread.

[aqarwaen]

cant you just use thermal paste removing alchool. if i understand correct it should 80% or 90% alchool.

[Nusa]

Another readily available disinfectant is Iodophor which is Iodine-based. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iodophor)
I haven't checked, but I suspect the panic-buyers have probably ignored this one for the most part.

It's used by many industries as a sanitizer for food equipment. I have a 500ml bottle that I got to sanitize my brewing equipment -- cost $3 if I recall correctly. I use a capful (1/4 oz) per 2 gallons for a no-rinse sanitizer, so one bottle goes a LONG way.

Stronger solutions have been used as a surgical scrub and for wound care in the past, and still are when nothing better is available. They also stain the skin, but that'll go away in time.